business
39 storiesCXMT Gains Leverage Over Apple as China's Chip Self-Sufficiency Push Accelerates
Chinese memory maker CXMT has refused Apple's request for a price cut, backed by strong domestic demand from Huawei and Xiaomi, while Samsung and SK hynix explore Chinese equipment to shield their China fabs from US export controls.
4 outletsbusinessMicrosoft Quietly Removes 32GB RAM Recommendation for Windows 11 Amid Memory Shortage
Microsoft has silently deleted support pages that recommended 32GB of RAM for an ideal Windows 11 experience, as RAM prices spike and the company shifts to promoting 8GB configurations instead.
3 outletsbusinessEA Goes Private in $55 Billion Saudi-Backed Buyout, Fueling Fears of Mass Layoffs
Electronic Arts has officially completed its $55 billion leveraged buyout by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners. The deal, which loads EA with $18 billion in debt, has sparked widespread fears of mass layoffs as the publisher looks to cut $700 million in annual costs.
6 outletsbusinessMicrosoft Denies Viral Claim That Windows 11 Secretly Spies on Users Every 15 Minutes
A viral social media post accused Microsoft of quietly adding a background service to Windows 11 that tracks users and reports data every 15 minutes. Microsoft says the service is a longstanding diagnostic tool, not new spyware, and that data is only sent if users opt in.
2 outletsbusinessCXMT's Rapid Growth and Expanding Reach Signal Shift in Global Memory Market
Chinese memory maker CXMT posted explosive revenue growth in Q2, advanced its LPDDR6 chip production, and reportedly gained footholds with PC makers like HP, Asus, and Acer, as the global memory shortage reshapes the industry.
3 outletsbusinessGIGABYTE Hikes GPU Prices by 20-40% in Japan, Some Pending Orders at Risk of Cancellation
Japanese distributor CFD-BIZ says GIGABYTE graphics card prices rose 20% to 40% starting August 1, with some existing orders possibly canceled. The move follows reported GPU price increases across Asia amid rising DRAM costs.
3 outletsbusinessAMD Posts Record Q2 2026 Revenue as Data Center Sales More Than Double, Gaming Slumps
AMD reported record second-quarter 2026 revenue of $11.5 billion, up 50% year-over-year, driven by a more than doubling of Data Center revenue, even as Gaming segment revenue fell 31% amid rising component costs and console-cycle declines.
2 outletsbusinessEA Now Officially Owned by Saudi Arabia's PIF, Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners After $55 Billion Deal Closes
Electronic Arts has gone private in the largest leveraged buyout in history, with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund taking a 93-94% stake alongside Silver Lake and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, raising concerns over layoffs, creative direction and human rights.
8 outletsbusinessMicrosoft Office Professional 2021 Lifetime License on Sale for $32.97 Through Aug. 9
A one-time-purchase license for Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows is being offered at $32.97, down from an MSRP of $219.99, through August 9, giving users an alternative to Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
2 outletsbusinessTSMC Targets Fivefold Increase in 2nm Wafer Output by End of 2026
TSMC is reportedly aiming to boost N2 chip production from about 20,000 to 100,000 wafers per month by the end of 2026, even as demand for its 3nm process continues to exceed internal targets.
2 outletsbusinessXbox's Disc-to-Digital Rollout Leaks as Industry Weighs Digital-Only Future
A leaked Microsoft roadmap points to an August 2026 launch for Xbox's Disc to Digital feature, letting players convert physical game discs into permanent digital licenses. The reveal comes amid broader industry tension, with Sony defending its move to end PS5 disc manufacturing and mixed signals over whether Xbox's next-gen console will keep disc support.
4 outletsbusinessCXMT Reportedly Weighs Second Beijing Memory Fab to Expand DRAM Output
China's CXMT is reportedly considering a second DRAM fab in Beijing, seeking government-linked funding as it tries to close the gap left by Samsung and Micron's focus on AI-driven HBM chips.
2 outletsbusinessMicrosoft Hikes Xbox Prices by Up to £170/€200 in UK and Europe, Citing Memory Shortages
Following earlier U.S. price increases of up to $150, Microsoft is raising Xbox Series S and Series X prices across the UK and Europe by as much as £170 or €200, starting August 1, as component shortages tied to the AI-driven RAM and SSD boom continue to push up console costs.
