❌

Normal view

Xbox is closing down Hellblade creator Ninja Theory

15 June 2026 at 22:13
A screenshot from Hellblade.

Xbox is closing down Ninja Theory, the studio behind the Hellblade series, a source tells The Verge. Staffers were told on a call on Monday about the closure, but they are hoping the studio will find a buyer. The closure comes as "several" Xbox studios at Microsoft, including Compulsion Games and Double Fine, are in "active negotiations" about spinning off, Bloomberg reports.

The closure and negotiations follow Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and chief content officer Matt Booty warning last week of a "reset" at Xbox, laying out several challenges facing Xbox's business - including that it had "over extended" with its studio system and the hardware c …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Fox’s $22B Roku acquisition aims to expand its reach into smart TVs, advertising

15 June 2026 at 19:29

Fox Corporation has agreed to buy Roku Inc. for $160 per share, an approximate enterprise value of $22 billion, the firms announced today.

The acquisition would unite Fox’s broadcast channels, including Fox, Fox News, Fox Business, and FS1, as well as its streaming businesses, including Tubi, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform that Fox bought in 2020, with Roku’s own FAST service, The Roku Channel, and Roku’s streaming hardware business, including its streaming sticks and smart TVs. Roku says it has 100 million households using its platform.

The most valuable part of Roku’s business isn't its hardware, which lost $19.1 million in the quarter ending March 31, 2026, but its the operating system (Roku OS) and advertising business. In that same quarter, Roku’s advertising and subscriptions business posted a gross profit of $584.1 million, with the advertising business pulling in $371 million in revenue. The COVID-19 pandemic helped Roku become profitable in 2021, but the company didn’t see annual profitability again until 2025.

Read full article

Comments

© Getty

Xbox turmoil continues with a studio closure and executive departures

15 June 2026 at 18:08
Vector collage of the Xbox logo.

Last week, Xbox boss Asha Sharma sent a memo warning of an Xbox "reset" ahead of expected layoffs, and today, Kotaku reported that Xbox plans to shut down Compulsion Games, the studio behind South of Midnight.

Since taking over in February, Sharma has made some big decisions, including cutting the price of Xbox Game Pass and making Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution Xbox console exclusives. But in their "reset" memo, Sharma and chief content officer Matt Booty discussed many challenges facing the Xbox business, including that it has "over extended" with its studio system:

We are the fortunate stewards of industry-defining franch …

Read the full story at The Verge.

UK unveils sweeping social media ban for users under 16

15 June 2026 at 15:36
The ban would apply to a range of social media platforms, including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Survey Sunday: do you still believe in Elon Musk?

14 June 2026 at 19:30

Last week, we ran a sidebar survey asking if Electrek readers still believed in Elon Musk’s vision of a self-driving, robot-built future on Mars. After receiving more than 3,000 responses, here’s what you told us you think about the world’s first trillionaire.

Escales : le monde n'a pas fini de nous surprendre, le voyage continu

Explorer le monde, s'émerveiller devant le vivant, remonter le fil de l'histoire : telle est l'ambition d'Escales. Depuis son lancement sur Futura, cette collection s'enrichit de nouveaux récits, de photographies signées par des auteurs de renommée internationale et de nombreux échanges avec ses...

Voici ce qui se passe vraiment dans votre cerveau quand vous avez un trou de mémoire selon la science

14 June 2026 at 07:00
Imaginez-vous soudain incapable de vous rappeler ce que vous alliez dire. Cette expérience déroutante du « black-out mental » touche chacun d'entre nous. Les neuroscientifiques ont récemment percé certains mystères de ce phénomène qui occupe jusqu'à 20 % de notre temps d'éveil. Que se passe-t-il...

❌