Latest News
TodayWed, 28th Jan 2026
Hands On Highguard Feels Smooth & Solid On Xbox, But Desperately Needs More Ways To Play
One trick pony
Highguard is another one those online PvP shooters that puts all of its eggs in one basket, to a fault. The new Xbox FPS — from some of the folks behind Titanfall and Apex Legends — has actually launched and feels super solid to play, but it needs more than just the one sprawling competitive mode as the only way to engage with it...
- Xbox
- Features
- Hands On
- Highguard
- Xbox Series X
News Grounded 2 Unveils New Early Access Roadmap As 'Toxic Tangle' Update Goes Live
"Did someone say roadmap?"
Just like with the first game, Obsidian is working hard on Grounded 2 during its early access period, releasing a bunch of updates including the Toxic Tangle update that officially dropped yesterday. You can see a trailer for that update up above, and here's a little synopsis for it: "It's time to tangle with The Toxic...
- Xbox
- Grounded 2
- Roadmap
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Albion Online Is Finally Making Its Xbox Console Debut After Nine Years
The popular MMORPG is on its way to Xbox Series X and S!
It was all the way back in 2017 that Albion Online first arrived on PC, and the free-to-play MMORPG is still going strong here in 2026. Better yet, the team has just announced that it's finally making its Xbox console debut this year! You can see this in the following roadmap for Spring 2026,...
- Xbox
- Albion Online
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 28)
Your penultimate January additions
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass roundup! Our second-to-last January update brings two titles to the library, including one that's new-to-Xbox in the form of Drop Duchy. Here's some extra detail on today's two new Game Pass additions (January 28): Anno: Mutationem (Console, PC, Cloud) - Ultimate, Premium,...
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Pass
- Microsoft
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
YesterdayTue, 27th Jan 2026
News Two Games Have Quietly Been Cancelled For Xbox Over The Past Week
Here's hoping we'll see them in the future
Last week, there was a bit of media attention on a game called "1348 Ex Voto" following its release date announcement (March 12th) and surprise cancellation for Xbox — to be honest, we'd never even heard of it before then! The action-adventure game set in Medieval Italy looks pretty cool though, and...
- Xbox
- 1348 Ex Voto
- Nickelodeon Splat Pack
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
Talking Point Will The Next Xbox Console Be Revealed In 2026?
It IS the 25th anniversary of Xbox after all
For some time now, we've speculated that the next Xbox console could be revealed in 2026, especially considering it's the 25th anniversary of Xbox on November 15th, 2026 — surely a perfect date to reveal the next system, right? Well, that might have been the case this time last year, but with recent...
- Xbox
- Talking Point
- Features
- Next Xbox
News Code Vein 2 Is Getting A Range Of Review Scores Ahead Of Its Full Xbox Release This Week
5/10? 9/10? It depends who you ask!
One of this week's biggest Xbox releases is Code Vein 2, which brings its action-RPG / soulslike sequel to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on January 29th, and the review scores are a bit all over the place right now. It seems the vast majority of reviews are for the PS5 version of Code Vein 2, which currently...
- Xbox
- Code Vein 2
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
- Round Up
News Microsoft Unveils New Dashboard For Xbox Cloud Gaming On The Web
"A first look at our new web interface on your browser"
If you're a big fan of playing games via Xbox Cloud Gaming on the web, you might be interested to know that Microsoft is rolling out a new dashboard for it, and you can actually start using it today if you want to. For now, it's still just in a "Preview" phase, but you can activate the new...
- Xbox
- Xbox Cloud Gaming
- Dashboard
News One Of Metacritic's Top Games Of 2023 Is Available Today On Xbox Game Pass
The Talos Principle 2 is waiting for you
Today marks yet another brand-new addition to Xbox Game Pass, and while some may look at The Talos Principle 2 and immediately gloss over it, you should be aware that it was one of Metacritic's top-rated
- Xbox
- The Talos Principle 2
- Metacritic
- Xbox Game Pass
- Xbox Series X
News MLB The Show 26 Releases This March, No Sign Of Xbox Game Pass
You'll have to cough up the big bucks for this ball game
We've got a date for the new MLB The Show game! Sony has revealed today that MLB The Show 26 will officially release for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on March 17th, 2026 — but there's no sign of a day one Xbox Game Pass launch. From MLB The Show 21 through to 24, every game in the series...
