A surprise issue for free Notepad subscribers this week: an Xbox scoop.

You can read this issue on the web right here.

This is the free edition of Notepad. Start your free trial for access to all stories.

Xbox Cloud Gaming will let you stream your own games in November

Microsoft is planning to support the streaming of Xbox game libraries next month. Sources familiar with Microsoft's plans tell The Verge that the company is getting ready to test the ability to stream games that you own that aren't part of the existing Xbox Game Pass library.

As part of a long-running project known as Project Lapland inside of Microsoft, the software giant has been readying its Xbox Cloud Gaming servers to be able to support streaming thousands of games. I'm told Microsoft will first test its new Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming capabilities with Xbox Insiders in November, before expanding them to more Xbox users.

The Xbox Cloud Gaming expansion comes the same month Microsoft plans to enable game purchases in its Xbox mobile app for Android in the US. Microsoft is able to do this thanks to a court ruling earlier this week that forces Google to stop requiring Google Play Billing for apps in the Play Store on November 1st.

Xbox president Sarah Bond revealed yesterday that "starting in November, players will be able to play and purchase Xbox games directly from the Xbox App on Android." Once Microsoft's work to enable a full game library on Xbox Cloud Gaming is complete, you'll be able to purchase an Xbox game on Android and immediately stream it to your device.

Microsoft first announced it would support your game library on Xbox Cloud Gaming in 2022, but it never launched that year. I understand the work has been complicated by having to prepare key infrastructure for thousands of games, instead of the hundreds that currently exist on Xbox Game Pass. While thousands of games will soon be available through Xbox Cloud Gaming, I'm told some publishers will hold certain games back due to licensing requirements or deals.

Microsoft is also working on a browser-based Xbox mobile store that it was originally planning to launch in July. The store will initially include deals and in-game items but will grow to cover first-party games eventually. Microsoft said in August that testing had begun on the web-based mobile store and that "work is progressing well and we will have more to share in the future."

The pad

You can sign up to test Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 if your PC is up to it. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 is releasing on November 19th, but Microsoft is holding a technical alpha later this month to stress test the game's core services. If you have a capable PC gaming rig, then you can sign up for the alpha test. Free flight and a limited number of aircraft will be available for test purposes.
OneDrive is getting a new mobile app, better search, and colorful folders in File Explorer. Microsoft held a OneDrive event this week on Teams, unveiling a bunch of new features. The improved search experience will make it easier to find files or folders, and colored folders will also now appear in File Explorer on Windows 11. Microsoft is also about to release a new OneDrive mobile app that has been redesigned with AI-powered features to surface memories and help you find photos using natural language search.
Microsoft made a song about OneDrive. During the OneDrive event, Microsoft started playing a song about the cloud storage service. It included lyrics like "OneDrive, it's the king of the cloud… never loses a file." It was written by the OneDrive team with the assistance of AI, and I hope to never have to hear it again.
Passkeys on Windows are getting easier to use. Microsoft is improving the native experience for using passkeys in Windows, creating a plug-in model for third-party passkey providers, and syncing passkeys across Windows 11 devices. Microsoft is partnering with 1Password, Bitwarden, and others to make passkey integration into Windows 11 even better if you're using a third-party app. The redesigned Windows Hello experience also looks greatly improved, and all of these features are coming to Windows Insiders in the coming months.
Satya Nadella reportedly tries to meet with two CEOs every day. Nadella is living the LinkedIn life of reaching out to other business leaders for conversations every day. The Information reports that Nadella's close relationships with other CEOs led to him convincing Mustafa Suleyman to lead the new Microsoft AI division earlier this year.
The future of Halo is being built with Unreal Engine 5. Microsoft's 343 Industries is rebranding to Halo Studios as it switches to Unreal Engine 5 for future Halo games. Multiple games are in development, and Halo Studios demonstrated Master Chief in Unreal Engine 5 this week as part of its "Project Foundry" research tool. The engine change for Halo comes just months after I exclusively revealed in Notepad that Microsoft was working on some form of a Halo: Combat Evolved remaster.
The Windows Insider program is 10 years old. I can't believe it's been a decade since Microsoft first started publicly testing prerelease builds of Windows that were previously limited to full-time employees. Microsoft is holding a special Windows Insider webcast on 10/10 at 10AM PT (get it?), so maybe we'll get some hints of what's to come for the next 10 years of Windows testing.
A great little Windows 11 app that brings back the calendar flyout. I've missed being able to look at my calendar from a simple click in the system tray. Microsoft had this feature in Windows 10, but it still hasn't made its way over to Windows 11 after the company rebuilt the taskbar. Thankfully, there's a $3.99 third-party app called Calendar Flyout that brings it back.
The Surface Duo is dead. Microsoft has issued the final security update to the Surface Duo 2, ending support for the device on October 21st. Windows Central reports that Microsoft only ever delivered one major Android OS update for the $1,500 device, after dropping support for the original Surface Duo last year.
Microsoft Azure is now running Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs. Azure is the first cloud service running Nvidia's Blackwell GB200 GPU servers. Nvidia also delivered a similar package to OpenAI, as Blackwell is reportedly set for mass production later this year.
Excel gets a new Focus Cell feature. Microsoft has started testing a new Excel feature that improves the visibility of the active cell. Focus Cell applies a highlight to the row and column, making it easier to identify the data you're working with. Microsoft 365 beta testers can access this new Focus Cell feature right now.

Write in with any questions you have about Microsoft, and I'll try to answer as many as I can. You can reach me via email notepad@theverge.com. If you've heard about some secret project Microsoft is working on you can reach me confidentially on Signal, I'm tomwarren.01 there.

Notepad subscribers get exclusive analysis and deep-dive breakdowns of the biggest Microsoft stories of the moment. Sign up now and get your first 30 days free.

START YOUR TRIAL