Connect with us

Published

on

In this article

Microsoft’s Xbox Series S (L) and Xbox Series X consoles.
Phil Barker | Future Publishing | Future via Getty Images

Microsoft is bringing its cloud gaming service to Xbox consoles later this year.

The company announced Tuesday that Xbox Cloud Gaming, which lets players stream games rather than having to install them onto a device, would arrive on its new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles as well as older Xbox One machines this holiday.

American tech giants like Microsoft, Google and Amazon are betting on a future of video games beyond consoles, where subscription services and software will play a much greater role.

Though Microsoft is still investing heavily in Xbox hardware, it’s also putting a great deal of focus into Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service that gives players access to a library of over 100 titles for about $15 a month.

Cloud gaming, where games are hosted on remote servers and streamed to users over the internet, is a big part of Microsoft’s strategy. The aim is to attract gamers to the Microsoft ecosystem through a range of different devices.

Currently, Xbox Cloud Gaming is only available on mobile devices and PCs. Now, Microsoft plans to bring it to consoles. It also has a plan to launch cloud gaming on TVs through partnerships with manufacturers and its own dedicated streaming dongles.

Microsoft unveiled the release window for cloud gaming on consoles at the Gamescom video game trade fair. The event normally takes place in Cologne, Germany but has gone online-only this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Japanese rival Sony is also betting on services through its PlayStation Plus subscription offering, which gives gamers access to online multiplayer and select free games every month.

But the company is mainly touting its blockbuster exclusive games in a bid to lure consumers. Hit franchises like The Last of Us and God of War, for example, can only be found on PlayStation platforms.

Microsoft has been spending more aggressively on exclusive content lately, however. The firm last year acquired Bethesda, the iconic video game publisher behind franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, for $7.5 billion.

Video games had a boom year in 2020, as people turned to home entertainment during Covid lockdowns. It’s now an $180 billion industry, according to market researchers IDC. As various countries unwind their pandemic restrictions, it remains to be seen whether the momentum can continue.

Continue Reading

Technology

Lambda, Microsoft agree to multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure deal with Nvidia chips

Published

on

By

Lambda, Microsoft agree to multibillion-dollar AI infrastructure deal with Nvidia chips

In this photo illustration, a person is holding a smartphone with the logo of US GPU hardware company Lambda Inc. (Lambda Labs) on screen in front of website.

Timon Schneider | SOPA Images | AP

Cloud computing startup Lambda announced on Monday a multibillion-dollar deal with Microsoft for artificial intelligence infrastructure powered by tens of thousands of Nvidia chips.

The agreement comes as Lambda benefits from surging consumer demand for AI-powered services, including AI chatbots and assistants, CEO Stephen Balaban told CNBC’s “Money Movers” on Monday.

“We’re in the middle of probably the largest technology buildout that we’ve ever seen,” Balaban said. “The industry is going really well right now, and there’s just a lot of people who are using ChatGPT and Claude and the different AI services that are out there.”

Balaban said the partnership will continue the two companies’ long-term relationship, which goes back to 2018.

A specific dollar amount was not disclosed in the deal announcement.

Read more CNBC tech news

Founded in 2012, Lambda provides cloud services and software for training and deploying AI models, servicing over 200 thousand developers, and also rents out servers powered by Nvidia’s graphics processing units.

The new infrastructure with Microsoft will include the NVIDIA GB300 NVL72 systems, which are also deployed by hyperscaler CoreWeave, according to a release.

“We love Nvidia’s product,” Balaban said. “They have the best accelerator product on the market.”

The company has dozens of data centers and is planning to continue not only leasing data centers but also constructing its own infrastructure as well, Balaban said.

Earlier in October, Lambda announced plans to open an AI factory in Kansas City in 2026. The site is expected to launch with 24 megawatts of capacity with the potential to scale up to over 100 MW.

OpenAI signs $38B deal with Amazon: Here's what to know

Continue Reading

Technology

Tesla faces widening federal probe into door handle safety issues

Published

on

By

Tesla faces widening federal probe into door handle safety issues

Tesla models Y and 3 are displayed at a Tesla showroom in Corte Madera, California, on Dec. 20, 2024.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

Tesla has been ordered to provide records to U.S. federal auto safety regulators to comply with a sweeping investigation into possible safety defects with the company’s flush-mounted, retractable door handles that can lead to people getting trapped.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a letter to Elon Musk‘s automaker that the agency continued to receive complaints from Tesla owners after the regulators initiated a probe in September.

Owners said they were unable to enter or exit their cars due to battery power loss and other situations impeding normal use of the doorhandles.

In some cases, owners’ children were trapped inside hot vehicles, requiring first responder interventions or breaking windows to open the doors.

NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigations said they had “received 16 reports of exterior door handles becoming inoperative due to low 12VDC battery voltage in certain MY 2021 Tesla Model Y vehicles,” as of October 27, 2025.

Read more CNBC tech news

The agency began the electronic door handles investigation into Tesla following a Bloomberg report bringing incidents to light. The news agency reported that people were injured or died after becoming trapped in Tesla vehicles after collisions or battery power losses that prevented doors from opening normally.

Tesla design leader Franz Von Holzhausen has said in subsequent press interviews that the company would change the design of its door handles.

Tesla competitors, including Rivian, are also reconsidering flush-mounted, or retractable door handle designs.

Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schäfer recently said his company’s customers don’t even want the flush-mounted, electronic doorhandles and VW has no plans to adopt them.

Meanwhile, China is expected to implement new vehicle safety standards around door handles, including a requirement to have more clearly marked, accessible and easier-to-use emergency, interior door release mechanisms.

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has released draft standards and comments are open through November 22.

The NHTSA Tesla probe seeks records concerning all model year, “2021 Tesla Model Y vehicles manufactured for sale or lease in the United States,” as well as “peer vehicles,” including Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from model years 2017 to 2022, and “systems related to opening doors including, door handles, door latches, 12VDC batteries, software,” and other components.

Tesla has until Dec. 10 to provide the records.

While Tesla can seek an extension on the deadline from NHTSA, it may face fines of “$27,874 per violation per day, with a maximum of $139,356,994” if the company either fails to or refuses to “respond completely, accurately, or in a timely manner” to NHTSA’s information requests, the agency cautioned in its letter.

Continue Reading

Technology

Cramer: Amazon-OpenAI cloud deal puts an exclamation point on a remarkable few days

Published

on

By

Cramer: Amazon-OpenAI cloud deal puts an exclamation point on a remarkable few days

Continue Reading

Trending