News Longer Gamertags Are Now Available For Everyone, Plus 11 Other New Xbox Features
The latest update went live last night
- Xbox
- Console
- Updates
- Dashboard
- Xbox Series X
News Xbox Summer Sale 2026 Now Live, 2000+ Games Discounted
The Ultimate Game Sale has arrived!
- Xbox
- Xbox Summer Sale
- Xbox Ultimate Game Sale
- Deals
Roundup Rave Reviews For Denshattack! Make It A Must-Play On Xbox Game Pass
All aboard the hype train
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Pass
- Denshattack!
- Review Roundup
News ASUS Issues Mini Statement Confirming Standalone Version Of ROG Xbox Ally X20
It won't just be paired with the AR glasses
- Xbox
- ROG Xbox Ally X20
- ASUS
- Handhelds
Talking Point What Was The First Halo Game You Ever Played?
Were you there back in the Halo 1 days?
- Xbox
- Halo
- Talking Point
- Features
News Two Final Fantasy Remakes Discounted To Their Lowest Prices Ever On Xbox
Insane discounts!
- Xbox
- Xbox Summer Sale
- Final Fantasy
- Xbox Ultimate Game Sale
- Deals
Latest News
TodayThu, 16th Jul 2026
Talking Point What Was The First Halo Game You Ever Played?
Were you there back in the Halo 1 days?
We're getting so close to the release of Halo: Campaign Evolved now — July 23rd for Premium buyers and July 28th for everyone else — so we thought we'd take this opportunity to ask you about your initial experiences with the series. Of course, many of us love Halo because it was either the first thing we...
- Xbox
- Halo
- Talking Point
- Features
News Two Final Fantasy Remakes Discounted To Their Lowest Prices Ever On Xbox
Insane discounts!
The Xbox Summer Sale 2026 is now in full swing with discounts on more than 2,000 games, including some insane deals on two brilliant Final Fantasy titles. Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth are the recipients of these hefty discounts, and considering both iconic JRPGs only arrived on Xbox in January...
- Xbox
- Xbox Summer Sale
- Final Fantasy
- Xbox Ultimate Game Sale
- Deals
News NHL 27 Is Bringing Back 'Connected Franchise' For First Time Since The Xbox 360 Era
Along with a massively revamped presentation suite
Another year brings another entry in EA Sports' NHL series, and there are two big highlights with this latest edition that's dropping on September 11th - it includes revamped presentation and the long-awaited return of Connected Franchise. NHL 27 will mark the first time since the Xbox 360 era that...
- Xbox
- NHL 27
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Cross-Saves Now Available For Crimson Desert As Update 1.14 Arrives On Xbox
Continue your adventure across PC, PS5, and Xbox
It's a good day for Crimson Desert, as the latest update introduces native cross-save support between consoles and PC. Players on Xbox already had the luxury of picking up their console saves on PC thanks to Xbox Play Anywhere support, but still, it's nice to see Pearl Abyss add it in good and proper...
- Xbox
- Crimson Desert
- Updates
- Patch Notes
- Xbox Series S
News Xbox 'Save Data' Errors To Be Less Cryptic And More Actionable
Saving Saves
Loss of save data is one of the worst things that can happen in gaming, and it's an issue that has cropped up now and again for some Xbox users over the years. Forza Horizon 6 is just one of the more recent titles to suffer corrupted or lost saves. It's pretty horrid stuff, relying on synchronised local and cloud saves, and hearing...
- Xbox
- Lost Saves
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
Deals All 150+ Backwards Compatible Games In The Xbox Summer Sale 2026
Original Xbox and Xbox 360 classics
The Xbox Summer Sale 2026 has now officially begun (otherwise known as the Ultimate Game Sale), and as usual for a big sale like this, we've got almost 150 games from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 eras that have been discounted! So, in the table below, we've picked out every single backwards compatible deal...
- Xbox
- Deals
- Xbox Ultimate Game Sale
- Xbox Summer Sale
- Backwards Compatibility
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (July 16-20)
Your latest batch of FPD weekend freebies!
It's funny how quick Thursday can swing back around again, and with it comes your next batch of Xbox Free Play Days titles! There are at least three games in the lineup this week, and we'll update this article later today if Xbox decides to bless us with any more. Of the three, Crisol: Theater of Idols is...
- Xbox
- Free Play Days
- Xbox Game Pass
- Microsoft
- Xbox Series X
News Longer Gamertags Are Now Available For Everyone, Plus 11 Other New Xbox Features
The latest update went live last night
We've got a whopping twelve new Xbox console features for you to enjoy! Previously, most of these updates were only available to select members of the Xbox Insider program, and we've covered many on Pure Xbox already. However, the changes have now rolled out publicly to everyone on Xbox consoles. There are a...
- Xbox
- Console
- Updates
- Dashboard
- Xbox Series X
News Xbox Summer Sale 2026 Now Live, 2000+ Games Discounted
The Ultimate Game Sale has arrived!
