r/microsoft • • 12h ago

Employment Weekly Employment Q&A - October 26, 2026 - November 02, 2026

7 Upvotes

The Employment Q&A Thread

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft. Please do not use this space to ask technical questions as they will be removed.

Schedule

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Mondays at 1200 Pacific.

Previous Threads

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link


r/microsoft • • 16h ago

News Microsoft is offering buyouts to around 60,000 employees. Read the memo.

Thumbnail
businessinsider.com
830 Upvotes

Asking for volunteers before the January Purge.


r/microsoft • • 9h ago

Discussion Satya gets a 140 on Company Culture portion of bonus - 2026 Microsoft Annual Shareholder Meeting Materials

Thumbnail microsoft.com
84 Upvotes

In the 2026 Proxy Statement, Microsoft recommends voting in opposition to all shareholder resolutions (including disclosures related to meeting climate commitments, report on human rights due diligence, report on data operations in human rights and conflict hotspots), and recommends an overall pay package of around $90 million to CEO Satya Nadella


r/microsoft • • 3h ago

Discussion What to do

17 Upvotes

I am joining MSFT tomorrow and this voluntary exit post is scaring me. What should i do?


r/microsoft • • 14h ago

News Cloud gaming was once billed as cheaper than buying titles. But new pricing from Microsoft’s Xbox is eroding that argument, gamers say

Thumbnail
fortune.com
57 Upvotes

Video gamers may begin to more frequently experience the feeling of frantically shoving quarters into an arcade machine to extend playtime.

Microsoft-owned Xbox has launched a pay-as-you-go feature that has angered some users and is part of a larger trend of video game fans paying more for titles they do not own.

That comes as the Xbox division is facing a widespread business reset as it works to course correct from slumping revenue as a result of plummeting hardware sales and Game Pass subscription losses. The division has slashed 20% of its workforce, about 3,200 roles, and has begun selling once-exclusive titles like Halo across competing gaming platforms to boost sales.

Xbox launched Cloud Gaming in 2020 as a cheaper alternative to physical games, arguing that effectively renting a title would provide the opportunity to play a game without the financial commitment of purchasing a console and disk.

A Game Pass subscription, which began as an online service to download games to your console, initially gave users free and unlimited access to Cloud Gaming.
Subscribers gained the ability to stream a library of Xbox games without requiring individual purchases or downloads.

But in September, the company changed how customers were able to access Cloud Gaming. Instead of the Game Pass monthly subscription granting unlimited access to the library, gameplay hours were capped.

Last week, Xbox implemented additional changes. Once subscribers run out of playable hours of cloud gaming, they can use a new service called Cloud Playtime to buy more time.

Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]: https://fortune.com/2026/10/26/microsoft-xbox-pay-as-you-go-feature-cloud-gaming-subscription/?utm_source=reddit/


r/microsoft • • 8h ago

XBOX Xbox Game Pass is finally coming to U.S. mobile plans with T-Mobile | T-Mix let's you bolt on Game Pass to your cellular plan

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
6 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 19h ago

News Microsoft shipped an out-of-band patch for a .NET buffer overflow

18 Upvotes

Microsoft just pushed an emergency patch for a bug in .NET’s Brotli decompression. It could let an attacker with no login access read or mess with your app’s memory if your app uses ASP.NET Core’s request decompression, HttpClient’s auto decompression, or the Brotli APIs directly.

Two other bugs from the October 13 patch also weren’t fully fixed and got patched again here. Updated versions are 8.0.33, 9.0.22, and 10.0.14. If your app is self contained, you need to rebuild it because updating the runtime on the machine isn’t enough.

More about the update: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/dotnet-october-2026-oob-security-updates/


r/microsoft • • 1d ago

XBOX Former Minecraft lead, Xbox veteran and COO Helen Chiang "fired" for "policy violations"

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
218 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 2d ago

Windows It's Windows XP's 25th anniversary! 🥳

62 Upvotes

Yes, today marks the day Windows XP released to the public and retail 25 years ago. Just like my last post on this Reddit community, you are free to share your opinions and what you plan on doing to commemorate the anniversary.


r/microsoft • • 2d ago

XBOX Netflix reportedly wanted a $500 million film and TV deal with Xbox – but the counter offer was $800 million

Thumbnail
gamesradar.com
44 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 4d ago

Copilot / AI Microsoft warns AI agents "can't be trusted" despite investing billions — and it plans to fight rogue bots with more AI

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
116 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 5d ago

XBOX EA officially shuts down BioWare and cuts 400 jobs — Mass Effect 5 has been cancelled

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
185 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 6d ago

News The non-gamer CEO racing to save Microsoft’s Xbox

Thumbnail
fortune.com
128 Upvotes

Much is still new for Asha Sharma, the 38-year-old executive whom Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in February put in charge of turning around one of entertainment’s biggest brands. Her office, adorned with Xbox controllers, framed Halo game discs, and a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater skateboard, at first seems like an odd fit for an executive who famously had zero past video game experience.

Yet the Xbox CEO who’s replaced gaming legend Phil Spencer is moving fast. Xbox’s finances have been in shambles while its market share has tanked from its peak years ago. Sharma must fix its economics while improving its brand. She has been blunt about Xbox’s poor performance; has cut thousands of staff members; is reimagining how Xbox markets and sells its products; is upending its tech stack; has divested or reorganized smaller studios; and is focusing Xbox around its biggest franchises and publishing groups, including Blizzard Entertainment.

