Microsoft services including Outlook, Minecraft and Xbox Cloud Gaming experienced widespread outages Tuesday, disrupting access for millions of users worldwide. The company said it was investigating the cause of the outage, which began early in the day and affected sign-ins and online gameplay across multiple platforms.

Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday that it is investigating a major outage that left many users unable to access Microsoft 365 Cloud services and Office.com. The disruption, which began earlier in the day,

Microsoft plans to double its global data centre network within two years, reinforcing its leadership in the rapidly expanding AI industry.

Microsoft saw its Azure cloud business grow 40% in the September quarter, above the 38% rate analysts were expecting, and in line with the 40% "whisper" number on Wall Street. Azure growth had been 39% in the June quarter.