Microsoft is reportedly going to close the Canadian developer Compulsion Games, which is known for Contrast, We Happy Few, and South of Midnight.

According to Kotaku, the cuts could affect more than 90 people.

Another report, from Mike Straw of Insider Gaming, said Arkane is also set to be closed as part of Microsoft's "reset" of the Xbox business.

GameSpot has contacted Microsoft seeking comment on the reports.

Microsoft acquired Compulsion in 2018 and took ownership of Arkane following its buyout of Bethesda owner ZeniMax. Arkane Austin was closed in May 2024. Arkane Lyon, meanwhile, is developing the upcoming Marvel's Blade game.

As for Compulsion, the studio's latest release was the highly celebrated, Peabody Award-winning game South of Midnight.

A recent report said Microsoft will cut staff and potentially close studios in July, following the end of the company's fiscal year on June 30. Xbox Games Studios boss Craig Duncan, and his chief of staff, recently left the company.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, meanwhile, recently made headlines for talking about making changes to Xbox to improve its economic stability.

In a blog post announcing what's to come for Xbox in the next 100 days, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma alluded to major changes, and difficult ones.

"For some of you, these realities will be surprising and even frustrating to discover," she told staff. "We won’t succeed by hiding hard truths, nor will we succeed by doing the same thing and expecting different results."

Streaming might be the new standard for watching movies at home, but nothing beats a physical film collection. If you're looking to stock up your Blu-ray library, Amazon is running a limited-time promotion ahead of Prime Day that lets you bundle three 4K Blu-rays for just $11 each, which adds up to $33 total. That's a pretty good deal considering most Blu-rays normally cost around $20. To get the deal, add three (or more) eligible 4K Blu-rays to your cart, and the discount will automatically kick in before check out.

See all deals at Amazon

So what's worth picking up in the sale? If you're feeling lucky, Dirty Harry is still considered an all-time great, or for something goofier, National Lampoon's Animal House and Vacation are comedy classics. Throw in Smokey and the Bandit, and you'll be eastbound and down for some great entertainment.

On the modern side of cinema, we also recommend 1917 for a gripping war movie, while the 2021 Candyman is a spine-chilling update of the original horror film, and Sherlock Holmes for Robert Downey Jr.'s memorable turn on the classic detective.

Those are just a few of the dozens of 4K Blu-rays eligible for Amazon's promotion, so we've picked out a few more of our favorites in the list below. You can also browse the full sale to see everything on offer.

Amazon 4K Blu-ray Sale:

Bundle three eligble 4K Blu-rays for just $33

• 8 Mile -- $11 ($17.10)
• 1917 -- $11 ($15)
• ET: The Extra-terrestrial - 40th Anniversary Edition -- $11 ($14)
• Backdraft -- $11 ($13)
• Batman Forever -- $11 ($13)
• Batman: Mask of the Phantasm -- $11 ($17)
• The Big Lebowski - 20th Anniversary Edition -- $11 ($13)
• Candyman (2021) -- $11 ($19)
• Casino -- $11 ($13)
• Dirty Harry -- $11 ($20)
• Dune -- $11 ($15.32)
• ET: The Extra-terrestrial - 40th Anniversary Edition -- $11 ($14)
• Fast X: Collector's Edition -- $11 ($17.63)
• Godzilla -- $11 ($17.15)
• Howard the Duck -- $11 ($14)
• National Lampoon's Animal House -- $11 ($15)
• National Lampoon's Vacation -- $11 ($14.79)
• Sherlock Holmes -- $11 ($13)
• Smokey and the Bandit -- $11 ($15)
• Smokin' Aces -- $11 ($19)
• Waterworld -- $11 ($15)

3 for $33 Movies on 4K Blu-ray

Get popular movies on 4K for only $11 each while supplies last.

