Microsoft adds over 50 ‘Retro Classics' to Game Pass
Microsoft has announced that a new 'Retro Classics' collection is now available to Game Pass subscribers. Reminiscent of the Nintendo Switch Online classic games library, the collection includes Pitfall, Grand Prix, and more than 50 other Activision titles from the 1980s and 1990s. It's not as many titles as the 1,300 retro games that Antstream, Microsoft's partner in the offering, has available on its streaming service, but it won't cost Game Pass subscribers any extra.
Retro Classics, which Microsoft writes is part of its 'commitment to game preservation and backwards compatibility, is available on Xbox consoles, PC, or via Xbox cloud gaming on compatible devices like some LG and Samsung smart TVs, and the Meta Quest headset. Other games included in the collection include Cosmic Ark, Mechwarrior 2: 31st Century Combat, and Atlantis.
Based on screenshots, it looks like the collection will include titles from the original PlayStation, the SNES, MS-DOS, and more. Players will be able to collect achievements and participate in events like tournaments and community challenges, as well. Microsoft says this is only the start: the collection will expand to include more than 100 games from Activision and Blizzard, eventually. Like Nintendo's retro collection, you're out of luck if you don't have Microsoft's gaming subscription, as the titles in the collection aren't available for sale separately.
Antstream Arcade separately announced a temporary deal for Game Pass subscribers. Until June 4th, members can sign up for a year of access to Antstream's library, which includes more than 1,300 games, for $9.99 via the Microsoft Store.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
32 minutes ago
- Forbes
Google Confirms New Gmail AI Update — What It Means To Your Privacy
Google is rightly proud of the fact that Gmail remains the most popular email platform worldwide, with nearly 2 billion users. To maintain this position, Gmail needs to evolve, and Google has been ensuring that it doesn't get left behind as AI makes its mark on email, just as it is doing in most other areas. We've seen AI-powered search for Gmail introduced, and I praised the security implications at the time. When Google introduced summary cards to Gmail, I inquired about potential security risks. I was assured that the feature was protected by the same AI-powered defenses safeguarding the rest of Gmail. Now, Google has just dropped a surprise Gmail update for Workspace users that brings AI-thread summaries on Android and iOS, automatically, to any email content where Gemini thinks they will be useful. I have no security concerns regarding this update; however, there are privacy questions that need to be addressed. So, let's dive in. It has been almost a year now since, on June 24, 2024, Google announced it was rolling out the Gemini AI side panel for Gmail Workspace users. This enabled users, on the web, to summarize long email threads and get help with both drafting and replying to emails. For smartphone users, however, the process was a little convoluted and involved tapping an option to open Gemini, which would then show an email thread summary. All somewhat disjointed and far from what you might expect from an AI-powered user interface experience. That has now changed. In a May 29 posting to the Google Workspace Updates blog, it was confirmed that, with immediate effect, AI summaries would be available at the top of the email content for messages where a summary is helpful. 'Gemini will synthesize all the key points from the email thread,' Google said, 'and any replies thereafter will also be a part of the synopsis, keeping all summaries up to date.' Perhaps unsurprisingly, my email inbox has been filling up with people asking about the privacy implications of this new feature. Consumers need not be concerned as this update is for Google Workspace users only, including business, enterprise, Google One AI Premium and those with the Gemini Education add-on. Gemini Privacy Table Google Google has emphasised that, alongside all other AI-driven features, Gmail is 'committed to protecting user data and prioritizing privacy.' As such, Google said, 'your existing Google Workspace protections are automatically applied.' Gemini employs the same levels of security as the rest of Google Workspace, in other words. Interactions with Gemini stay within the organization, Google stated, adding that it does not share content outside of the organization without express permission. Finally, admins can disable the default setting for users in the admin console, while end users must have both smart features and personalization enabled in Gmail for the feature to function.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
1 Magnificent Vanguard ETF to Confidently Buy With $600 During the Stock Market Rebound
The S&P 500 is on the road to recovery after plunging by as much as 19% from its all-time high in April. Information technology is the dominant sector in the S&P 500, and it's home to trillion-dollar giants like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple. The Vanguard Information Technology ETF can help investors gain broad exposure to powerful trends like artificial intelligence (AI). 10 stocks we like better than Vanguard Information Technology ETF › The S&P 500 was down by as much as 19% from its all-time high after President Trump announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2. But it erased those losses since then because several countries have come to the table to negotiate new trade deals and the federal Court of International Trade ruled many of the tariffs were illegal, lowering the odds of an economic downturn. The S&P 500 is the most diversified of the major U.S. stock market indexes, hosting 500 companies from 11 sectors of the economy. But information technology is the largest sector in the index by far, representing 31.7% of its total market capitalization (value). It's home to the world's three largest companies: Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple, which are worth a combined $9.85 trillion. The Vanguard Information Technology ETF (NYSEMKT: VGT) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests exclusively in information technology stocks. It outperformed the S&P 500 every year, on average, since it was established in 2004, on the back of powerful technological trends like cloud computing, enterprise software, and now artificial intelligence (AI). Investors can buy one share in the Vanguard Information Technology ETF for around $600, and here's why it might be a good move as the broader market continues to recover. The Vanguard Information Technology ETF invests across the entire information technology sector, whether companies are in the S&P 500 or not. As a result, it currently holds 307 stocks spread across 12 subsegments of the sector. The semiconductor segment has the largest weighting in the ETF at 26.8%, followed by systems software at 21% and technology hardware and storage at 18.8%. Companies like Nvidia and Broadcom are the main reason the semiconductor segment has such a dominant representation. Both companies are leading suppliers