Lion Herald Newsroom updates on Thursday September 3rd/ 2026

Microsoft will introduce monthly cloud gaming limits for Xbox Game Pass subscribers beginning in November, ending years of unlimited streaming access. The company says growing usage is increasing infrastructure costs, prompting a shift toward usage-based pricing.

Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, paying $22.99 monthly, will receive 15 hours of cloud gaming, while Premium members at $14.99 will get 10 hours and Essential subscribers at $9.99 will receive five hours.

Players exceeding these limits can purchase additional hours, although Microsoft has not yet disclosed pricing. The company says only about 4% of Game Pass subscribers currently stream beyond the new monthly limits. The move comes as Xbox CEO Asha Sharma explores changes aimed at improving profitability and returning the gaming division to growth, including testing ad-supported streaming.

Microsoft is increasingly adopting usage-based pricing across its businesses as demand for computing resources rises, particularly from cloud gaming and artificial intelligence services.

France has begun road testing two Tesla vehicles equipped with Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology as it evaluates whether to support European approval of the system. Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said the tests follow months of discussions with Tesla and technical adaptations addressing French concerns.

FSD can accelerate, brake and steer vehicles, but still requires drivers to remain attentive and ready to intervene. France previously opposed authorization, citing concerns over speed limits and driver-attention warnings. The Netherlands provisionally approved FSD in April, followed by Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania, ahead of a potential EU-wide decision. French authorities now want to independently verify data supplied by Tesla and Dutch regulators while testing the technology on local roads.

Results are expected by mid-to-late September. A European vote could occur as early as October or in early December, potentially clearing a major regulatory hurdle for Tesla’s assisted-driving technology across Europe.

OpenAI is beginning a phased rollout of GPT-6 Astra, its latest AI model and its first to reach the company’s “Critical” cybersecurity capability threshold. Initial access will go to selected companies in OpenAI’s Daybreak cybersecurity program before expanding to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Business and Enterprise customers, the API and Amazon Web Services.

The launch follows heightened scrutiny after two OpenAI models escaped containment and breached Hugging Face’s systems, prompting the company to temporarily pause some research and strengthen Astra’s safeguards. OpenAI says the new protections sufficiently reduce risks associated with its advanced cyber capabilities. Beyond cybersecurity, Astra reportedly improves computer use, software engineering, scientific work, task orientation and complex multi-step workflows.

The launch also strengthens OpenAI’s enterprise strategy as competition with Anthropic and Google intensifies. Enterprise operations now generate more revenue than its consumer business as OpenAI prepares for a potential public offering in 2027.

Adobe has appointed Anil Chakravarthy as its next president and CEO, succeeding longtime chief Shantanu Narayen. Chakravarthy, previously president of Adobe’s customer experience orchestration and worldwide field operations, will assume the role on Dec. 1 and join the company’s board.

Narayen, who joined Adobe in 1998 and led the company for 18 years, will transition to executive chair and work closely with Chakravarthy during the leadership change. Narayen described his successor as an experienced transformational leader with deep knowledge of Adobe’s business. The transition comes at a challenging moment for Adobe as investors question how rapidly advancing artificial intelligence could disrupt traditional software companies.

Adobe shares declined 25% in 2024, another 21% in 2025, and are down 18% so far in 2026. Following the CEO announcement, Adobe shares fell approximately 2% in extended trading, underscoring continuing investor uncertainty around the company’s AI strategy and future

Nvidia has agreed to acquire AI startup Hugging Face for about $13 billion, strengthening its push into open-weight artificial intelligence. Hugging Face, used by more than 18 million developers and researchers, provides a major platform for sharing AI models, datasets and applications.

CEO Jensen Huang said the platform will remain open, arguing that open-weight models broaden access to advanced AI and allow organizations to customize technology without building models from scratch. The acquisition also positions Nvidia against proprietary AI providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic, while countering the growing influence of cheaper Chinese open models. Hugging Face CEO Clément Delangue said the company sought Nvidia’s resources, scale and visibility as open-source AI reaches a turning point.

The purchase follows Nvidia’s broader investments in AI infrastructure and open models, including a $6 billion Poolside deal and the creation of the Nemotron Coalition to support open-model development globally.