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More Deals And Preorders

• Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave Is Getting A Collector’s Edition
• All Three Xenoblade Chronicles Switch 2 Editions Are Up For Preorder
• Lies of P: Complete Edition Switch 2 Preorders Include Some Cool Collectibles
• Preorders For The Minecraft Dungeons 2 Deluxe Edition Are Live
• Star Wars Zero Company Preorders Are Live: Here’s What’s In Every Edition
• Persona 4 Revival Preorders Are Now Open, Including A Massive Collector’s Edition
• Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Preorders Include An Alucard-Themed Bonus Costume
• Rayman Legends Retold Preorders Include Bonus Costumes Based On Rayman 3
• Where To Preorder Control Resonant
• Silent Hill: Townfall Preorders Emerge At Amazon And Best Buy
• Fable Premium Edition Preorders Include 5-Day Early Access To The Full Game

More Deals And Preorders Links (7)

Microsoft's next big game is Halo: Campaign Evolved, which launches at the end of July for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. Ahead of that, Microsoft has published the official release times for the game, which begins with early access on July 23.

Read on to find out exactly when Halo: Campaign Evolved release where you live. The game is having a global launch, Microsoft said, which suggests the game will arrive in all regions at the same time.

Halo: Campaign Evolved early access release times

July 23

• 8 AM PT
• 11 AM ET
• 4 PM GMT

July 24

• 12 AM JST
• 1 AM AEST
• 3 AM NZST

Halo: Campaign Evolved global release times

July 28

• 8 AM PT
• 11 AM ET
• 4 PM GMT

July 29

• 12 AM JST
• 1 AM AEST
• 3 AM NZST

To get the five days of early access, people need to buy the game's $70 Premium edition or the $200 collector's edition--however, the CE is currently sold out.

There is no word yet on preloading or the file size for Halo: Campaign Evolved, but keep checking back with GameSpot for more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPrm70EK2f0

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a remake of the 2001 original Halo: Combat Evolved, and it's releasing this year for the franchise's 25th anniversary. It's coming to Xbox Series X|S and PC, as well as PlayStation 5, marking the franchise's debut on a PlayStation platform after more than two decades of exclusivity on Xbox.

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In addition to better graphics and updated features, Halo: Campaign Evolved includes Operation: Meteorite, which is a set of three prequel missions. For more, check out GameSpot's Halo: Campaign Evolved buying guide.

Craig Duncan, the head of Xbox Game Studios, is leaving the company after 15 years at Microsoft, and so is his chief of staff. The changes come ahead of reported layoffs and possible studio closures at Xbox under the leadership of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who has vowed to "reset" the Xbox business.

Duncan was the longtime studio head at Sea of Thieves developer Rare before he got promoted to overall Head of Xbox Game Studios in November 2024. He took over that position from Matt Booty, who was himself promoted to executive vice president and chief content officer at Xbox.

Prior to his tenure at Xbox, Duncan was a development manager and director of product development for Codemasters. He also worked on the executive team at Midway Games until its closure in 2009. He then went to Sumo Digital before starting at Rare in 2011.

Duncan's departure from Xbox came just 48 hours after he posted on LinkedIn about how excited he was about the future of Xbox Games Studios and its many upcoming projects.

Additionally, Xbox Game Studios chief of staff Louise O'Connor is on the way out from Xbox. She had been with Rare since 1999, starting there as an animator before working up to Head of Animation and then Art Director. She became chief of staff for Xbox Game Studios in August 2025.

In a memo to staff obtained by The Game Business, Duncan said, "I’m proud to say we delivered many flawless launches that drove business success for the company." Addressing O'Connor, Duncan said she "consistently championed the craft and supported our studios with clarity and care."

Just recently, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talked about how Xbox has been struggling for some time and that it is imperative that Microsoft finds a way to "turn [Xbox] into a sustainable business."

In other Xbox news, it was recently reported that Microsoft could spin off Xbox and accelerate the development of the next Halo and Fallout games.

We're halfway through 2026, and so far, Capcom is on a roll. Resident Evil: Requiem, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection, and Pragmata have all been hit games, while other titles like Street Fighter 6 continue to do well with post-launch content. So what's Capcom's secret? According to the company itself, having a team-first mentality instead of auteur-driven games is one of its keys to success.

