According to Linus Media Group's Linus Sebastian, mentioning a console-like $500 price tag brought the energy of the room down.
The update also brings with it new versions of drivers and firmwares for system critical things like GPU and power management systems.
The update brings two new maps, a new Ranked season, a fresh Operation pass and over 200 "never-before-released" cosmetic items.
New game reveals, Game Pass announcements and an extended gameplay trailer for Tides of Annihilation are also on the menu.
While Microsoft has yet to announce the showcase, it reportedly features Bloober Team's Silent Hill 2 for Xbox Series X/S.
Asus CFO Nick Wu believes that there is demand in the market for premium, high-end handheld gaming PCs that the ROG Ally devices can fill.
"Gaming moves forward when players and developers have more ways to play and create," wrote the Microsoft Gaming boss on social media.
New features like PlayFab Game Saves and GameInput API will allow Xbox Play Anywhere to work across platforms more seamlessly.
While support will continue, there won't be any more content as the "combined focus" of Halo Studios is on "new experiences."
"Give me a living, simulated world! True non-linearity!" said Daniel Vávra, who also criticized the "loading screens and level grinding."
A silent Xbox/Windows tweak resulted in locks, launches, even save wipes for families, before Microsoft rolled it back.
Microsoft also confirms that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is leaving the service on November 15th alongside other titles.
The full-screen UI for handhelds offers a more console-like experience and will roll out to other OEMs in "the coming months."
New screenshots showcase how the menus for the co-op adventure would have looked, including rank tiers and an 80s-style aesthetic.
Christofer Sundberg, who now heads up Liquid Swords, says that "extremely few" from the original Just Cause team remain at the studio.
"There was just the tension and the horror that you were pulling out of every location, and I loved that," says Jerry O'Flaherty.
Game Pass subscribers are being forced to purchase the full game as it exits the service just weeks before its PS5 debut.
"By firing ALL of Ensemble, he didn’t have to pay for our studio for 3 years, and he didn’t care about Titan," says Sandy Petersen.
The next mainline Halo title will reportedly feature multiplayer, but Microsoft is seemingly continuing on the remake path until then.
The 1 percent growth in Xbox games and services was referred to by Microsoft as being "relatively unchanged" over previous quarters.
