Microsoft has laid off 1,900 of its employees across Activision Blizzard and Xbox this week. The tech giant's primary role for layoffs has been in the Activision Blizzard section right after closing its $69 billion merger; however, employees from Xbox and ZeniMax have also lost their posts due to significant impacts on the company's recent revenue stream.

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According to The Verge's internal memo, which was taken from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, the company confirmed the layoffs by explaining priorities for the near future. The recent layoff has cut out around 8% of the company's current workforce out of the 22,000 employees spread across all the divisions.

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Also read: UK Finally Gives Microsoft The Go-Ahead For The Activision Blizzard King Merger

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Microsoft Layoffs 8% of its Workforce Soon After Closing its Major Merger

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Microsoft, Activision, Blizzard, and King teams have joined forces recently with their leap into 2024. In the memo, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard has stated that they are committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable structure. This will aid the growth of the business, says Microsoft.

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The process has given birth to the painful decision of eliminating 1,900 roles out of the 22,000 employees in the team. Phil Spencer has stated that he has worked with The Gaming Leadership Team to 'navigate' this process with a thoughtful mind.

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In the memo, Spencer mentioned:

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"The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax, and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they’ve accomplished here."

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He concluded the memo by adding that Microsoft is looking forward to investing in more areas for growth which will support the business and its strategies to bring more games to players across the globe.

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​Mike Ybarra, the Blizzard president, has also decided to leave the company following the recent layoffs. The ex-president has spent more than 20 years in Microsoft; however, Ybarra has stepped down from his position after seeing through the merger. The news was announced by Matt Booty, game content and studios president at Microsoft in another internal memo this week.

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What More Has Microsoft Announced Alongside the Recent Layoffs?

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Microsft is also cancelling its projects following its layoffs as claimed by the company's recent memos. Blizzard's previously announced unnamed survival game is one of those projects that has been shut down as part of these recent changes. ccording to Matt Booty, the company will shift the people working on the title to newer projects.

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BGMI developer Krafton has recently acquired Tango Gameworks. The Japanese game developer earlier with Microsoft, who had recently announced they would be shutting the developers' operations. With this deal, Krafton is taking its first step into the Japanese video game market. After this deal, Krafton also holds rights to the Hi-Fi Rush franchise.

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Krafton Buys Tango Gameworks, Announces Expansion

Tango Gameworks has been known to develop games like Ghostwire: Tokyo, The Evil Within and Hi-Fi Rush is the flagship of the Japanese developer. In a press release, Krafton informed their players and audience about the expansion. 

As part of this strategic agreement, Krafton intends to collaborate with Xbox and ZeniMax to ensure a smooth transition and maintain continuity at Tango Gameworks, allowing the talented team to continue developing the Hi-Fi Rush IP and explore future projects. 

Krafton also announced that will continue to work on future projects that Tango Gameswork was working on. Tango Gameswork had been working on a lot of games and the franchise of Hi-Fi Rush is also likely to continue and will not be impacted by this change of power in the studio.

Krafton intends to support the Tango Gameworks team to continue its commitment to innovation and delivering fresh and exciting experiences for fans. There will be no impact on the existing game catalog of The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and the original Hi-Fi Rush game.

Tango Gameswork came into being in 2010 and the first game the studio developed was The Evil Within. In May 2024, Microsoft announced that it would be shutting down three studios that were under Microsoft. Redfall developer Arkane Austin, Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog Studios, and Tango Gameworks were the three studios. 

Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws is nearing its release this month, and fans are excited to see how the French developers will deliver a Star Wars game to gamers. Before this, Ubisoft had only made one Star Wars title, Lethal Alliance, in 2004. With Ubisoft showcasing more of their upcoming title at the Forward event from two months back, gamers have been wondering when will Star Wars Outlaws come out.

According to the publisher, Star Wars Outlaws is set to release on Friday, August 30, 2024. The title will be available on PC, through Ubisoft Connect and Epic Games Store, alongside Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.

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Star Wars Outlaws Will Come Out Later This Month

Star Wars Outlaws is one of the most anticipated Ubisoft titles this year. The game was announced in January 2021. The game was later revealed in the Xbox Games Showcase in June 2023. Following the reveal, in April 2024, Ubisoft revealed two special editions for Star Wars Outlaws.

Star Wars Outlaws will be an open-world game action game, where players will assume the role of Kay Vess, a wanderer in the galaxy. She will also accompany her companion, Nix, as they partner up for heists across different locations.

The story of Star Wars Outlaws takes place between The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi from the Star Wars lore. The title is set to be exclusively single-player as of now, as Ubisoft has not announced any multiplayer elements for Outlaws. However, developers may add more features to the title shortly after release.

Gamers who preorder Star Wars Outlaws will receive a Kessel Runner bonus pack. Additionally, purchasing the Ultimate Edition will give gamers access to the Rogue Infiltrator and Sabacc Shark bundles, which will serve as cosmetics for one's ship. Aside from cosmetics, purchasing the Gold or Ultimate editions for Star Wars Outlaws will also give gamers access to the season pass, as well as game access three days before release.