- Xbox
- MLB The Show 26
- Xbox Game Pass
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Final Fantasy 7 Remake Off To Impressive Start In The 'Top Paid' Xbox Charts
Square Enix will be pleased
Arguably the biggest Xbox release of 2026 so far has been the long-awaited arrival of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade, but how well has it actually sold across Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in its first week? Well, we don't have specific figures just yet, but the "Top Paid" Xbox charts have just updated for the first...
- Xbox
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
- Xbox Charts
News Carmageddon: Rogue Shift Is Bringing Its 'Brutal Roguelite' To Xbox Next Week
We're definitely checking this one out!
We're already busy prepping our Next Week on Xbox article for next week, and one game that's standing out to us in the list is Carmageddon: Rogue Shift — a return of the classic vehicular combat series that debuted back in 1997. This version of Carmageddon looks and sounds pretty ambitious, taking the form...
- Xbox
- Carmageddon: Rogue Shift
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
Monday26th Jan 2026
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Highguard, Out Now On Xbox
A massive free-to-play release from former Titanfall devs!
There's been speculation over whether it would launch on time, but the free-to-play release of Highguard has officially arrived on Xbox today, and the first reviews have just started going live across the web! For those who aren't aware, this is a PvP raid shooter made by developers behind...
- Xbox
- Highguard
- Round Up
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Highguard Comparison Shows Difference Between Xbox Series X And Xbox Series S
Here's how both Xbox versions stack up
Today's big Xbox release is that of Highguard - a new free-to-play title developed by people who worked on the Titanfall and Apex Legends games, and one that's been getting a ton of attention since being unveiled at The Game Awards. We've already talked about the reviews for Highguard — they range from...
- Xbox
- Highguard
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
- Comparison
News In The US, 66% Of Xbox Series X|S Sales Were Digital-Only In 2025
PS5 was at almost 50% too
With Microsoft's continued console price hikes over the last few years, the team's all-digital offerings have become a more enticing proposition for consumers, and that appears to have reflected in the 2025 console sales split for Xbox Series X|S in the US. Circana's Mat Piscatella has recently shared some "fun facts"...
- Xbox
- Microsoft
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
- Console Sales
News Xbox Studios Boss Talks GTA 6 And The Need To 'Space Out' New Releases In 2026
It's going to be a challenge!
2026 is set to be a major year for Xbox Game Studios, with multiple tentpole franchises receiving new releases over the next 12 months, and studios boss Craig Duncan is hyper-aware of how important it is to schedule these correctly. In an interview with GamesRadar, Duncan admitted that releasing Keeper,
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Studios
- GTA 6
News Fantastic Far Cry Upgrades Could Be Followed Up By More 60FPS Patches From Ubisoft
Strength through unity
Ubisoft has been at it with its back catalogue recently, upgrading the likes of Far Cry 3, The Division and more to play at 60FPS on modern consoles. It doesn't sound like the team is planning to stop there either, as Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson suggests that more of the company's classics could get performance boosts in...
- Xbox
- Far Cry
- Ubisoft
- Assassins Creed
- 60FPS
Rumour Xbox Might Be Planning A Second Developer Direct Showcase For 2026
We're up for it!
Over the past few years, the Xbox Developer Direct showcase has always taken place at around the same time in mid-late January, and the 2026 version of the event was no exception. However, with this year marking the 25th anniversary of Xbox, and so many exciting first-party games on the horizon for Microsoft, it's been rumoured...
- Xbox
- Xbox Developer Direct
- Showcase
- Rumours
Feature 30 Upcoming Games That Will Support Xbox Play Anywhere In 2026
Not the full list by any means, but a sneak peek!
One of the big topics of last week here at Pure Xbox was the excellent Xbox Play Anywhere program, and we hope you won't mind if we gush over it just once more — we wanted to bring you a list of upcoming games for it! So, Xbox Play Anywhere is very much an ever-changing thing, with games randomly...
- Xbox
- Xbox Play Anywhere
- Features
News Fable Likely To Be A Huge Hit On PS5 As Sony-Hosted Trailer Hits 1 Million Views
Doubling Xbox's number already
Following Xbox and Playground's latest look at Fable, we learned that the upcoming RPG is launching day one on PS5 - and if the first Sony-hosted trailer is anything to go by, that could be a pretty shrewd move by Microsoft. In the wake of Fable showing up at Xbox Developer Direct, PlayStation uploaded the title's new...