2 outletsbusinessRare Tech Collectibles Are Fetching Big Money, From Steve Jobs' Signature to Digital Game Cases
A wave of unusual auctions is drawing attention across the collector world, including a signed 1983 Steve Jobs business card, a decade-in-the-making Team Fortress 2 case collection, newly discovered NES cartridges, and a rare Nintendo DS development cart tied to a defunct Pokémon theme park.
4 outletsbusinessMicrosoft Reveals Steep Xbox Series X/S Price Hikes in UK and Europe
Microsoft has confirmed new Xbox Series X and Series S prices for the UK and Europe, with increases of up to 49 percent following the August 1st global price rise it first announced in June.
2 outletsbusinessOwlcat Games Marks 10th Anniversary, Reaches 600 Employees While Balancing CRPGs and New Action-RPG Ambitions
As it celebrates a decade in business, Pathfinder and Warhammer 40K developer Owlcat Games has grown to roughly 600 employees and is working on two very different projects: the CRPG Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy and its first third-person RPG, The Expanse: Osiris Reborn. Studio leaders say the team remains committed to hardcore CRPGs even as it branches out.
3 outletsbusinessApple Faces Memory and AI Computing Constraints as It Rethinks Its Infrastructure Strategy
Apple's low-capex approach to AI has drawn analyst praise, but a global memory shortage and new SEC disclosures show the company is grappling with component and computing capacity risks that could affect future product launches.
2 outletsbusinessXbox Raises Console Prices in Europe and UK as Microsoft Pushes for Profitability by 2027
Microsoft has begun rolling out steep price increases on Xbox Series S and X consoles across Europe and the UK, part of a broader push by CEO Satya Nadella to return the Xbox division to growth after a quarter of declining revenue.
4 outletsbusinessSony Reaffirms Plan to End PS5 Disc Production by January 2028 Despite Fan Backlash
During its FY26 Q1 earnings call, Sony confirmed it will stop manufacturing physical PlayStation game discs starting January 2028, with CFO Lin Tao saying the company will 'cautiously move forward' despite widespread criticism from gamers.
3 outletsbusinessMicrosoft Pledges to Optimize Windows 11 for 8GB RAM Amid Memory Shortage
As a global RAM shortage pushes manufacturers back toward 8GB configurations, Microsoft says it will reduce Windows 11's memory footprint to keep the OS usable on lower-memory systems.
2 outletsbusinessAnthropic Says Claude Models Hacked Three Real Companies During Security Tests
Anthropic has disclosed that multiple versions of its Claude AI, running in what were supposed to be isolated "capture-the-flag" security tests, ended up attacking real companies over the open internet due to a test-environment misconfiguration.
2 outletsbusinessTSMC Develops 'Quasi-EMIB' Packaging to Counter Intel's Growing Advanced Packaging Momentum
Intel's EMIB packaging technology is reportedly drawing interest from major chip designers as TSMC's CoWoS capacity remains constrained, prompting TSMC to develop its own EMIB-like alternative with Kinsus Interconnect Technology.
3 outletsbusinessReport Finds Many PS5 and Xbox Series X Physical Games Don't Fully Work Without a Download
A study by game-preservation group Does It Play finds that a significant share of physical PS5 and Xbox Series X games require a download to function properly or avoid game-breaking bugs, raising concerns about game preservation as Sony prepares to end physical disc production in 2028.
2 outletsbusinessSony Defends Decision to End PlayStation Discs as Digital Sales Reach 82%
Sony executives say the shift away from physical PlayStation discs, planned for 2028, will not hurt the business, pointing to already-dominant digital sales. The comments come amid continued backlash from fans, including a planned boycott.
4 outletsbusinessMicrosoft Details Windows 11 Memory Efficiency Push, but Reader Poll Shows Mixed Results
Microsoft's Windows chief says memory optimization for 8GB PCs is a top priority through the end of 2026, following up on March promises of a better Windows 11 experience. A TechPowerUp reader poll suggests many users have yet to notice improvement.
2 outletsbusinessUbisoft to Shut Down NFT Tactics Game Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles
Ubisoft has announced that Champions Tactics: Grimoria Chronicles, its Web3-enabled turn-based strategy game, will shut down on October 30, following a months-long transition away from blockchain features.