Flashy moves aside, Sharma has a challenging road ahead. Turning around a sprawling $21 billion business that includes hardware, creative studios, and thousands of video game titles is a task that would test even the most experienced of CEOs. And at a time when Microsoft is intensely focused on competing in the AI race, many industry observers wonder how committed the company is to the gaming business, and if Nadella has put Sharma in charge to prepare for an eventual sale or spinoff.

As Sharma works to revitalize the storied gaming unit, Microsoft employees, investors, analysts, and gamers are all focused on a key question: Can a gaming industry outsider bring Xbox back to its glory days—and if she can, under what structure will that happen?

Read more [paywall removed for Redditors]:  https://fortune.com/2026/10/20/the-non-gamer-ceo-racing-to-save-microsofts-xbox/?utm_source=reddit/


r/microsoft • • 6d ago

XBOX "We're using AI": Xbox business strategist claims he could be fired "because I told you the truth that nobody wants you to know" | Xbox's Brandon Stirrup says the gaming industry is already using AI, despite widespread negative sentiment among players.

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
40 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 5d ago

Discussion Is the Microsoft x Lovable partnership actually a big deal?

1 Upvotes

The app builder part isn’t new. Plenty of tools already do that. What’s interesting is Microsoft making third-party AI tools plug into Entra governance.

Will it contribute to a real shift in how these integrations get built going forward?


r/microsoft • • 7d ago

Windows Microsoft is marking 12 years of the Windows Insider Program with a set of free wallpapers.

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
53 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 6d ago

Discussion “Anonymous” Microsoft Form requires a work login. Is the explanation I got BS?

3 Upvotes

The powers that be at my company answer employee-submitted questions at monthly meetings through an “anonymous” Microsoft Form.

I had doubts about its anonymity, because I used to set up MS Forms at another company, and was for sure able to tell who submitters were through Power Automate or the Excel export even without a question asking for their email.

I also tested this theory by opening the form link in an incognito browser, because if it was truly anonymous, I shouldn't need to log in right?

I shared this logic with the person who creates the forms for the company and they tried to persuade me this is not the case, then they assured me that they checked with IT and said login is required to keep outsiders from submitting, but names/emails aren’t recorded, so it’s completely anonymous, even to them.

That security question feels weak and bogus to me, because if the link is only shared internally and the form is just collecting questions for a company meeting, what risk are we really protecting against? Someone outside the company submitting a junk question? They definitely sift through the questions before the meeting and claim no question goes unanswered, so its not like this would truly be an issue because they have to add them to a presentation and should be able to recognize bad actors.

Anyone else experience anything similar and are skeptical? Ultimately, my hesitation is because I have some hard hitting questions for my company that I feel would come with backlash if they could trace the question back to that person. Am I missing something where they may genuinely be serious? I also doubt it because this is a pretty big SaaS company that is tech savvy


r/microsoft • • 6d ago

XBOX Seriously?

0 Upvotes

So I was browsing the Microsoft page and came across a certified refurbished Xbox x and the price is insane.


r/microsoft • • 7d ago

Employment Weekly Employment Q&A - October 19, 2026 - October 26, 2026

8 Upvotes

The Employment Q&A Thread

Welcome to the Weekly Employment Q&A for r/Microsoft!

This thread is where Redditors can come and ask questions about working at Microsoft. Please do not use this space to ask technical questions as they will be removed.

Schedule

The Q&A will be refreshed every week on Mondays at 1200 Pacific.

Previous Threads

You can view previous employment threads using this archive link


r/microsoft • • 10d ago

XBOX Xbox reportedly had much bigger plans for Halo 2 and Halo 3 remakes before layoffs killed them | Halo Studios reportedly had ambitious plans for Halo 2 and Halo 3 remakes, including multiplayer, Forge, Firefight, Theater, and more.

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
83 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 11d ago

XBOX Microsoft announces a new pocket-sized Xbox controller | The Xbox Nano Controller is a new gamepad designed to fit into your pocket and accommodate players with smaller hands more easily

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
48 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 12d ago

XBOX Microsoft is considering making Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and even Minecraft Xbox console exclusive — surveys detailed | Microsoft is actively asking Xbox users with multiple consoles how they'd react if big franchises went fully console exclusive.

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
115 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 13d ago

XBOX Microsoft formalizes "Xbox Labs" team, focused on unique tech like backward compatibility, Apple Silicon, and AI experiments

Thumbnail
windowscentral.com
58 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 14d ago

News Microsoft says Maia chips will be its “primary inference system” by 2027, with Maia 300 claiming 40% more tokens per MW than GPUs

Thumbnail
aistockwire.com
107 Upvotes

r/microsoft • • 14d ago

M365 New "365 Pro" Tier Consumer Subscription at $100/month.

Thumbnail
microsoft.com
58 Upvotes

I haven't seen any news articles about it, but I first noticed it was mentioend in some support articles that there is a "Microsoft 365 Pro" tier subscription not listed on the main landing page, but is searchable. This looks like it's new?

It's priced at $100/month and the main differences is that has much higher usage of Copilot and agents, as well as offering 5TB of shared storage between the 6 family members (the total that Premium originally had).

Thoughts? Personally I think is it's too expensive for all but the most dedicated Copilot users. Also, like Premium, it limits the AI features to just the subscription owner's account, not sharing them with the other five people, which at this price is a bad call in my view, given how they've priced it for Premium.