- Xbox
- Fable
- PS5
- Microsoft
- Playground Games
News Xbox's Blizzard Team Announces Multiple Showcases Laying Out The Company's Future
Diablo, Overwatch, WoW & more to feature
Blizzard has today announced four upcoming showcases detailing the future of Diablo, Hearthstone, Overwatch and World of Warcraft - as it hones in on a big year of 35th anniversary celebrations. Yep, Blizzard turns 35 in 2026, and it's going to announce news regarding these big f
- Xbox
- Blizzard
- Activision
- Diablo
- Overwatch
Sunday25th Jan 2026
News Six New Demos Have Been Added To Xbox In 2026 So Far, Including Three Major Ones
Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Tides is one of the latest
At some point over the past few months, Xbox has changed how it orders the "Game Demos" section on the Microsoft Store — instead of being sorted by new additions, it's now prioritising the most popular demos at any one time. That's all well and good, and it means a lot of the AAA titles rise to...
- Xbox
- Demos
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
Feature Why Is Nobody Talking About One Of The Best Xbox Exclusives Of 2025?
This deserves to be a chart-topper
It's becoming rarer than ever to see new Xbox exclusives these days, with Microsoft employing a multiplatform strategy for some of its new releases, but there are still plenty of examples if you go looking for them hard enough. For example, we talked about a game back in December called
- Xbox
- Features
- Rhythm Doctor
- Xbox Exclusives
Feature Fable Could Finally Be Xbox's Big 'Game Of The Year' Contender, But There's One Problem
Hey, hey I wanna be a rockstar
There's been a long-running narrative for some time now that Xbox never quite seems to make the Game of the Year cut, particularly at The Game Awards showcase that happens each and every December. There's no doubt that Microsoft has produced some great games in recent years, but that big TGA award always seems to...
- Xbox
- Fable
- Game Of The Year
- 2026
- GTA 6
Saturday24th Jan 2026
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (January 26-30)
Including FIVE new Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for January 26-30! We've got a few big games releasing over the next few days, with the highlights arguably being Code Vein 2 and free-to-play shooter Highguard, while Xbox Game Pass is giving us a whopping five new titles to
- Xbox
- Features
- Weekly Roundup
- Xbox One
- Xbox Series X
Deals All 40+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Weekend's Xbox Sales
Including the first three Fables!
With all the focus being on the Xbox Developer Direct showcase this week, we've not been paying an awful lot of attention to the various sales on the Microsoft Store over the past few days, but we have noticed that plenty of backwards compatible games are discounted right now! Most of these are part of the...
- Xbox
- Deals
- Xbox Countdown Sale
- Backwards Compatibility
- Discounts
News Clockwork Revolution Dev Talks Choice & Consequence In Its Upcoming Steampunk RPG
"inXile very much hangs its hat on reactivity"
Clockwork Revolution is one of the most exciting Xbox Game Studios titles being built over at Microsoft HQ right now, despite the team keeping things largely under wraps so far. Phil Spencer has expressed his personal hype for it, and we're right there with him; desperate to see more of this steampunk...
- Xbox
- Clockwork Revolution
- inXile
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 24-25)
Recent XGP addition? Dev Direct inspiration?
It's time for another weekend! It's been a rather busy week on Xbox with some good Game Pass additions and Microsoft's Developer Direct showcase, so it's safe to say we're ready to sit back and relax in front of our TVs over the next few days. Here's what we're playing this weekend: Ben Kerry, Staff...
- Xbox
- Features
- Talking Point
- What Are You Playing
Friday23rd Jan 2026
News Xbox Studios Boss Shares Update On Progress For State Of Decay 3
"I have done a number of visits to that studio..."
It's been a long time since we last heard anything on the upcoming Xbox first-party title State of Decay 3, but the head of Xbox Game Studios was actually questioned about it in an interview this week with GamesRadar. When asked about whether we'll see more of the game in 2026, Xbox Game Studios...
- Xbox
- State of Decay 3
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Playground Games Explains Fable's Open World & How It Compares To The Forza Horizon Series
"There's tons to explore..."
With this year's Fable reboot, the series is going truly open world with the backing of Forza Horizon specialists Playground Games, and that leads to questions about the size of the world and how it compares to other genre examples. In a new interview, Playground's Ralph Fulton has talked about just that - and how it all...
