The ongoing problems around Windows 10 security just came to a loud and unfortunate end for tech giant Microsoft (MSFT) in Europe, as truly free updates have been forced into place by European consumer advocates. Investors were a little less than pleased about this loss of revenue, as evidenced by Microsoft shares sliding fractionally in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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Support for Windows 10 has just under three weeks to go, when October 14 arrives, a whole lot of computers out there are going to be, suddenly, vulnerable to security failures thanks to a lack of updates. But in some parts of Europe, this will not be a problem, as customers will no longer be required to activate Windows Backup to get into the Extended Security Updates (ESU) system.
Pressure from the Euroconsumers group—a “consumer advocacy group,” reports note—apparently somehow managed to do what even Consumer Reports could not: convince Microsoft to offer security updates without charge for the next year. Just how they pulled off such a thing, or why this only covers a small portion of Europe instead of just about everywhere else Microsoft is used, is less than clear.
Game Pass Departure List Pared Back
There is better news for Xbox Game Pass users, however, as the list of games set to depart the streaming platform when September ends got cut back. Now, apparently, the departure list is pretty much just Ninja Gaiden titles.
Specifically, Microsoft will be bidding farewell to Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and Ninja Gaiden 3 Razor’s Edge. Previously, Terra Invicta was also to be added to the list, but was later found to be added in error. Why Terra Invicta was kept beyond that is unclear, with some speculating that perhaps a last-minute deal had been reached to keep the game on the platform longer.
Is Microsoft a Buy, Hold or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on MSFT stock based on 34 Buys and one Hold assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 18.28% rally in its share price over the past year, the average MSFT price target of $625.78 per share implies 23.31% upside potential.
