While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025, the previous year’s winner was a bit of a surprise: Astro Bot, a single-player action-adventure and platformer.
I’ve been using my Xbox Ally X a lot in the evenings for the past couple of weeks. I like to play games like Slay the Spire or Spider-Man: Miles Morales while relaxing in bed with a TV show on in the background.
As the year ends, another game studio owned by Microsoft has voted to unionize. On Friday, id Software, a developer based in Texas, successfully voted in favor of forming a union, according to the Communication Workers of America (CWA).
The CWA reports that a significant majority of the studio’s employees supported the move, bringing the total number of unionized workers to 165. Similar to previous unionization efforts at other studios, Microsoft has agreed to recognize the union.
Andrew Willis, a producer at id Software, explained that this unionization was necessary, emphasizing the importance of developers working together to address changes being made by industry leaders.
He added that the union will allow developers to regain control over the industry they’re passionate about, ensuring the creation of excellent games by skilled workers who receive good benefits and have long-term job security, rather than focusing solely on short-term profits.
Death Howl follows Ro, a mother devastated by the loss of her son. Driven by grief, she ventures into a dangerous realm between life and death, determined to bring him back. Her search leads her through four unique worlds, each divided into thirteen beautifully detailed areas. But these lands are filled with troubled spirits who will try to stop her from reaching her son.
Older versions of Windows let you choose to display small icons on the Taskbar, but this option was removed with Windows 11. Microsoft has now added the feature back, but it works a little differently. Before, selecting smaller icons also made the Taskbar itself shorter. Now, on Windows 11, only the size of the icons changes – the Taskbar’s height stays the same.
No matter what you play on—Xbox, Windows PC, Steam, Nintendo Switch, or PlayStation—one thing is clear: this year had an incredible number of fantastic games.
In March 2024, Mustafa Suleyman, who co-founded DeepMind and Inflection, started working at Microsoft to head up its AI efforts. He’s in charge of improving Copilot and developing other AI products for consumers, as well as leading AI research.
WhatsApp is encouraging people who use its PC app to switch to the new web version. If you currently have the WhatsApp for Windows app, you’ll now see a notification letting you know updates are on the way.
Now that 2025 is coming to a close, let’s take a look at all the ways Windows 11 has improved this year. Most of these changes came through regular monthly updates.
The Game Awards 2025 featured lots of exciting announcements for new games alongside the award presentations. However, for many viewers, the biggest highlight was the first look at Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, which was revealed early in the show.