Technologies

Microsoft Layoffs Are Here and These 3 Games Have Already Been Canceled

Microsoft is cutting more than 9,000 jobs — 4% of its global workforce — and as a result, Everwild and the Perfect Dark reboot have been put out to pasture.

Microsoft is moving ahead with mass layoffs, cutting a little less than 4% of its workforce or about 9,000 roles across the company. As a result, multiple games brewing within Xbox Game Studios were canceled, including some fairly high-profile projects.

When reached for comment, Microsoft directed CNET to reports Wednesday by Variety, confirming their accuracy.

«To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness,» Microsoft Gaming chief Phil Spencer wrote in a staff memo Wednesday morning, as published by Variety.

Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty confirmed the game cancellations in an internal email published by Variety, naming Perfect Dark and Everwild specifically, as well as other «unannounced» titles.

«We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio,» Booty wrote in the email. «As part of this, we are closing one of our studios, The Initiative.»

Booty added that the decisions to axe these games «reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape. We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination and commitment.»

What Xbox games have been canceled?

Perhaps the most significant title canceled amid these new layoffs was a reboot of the classic FPS series, Perfect Dark. The studio that had been working on this new title, The Initiative, will be shut down entirely.

The long-awaited new entry in the sci-fi espionage series has been in the works since the studio opened in 2018 and first showed off gameplay footage for the title during an Xbox Games Showcase in June 2024.

Another notable title getting the axe is Everwild, a long-gestating new IP from Rare, the revered British studio Sea of Thieves, which Microsoft acquired in 2002. Over the decades, the studio has also produced the original Donkey King Country games for the SNES, the original Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64, Conker’s Bad Fur Day and the Banjo-Kazooie series.

According to unnamed sources who spoke to Video Games Chronicle, numerous job cuts and a broader restructuring are expected at Rare, resulting in the game’s cancellation. The sources also confirmed reports over the years about Everwild’s somewhat turbulent development, claiming that it had «struggled to nail down a clear direction for the title.»

The game has reportedly been in development for the better part of a decade, being officially announced in 2019, followed by a trailer in 2020. In 2021, reports emerged that development on the game had been «rebooted.»

The other title reportedly put out to pasture was an untitled new MMORPG from Zenimax Online Studios, the creator of the popular MMO Elder Scrolls Online, which has reportedly reached upward of 25 million players since launching in 2014.

Details about what this title was are sparse, with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier reporting that the game went by the codename «Blackbird» and had been in the works since 2018. Windows Central said in its report about Perfect Dark’s cancellation that Blackbird was once intended to act as a successor of sorts to Elder Scrolls Online.

David Lumb, a senior reporter at CNET, noted how these new developments at Microsoft underscored the recent job instability in the gaming industry, as well as the uncertainty the cancellations are sure to cause among gamers.

«The biggest losses are to the seemingly thousands of people who are out of a job in a tumultuous industry that’s seen record layoffs year over year,» Lumb explained, adding, «The cancellations of big games like the upcoming Perfect Dark and Rare’s next game Everwild are concerning for Microsoft’s next few years of releases, but also to confidence that a game being teased at, say, an Xbox Showcase will end up coming out.»

According to Variety, all games that were shown off during the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase in June will continue being developed.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.