- Xbox
- Fable
- Forza Horizon
- Playground Games
News Forza Horizon 6 Is Tweaking Progression In The Hopes Of Addressing A Common Series Complaint
Making your way through the ranks
Xbox has finally lifted the lid on Forza Horizon 6 this week, and while lots of the focus so far has been on open-world Japan and what Playground Games is packing into the world, we've spotted a nice bit of fan service that could have a major impact on how Horizon 6 plays. Kicking off its gameplay overview at Xbox...
- Xbox
- Forza Horizon 6
- Playground Games
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Forza Horizon 6's Controversial Game Pass Upgrade Costs As Much As The Game Itself
Here in the UK at least
Forza Horizon 6 made a big splash at last night's Xbox Developer Direct, with an impressive showing that finally gives us a glimpse at Playground's vision for open-world Japanese racing. It's launching soon too — with a May release date on Xbox — but folks are starting to spot that the game's DLC is l
- Xbox
- Forza Horizon 6
- Xbox Game Pass
- Premium Upgrade
- Microsoft
News Xbox Exec Explains Why Some Games Are 'Day One' For PS5, And Others Aren't
"We're going to try and be more consistent"
There have been some excellent interviews with the likes of the Halo: Campaign Evolved and Gears of War: E-Day teams going live over at
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Studios
- PS5
News Xbox Has Just Quietly Added Two Sims Classics To PC Game Pass
Via the EA Play program
We weren't expecting any Xbox Game Pass additions on the day of the Xbox Developer Direct except perhaps a shadow drop at the event itself (which didn't happen), but instead we ended up getting two surprise PC Game Pass titles! These are some absolute classics as well, with The Sims 1 and
- Xbox
- PC
- Sims
- PC Game Pass
Opinion Xbox Dev Direct 2026 Was Great, And One Game Clearly Stole The Show
We'll all be chicken chasing later this year
Xbox Developer Direct is always one of my favourite events of the year. Not only is it so much easier to cover from a Pure Xbox perspective than other showcases (!), but it also gives four games (or occasionally one or two more) a chance to breathe — a chance to escape from the rapid pace of the Xbox...
- Xbox
- Xbox Developer Direct
- Opinion
- Features
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (January 22-25)
Five games, and they're all well worth playing!
In the midst of all the Xbox Developer Direct news on Thursday, we didn't get a chance to tell you about this week's Xbox Free Play Days games — and there's too much good stuff here for you to miss out on! Four games are technically included with Xbox Free Play Days this week, and they're all well...
- Xbox
- Free Play Days
- Xbox Game Pass
- Microsoft
Thursday22nd Jan 2026
News Fable Showcases Stunning Gameplay Deep Dive, Arrives On Xbox, PC & PS5 Later This Year
A fabled reveal
After what feels like an absolute eternity since it was first announced, Xbox and Playground Games have finally pulled back the curtain on the upcoming Fable reboot - and wow, this could be an Xbox game for the ages if all comes together in Autumn 2026. The Forza Horizon specialists are set to deliver a sprawling open world RPG with...
- Xbox
- Fable
- Developer Direct
- Playground Games
- Xbox Game Pass
Roundup Here's What Was Revealed At The Xbox Developer Direct 2026 Showcase
All the big announcements!
Weren't able to catch January 2026's Xbox Developer Direct showcase earlier today? No worries! You can always go back and watch the on-demand version for yourself, which you'll find elsewhere on Pure Xbox. If you don't want to watch it all the way through, we've also detailed all the important reveals in this article...
- Xbox
- Xbox Developer Direct
- Showcase
- Features
- Xbox Series X
News Forza Horizon 6 Officially Launches On Xbox In May, Here's Your First Look At Open-World Japan
It looks stunning!
As part of today's Xbox Developer Direct showcase, Playground Games has given us our first proper look at Forza Horizon 6 - and what a first look it's turned out to be. The team has taken us behind the scenes at its Leamington Spa studio to showcase its greatest hits rendition of open world Japan - from the dizzying mountains of...
- Xbox
- Forza Horizon 6
- Developer Direct
- Playground Games
- Xbox Game Pass
Roundup The First Reviews Are In For Final Fantasy 7 Remake On Xbox Series X
"It's officially the best version"
Today marks the long-awaited arrival of Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and therefore we've started to see a few reviews going live at various outlets over the past 24 hours. Here at Pure Xbox, I recently shared my thoughts on playing FF7 Remake's free demo as someone who'd...