Outlaws will possibly be the biggest open-world Star Wars game, which may borrow a lot of elements from Respawn's Star Wars Jedi series. Moreover, the title will allow gamers to traverse the open world with many vehicles from the famous universe. The title will rely heavily on stealth and Blaster combat, unlike the traditional Lightsaber battle from most Star Wars titles.

Ubisoft has revealed the PC requirements for Star Wars Outlaws. For the players who want to go to the Galaxy Far Far Away galaxy, matching these requirements will be crucial as without them, the game could be laggy and the gaming experience could also be sabotaged. Ubisoft has revealed the PC requirements so that you can make room for the game. Here are the minimum and recommended PC requirements to play Star Wars Outlaws smoothly. 

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Star Wars Outlaws PC Requirements: Minimum and Recommended

To run the game on your PC, you need to have at least these system requirements. Without these, you will not be able to play the game. Here are the minimum requirements: 

• OS: Windows 10, Windows 11 (64-bit versions), DirectX 12
• RAM: 16GB
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 @ 3.6 GHz, Intel Core i7-8700K @ 3.70 GHz
• Resolution: 1080P, 30 FPS
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (6 GB), AMD RX 5600XT (6 GB), Intel Arc A750 (8 GB) or above
• Storage Space: 65 GB

However, Ubisoft does recommend something better for a smoother gaming experience. Below are the system requirements that are given by Ubisoft: 

• OS: Windows 10, Windows 11 (64-bit versions), DirectX 12
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X @ 3.7 GHz, Intel Core i5-10400 @ 2.9 GHz, or above
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (8 GB), AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (12 GB) or above
• RAM: 16 GB
• Storage: 65 GB 
• Resolution: 1080P, 60 FPS

Once they have the recommended requirements or more, they will be able to play the game smoothly. However, if the players have a better system then they will be able to play at a higher setting or even at the ultra settings. This will ensure that the gaming experience will be better and the minute details that have been added in the game by Ubisoft are shown to players clearly. 

Star Tokens in Brawl Stars is one of the most popular rare currencies which helps players unlock important items from the Mega Boxes and do more. With the return of Mega Boxes in one of the most recent updates for Brawl Stars, players have been trying to collect more Star Tokens in order to unlock their favorite cosmetic items.

Star Tokens in Brawl Stars can be initially difficult to collect, especially for newcomers. However, there is a pretty straightforward way to hoard them when followed correctly. This article will briefly guide players on how to collect Star Tokens in Brawl Stars and use them.

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Collecting Star Tokens in Brawl Stars Through Various Game Modes

After the return of the Mega Boxes, fans can finally use the Star Tokens in Brawl Stars to get their hands on various special items for their favorite characters. Here's how you can earn Star Tokens:

• Launch Brawl Stars and head to the Play section from the menu.
• While browsing game modes, look for the ones with the special icon for Star Tokens on them.
• Every game mode with the special Star Token item can give you the Star Tokens upon playing.
• Showdown, Wipeout, Drum Roll, and Mirror game modes will surely deliver Star Tokens to players upon winning them.
• One can also achieve Star Token drops from special events in Brawl Stars. These drops can be achieved through special challenges available in the Club menu.

The Star Token drops can ask players to complete specific challenges to obtain the currency. These challenges may include objectives that may require a team. The Club challenges drops are available for a limited time, and the game replaces them with newer challenges every week.

To earn the Star Tokens, one must win their matches to obtain them. Losing a match in the specific game modes will not drop any Star Tokens to players. Once they have enough Star Tokens, gamers can unlock Mega Boxes for cosmetics, and other gears for the Brawlers.

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Battlegrounds Mobile India is one of the most popular games in the country. The game is a battle royale with just one goal for the players: to be the last one standing in the match. 100 players drop down on a map and loot, eliminate enemies and be the last one standing to win. The game has many guns that players can use to eliminate the enemies. However, most players prefer using assault rifles in BGMI.

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Best Assault Rifle in BGMI To Use In 2024

BGMI offers a number of assault rifles (ARs) to choose from in the game. Each AR has a different damage and recoil. The gun players choose usually dictates the kind of mastery they have in the game. Here is a list of ARs in the game with their damage level and the ammo they use: 

Most of these guns are found throughout all the maps in the game. G36C is the only gun that is not available on all of the maps. The gun uses 5.56mm ammo and deals damage of 43 HP to the enemies. The players who enjoy using 5.56 mm ammo guns usually choose the M416. This gun is available in all the maps and has decent recoil control when all the attachments are used on it. It is a great gun for mid and close-range fights. 

For the ones who want to deal more close-range damage to their enemies, they use the mighty AKM. The gun uses 7.62 mm ammo and just uses the compensator. It takes a lot of patience and practice to master the AKM. However, the AKM and the M416 are the most used guns in the game