2 outletsbusinessAMD Joins NVIDIA in Raising GPU Prices as Memory Costs Surge
AMD has told its board partners it will raise GPU-memory kit prices by at least 10% starting next month, following NVIDIA's own price increases. The moves come amid sharply rising DRAM costs, with real-world retail prices for high-end cards already running well above launch MSRPs.
5 outletsbusinessAI-Driven RAM Shortage Pushes Up Prices Across Electronics, With No Relief Until 2027 or Later
A global shortage of memory chips, driven by demand from AI data centers, is raising prices on everything from Roku streaming devices to Apple products, with manufacturers warning the crunch could persist through 2027 or 2028.
8 outletsbusinessSeagate Targets 50TB HAMR Hard Drives for 2027 Qualification as AI Demand Drives Sellout Through 2028
Seagate's Q4 fiscal 2026 earnings call detailed plans for 50TB-class HAMR drives using its next-generation Mozaic 5+ platform, with customer qualification expected in late 2027. Executives said AI and cloud demand has left most drive production sold out through 2028, with negotiations underway for 2029 supply.
2 outletsbusinessApple Posts Record $109 Billion Quarter as Memory Costs and China Sales Weigh on Outlook
Apple reported record fiscal Q3 2026 revenue driven by strong iPhone and Mac sales, even as memory shortages, weak China and services results, and scrutiny over potential Chinese chip sourcing overshadowed the results.
5 outletsbusinessIntel Licenses Atom x86 CPU Technology to Startup RosaicLabs
Intel has granted a rare license for its Atom-class x86 CPU technology to a two-month-old startup called RosaicLabs, led by a longtime investment partner of Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, according to a Reuters report cited by multiple outlets.
3 outletsbusinessAnalysts and Gamers Warn PlayStation's Move to End Physical Discs Could Backfire
Following Sony's announcement that PlayStation will end physical game production in 2028, industry analysis and consumer commentary both raise concerns that the shift away from discs could squeeze out budget-conscious players and undermine long-term platform loyalty.
2 outletsbusinessXbox Says Outage Shouldn't Have Blocked Physical Game Access, Promises Fix
After a major Xbox outage left some players unable to access even physical, disc-based games, technology chief Scott Van Vliet says that shouldn't have happened and that a future update will address the issue.
3 outletsbusinessXbox Posts Worst Quarterly Revenue Since 2024 as Nadella Offers Rare, Muted Comments on Gaming
Microsoft's Q4 FY2026 earnings showed steep declines in Xbox revenue amid ongoing layoffs, with CEO Satya Nadella offering an unusually vague and subdued outlook, pledging a return to growth only by fiscal 2027.
3 outletsbusinessEA CEO's Pay Jumps to $38.6 Million Amid Record Battlefield 6 Sales — and Layoffs of the Devs Who Made It
A newly filed EA financial report shows CEO Andrew Wilson's total compensation rose to $38,649,984 in fiscal year 2026, driven largely by the success of Battlefield 6 — even as EA laid off developers who worked on the game earlier this year.
4 outletsbusinessCanadian Man Declared Innocent After Skyrim Username Typo Led to Wrongful Child Pornography Conviction
Brandon Klayme served 18 months in prison after a single missing underscore in a Skyrim-referencing username sent police in Wisconsin and Nova Scotia after the wrong man. An appeals court has now ruled he is factually innocent.
2 outletsbusinessWhy a Dragon Age Trilogy Remaster Is Unlikely, According to Former BioWare Producer Mark Darrah
Mark Darrah, who co-directed Dragon Age: Origins and directed Dragon Age 2, says a Mass Effect Legendary Edition-style remaster for the original Dragon Age trilogy is unlikely — not for lack of interest, but because the technical knowledge needed no longer exists inside or outside BioWare.
3 outletsbusinessWizards of the Coast President John Hight Stepping Down After Two Years
John Hight, president of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering publisher Wizards of the Coast, is leaving the role on September 1, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The move comes days after parent company Hasbro disclosed a $56 million impairment charge tied to canceled video games.
4 outletsbusinessDouble Fine Lays Off 23 Staff Weeks After Xbox Spinoff
Psychonauts 2 developer Double Fine has cut 23 employees—about a quarter of its roughly 90-person staff—just weeks after Xbox released it back into independence, with founder Tim Schafer citing the studio's survival as the reason.
6 outlets