- Xbox
- Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade
- Round Up
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Microsoft Is Hosting A Huge 'Buy One, Get Two Free' Sale Featuring Lots Of Xbox Indies
Live for the next week on the Microsoft Store
Xbox has just set live another one of its eclectic 'Buy One, Get Two Free' sales on the Microsoft Store; this one featuring lots of different indie titles across multiple genres. There are some more well-known indies on this list such as Valheim, Untitled Goose Game, A Little To The Left, Poppy Playtime...
- Xbox
- Microsoft
- Deals
- Xbox Sale
- Xbox Series X
News Beast Of Reincarnation Continues To Impress, Releases On Xbox Game Pass In Summer 2026
"A one-person, one-dog action RPG"
It was back in June of last year that we first learned of Beast of Reincarnation — a new action RPG from the team behind the Pokémon games of all things — and it was announced at the time to be coming to Xbox Game Pass. Today's Xbox Developer Dir
- Xbox
- Beast of Reincarnation
- Xbox Game Pass
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Gears Of War: E-Day Will Be Packed With 'Heart & Emotion', Set In A Single War-Ravaged City
New details on the next Gears of War
Gears is going back to its roots, and we couldn't be happier about it. The Coalition has been, up to this point, light on details about the upcoming Gears of War: E-Day - but a new interview sheds a bit more light on what the team is going for, and it all has us incredibly excited to see the game in action. As...
- Xbox
- Gears of War: E-Day
- The Coalition
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Double Fine's 'Kiln' Revealed As The Surprise Game At Xbox Developer Direct 2026
And it's releasing on Game Pass pretty soon
We'd been hearing in the lead-up to today's Xbox Developer Direct 2026 showcase that a surprise game would be revealed during the event, and it turned out to be a new multiplayer brawler from Double Fine! The game is called Kiln, and it sees you creating your own pot through an accessible and surprisingly...
- Xbox
- Double Fine
- Kiln
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
Poll How Would You Grade 2026's Xbox Developer Direct?
Give us your verdict
The dust is now beginning to settle on 2026's Xbox Developer Direct showcase! If you haven't had a chance to watch it yet, you can catch the full thing over at our live coverage page, as well as check out our recap of everything that happened as part of the show. So, all things considered, what grade would you give the Xbox...
- Xbox
- Xbox Developer Direct
- Showcase
- Polls
- Features
Wednesday21st Jan 2026
News Xbox Reporter Says Bethesda's Fallout 3 & New Vegas Remasters 'Aren't Imminent'
We might be waiting a while to play them
Earlier this month, we heard that Xbox and Bethesda were working away on new versions of Fallout 3 and New Vegas thanks to a big report from Windows Central - but now the same source is warning us that the pair of Fallout remasters/remakes are a while away from releasing just yet. Yep, ahead of
- Xbox
- Fallout 3
- Fallout New Vegas
- Bethesda
- Microsoft
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 21)
Including a MASSIVE addition from Kojima Productions
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass roundup! Following yesterday's XGP update that mapped out the rest of January, we have three big titles landing in the library today, including Kojima's once-PS4 exclusive Death Stranding. Here's some more details on tha
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Pass
- Microsoft
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Here's Your First Look At The 60FPS Far Cry 3 Upgrade On Xbox Series X|S
Blood Dragon and Primal get upgrades today too!
Last week, Ubisoft quietly announced that Far Cry 3 Classic Edition, Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon Classic Edition and Far Cry Primal would all be receiving native 60FPS upgrades on January 21st, and those upgrades are now live! As we've mentioned before, Far Cry 3 technically already ran at 60FPS on Xbox...
- Xbox
- Far Cry 3
- Upgrade
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Ubisoft Cancels Multiple Games, Closes Studios, And Unveils New Strategy For The Future
The Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake is no more
In a shocking announcement today, Ubisoft has cancelled the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake along with various other games, while also closing studios and unveiling a new strategy for the company going forward. Ubisoft says it needs to "reclaim its creative leadership, regain agility and...
- Xbox
- Ubisoft
- Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time Remake
News Here's What's Included In The Xbox January 2026 Update
PC, handheld and cloud are the focus
The Xbox January 2026 update is now being highlighted by the folks over at Xbox Wire, and as usual with these updates in recent months, it's not really very console-focused — the updates encompass everything nowadays. Having said that, the Xbox PC app has gotten some fresh updates, Xbox Cloud Gaming is...
- Xbox
- Microsoft
- Updates
- January 2026
- Xbox Series X
