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Drop Into Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4, Now on Xbox Game Pass

High on Life also returned to Xbox Game Pass.

The Tony Hawk games were some of my favorites when I was growing up. The soundtracks helped form my musical taste and the games helped propel me and my friends to learn to skateboard. So I’m grabbing my (virtual) deck and returning to some familiar gaps and rails in the revamped Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4, which are on Xbox Game Pass now as one game.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, a CNET Editors’ Choice award pick, offers hundreds of games you can play on your Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and PC or mobile device for $20 a month. A subscription gives you access to a large library of games, with new titles, including Doom: The Dark Ages, added monthly, plus other benefits such as online multiplayer and deals on non-Game Pass titles.

Read more: Play Classic Games From the ’80s and ’90s on Xbox Game Pass Now

Here are the games Microsoft added to Game Pass recently. You can also check out what games Microsoft brought to the service in June, like Call of Duty: WWII.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.

Tony Hawk is back to shred in new areas, perform gnarly tricks and bring you more great music along the way. This revamped version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4 also brings new skaters to the roster. Game Pass subscribers who bought the Deluxe Edition Upgrade also get the Doom Slayer as a playable skater and other perks. 

High on Life

Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now.

Microsoft removed this game from Xbox Game Pass in June 2024 but the company is bringing the potty humor-filled game back to the service. You’ve just escaped an alien invasion and have befriended an alien that’s also a talking gun. You and other talking guns — and a talking, psychotic knife named Knifey — will team up to stop the invasion of Earth and bring an end to an intergalactic drug cartel. 

Legend of Mana (console)

Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now.

As soon as you embark on a quest to find the mythical Mana Tree, you discover the world map is empty! So the only way to find it is to explore the world, talk to people and take on fearsome monsters in this remastered, classic RPG. This version of the game also has graphical improvements, a rearranged soundtrack and other modern enhancements.  

Trials of Mana (console)

Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now.

If you enjoyed the remastered version of Legend of Mana, you’ll likely enjoy this remastered version of Trials of Mana, another entry in the Mana series. You set off on an adventure to find the Mana Tree and protect the world from chaos. This version of the classic RPG includes graphic improvements, character voiceover support and a new ability system. 

Ultimate Chicken Horse

Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now.

The name of this game was enough to draw my attention and the in-game raccoon sealed the deal for me. This party-platforming game has you race against others to see who can get to the end of the level first. But each player gets to build the level as they play. So you can set traps for others — just make sure you don’t take yourself out. 

The Ascent

Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass Standard subscribers can play now.

Microsoft is bringing this game back to Game Pass almost a year after the company removed it from the service. In this cyberpunk-themed, Diablo-style action RPG, you control a formerly enslaved worker after the collapse of the megacorporation The Ascent Group. The area devolves into chaos with criminal factions vying for control over the different districts. It’s up to you to stop these other factions and uncover what happened to the defunct corporation.

Minami Lane

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers can play now.

Welcome to the cozy world of Minami Lane! This cute management game puts you in charge of maintaining the titular street, opening new shops and making sure everyone is enjoying their stay in the area. Build ramen shops for the foodies, open book stores for the bookworms and customize the street in whatever way you want.

Retro Classics gets 5 more games

Microsoft launched its Retro Classics collection of games in May and Microsoft said more than 1 million people have already enjoyed some nostalgic games. To celebrate this milestone, the company brought these five classic games to the collection. 

  • Cosmic Commuter
  • Heart of China
  • Skiing
  • Solar Storm
  • Subterranea

Games that left Game Pass

While Microsoft added those games to Game Pass, the company also removed six other games from the service. So you’ll have to buy these games separately now if you still need to finish your campaign or any sidequests.

For more on Xbox, discover other games available on Game Pass now, read our hands-on review of the gaming service and learn which Game Pass plan is right for you. You can also check out what to know about upcoming Xbox game price hikes.

Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

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Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

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Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know

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