"In the game industry, when a title becomes a series, it often ends up depending heavily on a particular developer, becoming what you'd call an individual-driven title," COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto and Capcom founder Kenzo Tsujimoto said to Famitsu (via Automaton). "If that person doesn't make one, there's no next installment. The direction of the series becomes tied to the ideas of a single creator," Tsujimoto said.

According to the COO, this was the case for many years at Capcom, but as it started to examine its responsibilities to its shareholders, things began to change for the company. After talking to central figures behind its franchises, Capcom abandoned individual-driven development in favor of team-driven projects. "What we came up with instead was the idea that every title should essentially be rebuilt from the ground up. We didn't mind even if sales temporarily declined as a result, and by switching to a team-based approach to game development, Capcom changed dramatically," Tsujimoto added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjm4G7s-ELI

Capcom had a long history with its games having big names behind them, like Hideki Kamiya (Devil May Cry), Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil), and Hideaki Itsuno (Dragon's Dogma). The Capcom renaissance--which is largely considered to have started when Resident Evil 7 was released in 2017--has seen the company move forward with this shift toward team-driven games. 

The risk with creator-driven games is that not every title is guaranteed to be a hit, with notable examples being Peter Molyneux's Godus or Tomonobu Itagaki's Devil's Third. Recently, former Yakuza game series director Toshihiro Nagoshi appears to have run into trouble at his self-named studio, Nagoshi Studio. Reports of publisher NetEase pulling financial backing and the studio's YouTube channel vanishing-then-reappearing quietly emerged in May, and since then, it has been nothing but radio silence for Gang of Dragon.

Meanwhile, gaming's most-famous auteur, Hideo Kojima, is as busy as ever with various game projects and dismissing rumors of there being trouble in paradise with his longtime pal, Geoff Keighley.

While the new Xbox leadership team under CEO Asha Sharma has been on a charm offensive lately--while also promising a "reset" for the division that suggests layoffs are on the way--Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella got down to brass tacks recently. During a panel at the New York Times Hard Fork event, Nadella spoke about how Xbox will have to find a way to become more profitable as it enters a new era.

"No one can accuse Microsoft of not having invested for the last 25 years," Nadella said. "And now we have to turn this into a sustainable business that delivers what is fundamentally one of the best sources of entertainment. The challenge we have is that we've not been monetizing that entertainment. In fact, if anything, we've been subsidizing that entertainment. There's more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube than at Microsoft.

"And so that doesn't mean we go do things that are unnatural. We want us to do what is really our job, which is to build great games, build great hardware, but we've got to do it in an economically sustainable way. I think Asha is really, 100 days in, and she put out a post saying in the next 100 days, she's going to take a fresh look and make sure we deliver on what our fans expect of us both on the hardware side or on the publishing side."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqEZyHkXgh0&t=276s

With gaming consoles and hardware experiencing a major spike in prices due to various global factors and hardware shortages, partly driven by the rampant investment in AI technologies, Nadella also remarked how Microsoft will have to find a way to "deliver the games in which it is economically relevant" to customers, although the Microsoft CEO didn't have a solution for the dilemma.

Recently, Sharma confirmed that Xbox's accountability margins only amount to a 3% profit, which isn't exactly great considering how Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in acquiring studios and publishers over the last couple of years. The return on investment is not looking good, especially when games are becoming more expensive and are sold to a much smaller playerbase when compared to the PS5 and Nintendo Switch, while recent Game Pass price hikes saw millions of people cancel their memberships.

So what are Microsoft's options to extract more profit from Xbox? One report claims that Xbox could be spun off into a separate company or a "wholly owned subsidiary" that would no longer operate as a Microsoft division. Microsoft is also said to be planning to increase investment in its biggest Xbox franchises--like Halo, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout--and speed up development on new titles.

The Best Xbox Game Pass Games In 2026 View Images