of data center chips and components specifically designed for AI development, and they are experiencing more demand than they can possibly meet right now. As a result, Nvidia stock soared 1,490% over the last five years, catapulting the company to a $3.45 trillion valuation. Broadcom stock is up 726% over the same period, and the company is now worth $1.1 trillion. But Nvidia, Broadcom, Microsoft, and Apple aren't the only leading AI stocks in the Vanguard ETF. It holds dozens of others that typically receive less attention but are of very high quality, and here are just a few of them: Stock Vanguard ETF Portfolio Weighting Salesforce 1.75% Palantir Technologies 1.73% Oracle 1.59% ServiceNow 1.36% Adobe 1.14% Advanced Micro Devices 1.09% Palo Alto Networks 0.87% CrowdStrike 0.75% Micron Technology 0.61% Snowflake 0.38% Data source: Vanguard. Portfolio weightings are accurate as of April 30, 2025, and are subject to change. Salesforce developed the world's most popular customer relationship management (CRM) platform, where businesses can store client data and track sales. But it has a growing portfolio of AI products like Einstein, a powerful virtual assistant that can write sales emails, instantly summarize phone calls with customers, and produce data-driven insights to help employees drive more revenue. Palantir developed a series of AI-powered software platforms like Foundry, Gotham, and AIP, which help businesses and governments extract more value from their data. Then there is Oracle, which is building some of the most advanced and cost-efficient data centers in the world for developing AI models. Advanced Micro Devices launched a series of graphics processing units (GPUs) for the data center to compete with Nvidia, and it's having quite a bit of success. Micron, on the other hand, makes memory and storage chips, which are increasingly important for processing AI workloads. In fact, Micron's high-bandwidth memory can be found in Nvidia's most powerful GPUs. Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike are two of the world's biggest cybersecurity companies, and AI is central to almost all of their products. It enables their respective platforms to automate tasks like threat detection and incident response, which reduces the workload on human cybersecurity managers and ensures fewer threats slip through the cracks. The Vanguard Information Technology ETF delivered a compound annual return of 12.8% since it was established in 2004, so it has heavily outperformed the S&P 500, which has returned 9.6% per year, on average, over the same period. That 3.2 percentage point difference might not sound like much at face value, but over a long-term period of 22 years, it would result in double the return in dollar terms thanks to the effects of compounding. I'm not suggesting investors should put all of their eggs in one basket, because the technology sector can be very volatile. However, young investors who can afford to take some risk might benefit from a larger allocation to this high-growth segment of the market, especially as megatrends like AI unfold. An investor who placed $50,000 in the S&P 500 in 2004 would be sitting on $342,761 today. But had they split that $50,000 equally and placed $25,000 in the S&P 500 and $25,000 in the Vanguard Information Technology ETF, they would have $485,019 today. That's a life-changing difference in potential returns over the long run. There is a risk that AI fails to live up to the hype, which would dent the valuations of many of the companies in the information technology sector. However, several companies are successfully monetizing AI in its current state already, and its capabilities are only expected to improve from here. As a result, the Vanguard Information Technology ETF might be a great buy right now for long-term investors. Before you buy stock in Vanguard Information Technology ETF, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Vanguard Information Technology ETF wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $651,761!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $826,263!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 978% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 170% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Adobe, Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, CrowdStrike, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, Palantir Technologies, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Snowflake. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and Palo Alto Networks and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Magnificent Vanguard ETF to Confidently Buy With $600 During the Stock Market Rebound was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Victoria Beckham ‘ruined' son Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz's wedding with wild move: Bride ran ‘from the room crying'
Victoria Beckham couldn't help but steal the spotlight at her son Brooklyn's 2022 wedding to Nicola Peltz. A source close to the Peltz family claimed the former Spice Girl 'ruined' the happy couple's big day by stealing their special dance during the reception. The ordeal took place after Grammy Award winner Marc Anthony took the stage to perform. 'Before the song began, Marc Anthony asked Brooklyn to come to the stage, and then announced, 'The most beautiful woman in the room tonight, come on up…Victoria Beckham!'' the insider told People. The move allegedly left the 'Bates Motel' star, 30, feeling 'that Victoria ruined her wedding, and couldn't understand why.' A second source who witnessed the moment said everyone then watched 'Nicola run from the room crying.' 'Nicola felt like Victoria did this on purpose, when she knew it was a pre-planned romantic dance meant for Brooklyn and Nicola. What she couldn't understand was why,' the source added. 'It was such a jaw-dropping moment that it left the whole room in absolute shock — you could hear a pin drop,' the insider continued. 'It wasn't appropriate.' A source close to the couple exclusively tells Page Six that 'everyone in the room witnessed what happened.' 'The shock was palpable. It was deeply hurtful. Unfortunately, this wasn't a one-off. It's a pattern that still happens to this day.' Page Six reached out to David and Victoria for comment, but did not immediately hear back. As we previously reported, tensions with the young couple and Brooklyn's parents have been ongoing since their wedding. At the time, the focus of their divide was said to be about Nicola's disagreements with Victoria in the wedding planning process. The fashion designer, 51, and her daughter-in-law appeared to squash the rumors when they showed each other love on social media recently. However, it appears the feud was reignited earlier this year after fans couldn't help but notice Brooklyn, 26, and Nicola skipped David's recent 50th birthday celebrations. While it was originally reported that Brooklyn's issue was with his brother Romeo, it was soon revealed that the rift involved the entire family. Both David and Victoria reportedly want to 'mend' the relationship, but friends and family think there's a 'long road' ahead to fix the 'very deep tensions.'