It's time for the Xbox Ultimate Game Sale 2026! This year's Xbox Summer Sale includes a list of over 2,000 discounted games, many of which are major AAA titles (including plenty of recent releases), so there's a lot to choose from. Below, we've included just some of the major highlights from the Xbox Summer Sale...
- Xbox
- Xbox Summer Sale
- Xbox Ultimate Game Sale
- Deals
YesterdayWed, 15th Jul 2026
News ASUS Issues Mini Statement Confirming Standalone Version Of ROG Xbox Ally X20
It won't just be paired with the AR glasses
When ASUS first revealed the ROG Xbox Ally X20 back at the start of June, it was only mentioned to be releasing as part of a bundle with the ROG XREAL R1 Edition 20 Gaming AR Glasses, but a new statement from the company has now confirmed that it'll be sold standalone as well (as we always expected to be...
- Xbox
- ROG Xbox Ally X20
- ASUS
- Handhelds
News Xbox Quietly Removes Upcoming Game Pass Title From July Lineup
Update: "We’re continuing to work through the necessary licensor approvals"
Something strange has occurred. If you recall our recent July Xbox Game Pass roundup, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 was set to join its sequel on the subscription service on July 21. However, that no longer appears to be the case. As we were fact checking details for
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Pass
- Microsoft
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
- Xbox Series X
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (July 15)
Can you stick out your tongue and say "Ahhhh, Xbox Game Pass" please?
It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new batch of Xbox Game Pass titles for me, and I'm feeling good enough to pass through a quarantine check. Two games are joining the service today, including a day one release! Today's headliner is, of course, Denshattack!, a bombastic...
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Pass
- Microsoft
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Here's Your First Look At Splitscreen In Halo: Campaign Evolved
Sharing screens just like we did in the glory days
As marketing for Halo: Campaign Evolved continues to ramp up following the game going gold, so too does the coverage from developer Halo Studios. Just yesterday, the team hosted an hour-long livestream where we got our first proper look at splitscreen co-op, in addition to details surroun
- Xbox
- Halo
- Microsoft
- Halo Studios
- Xbox Series X
News Xbox Responds To Devastated Fan Who Lost All Their Games Due A Hacked Account
Update: Their account has now been restored
Earlier this week, we covered a story about someone in Brazil who had taken Microsoft to court over a hacked Xbox account in which they'd lost access to all their games and been told that they were essentially unrecoverable. That situation was fortunately resolved in the end, but then almost immediately...
- Xbox
- Hacked
- Xbox Support
- Industry
Roundup The First Reviews Have Arrived For The Mound: Omen Of Cthulhu
Oh, the cosmic horror
Prepare your butts, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu reviews are in and they're quite mixed. Having spent more than 25 hours with The Mound myself, I can see why its review scores vary from decent to pretty poor. It's worth noting the more favourable reviews tend to be for the PC version. Xbox Series X does an okay job of handling...
- Xbox
- The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
- Review Roundup
Roundup Rave Reviews For Denshattack! Make It A Must-Play On Xbox Game Pass
All aboard the hype train
Time to hop on your Xbox because reviews are in for Denshattack! and they're incredibly positive! This definitely ain't no sleeper train, that's for sure, with critics raving over just how much fun they're having with the game. I'm fairly certain plenty of you out there won't have heard a single kick-flipping thing about...
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Pass
- Denshattack!
- Review Roundup
News Dispatch, One Of The Best Games Of 2025, Is Coming To Xbox This Month
A superhero workplace comedy where choices matter
A little while ago, it was announced that Dispatch was coming to Xbox at some point in the summer, and now we finally have an official release date for it - this amazing 2025 game arrives on Xbox Series X and Series S on July 29th. If you haven't come across it before, think of Dispatch as being...
- Xbox
- Dispatch
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
Tuesday14th Jul 2026
News Former Xbox Dev Compulsion Games Shares Open Letter To 'Studios Across The Industry'
South of Midnight dev is back in business
South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games, formally part of Xbox Game Studios before announcing its independence during the latest wave of layoffs, has popped out a call on LinkedIn to let the industry know they're ready to cook by inviting potential partners to "leverage the talent and creativi
- Xbox
- Compulsion Games
- South of Midnight
News The Next Halo Game Has Officially Gone Gold
All systems go(ld) for July 23rd / 28th
Saddle up Marines! It's official, Halo: Campaign Evolved has now gone gold ahead of its July 28, 2026 release on Xbox Series X|S and, for the first time in the franchise's history, PS5. Hoorah! If you've bagged yourself the Premium Edition or Premium Upgrade Edition, Early Access begins on July 23 and comes...
- Xbox
- Microsoft
- Halo Studios
- Halo: Campaign Evolved
- Xbox Game Pass
News Forza Horizon 6 'Italian Passion Car Pack' Now Live, And It's Free For Premium Owners
Four cars including the 2025 Ferrari F80
If you're a big fan of Forza Horizon 6, you may have noticed that Series 3 of the Festival Playlist began last night in the form of the "Italian Exotics" era, and there also happens to be a new DLC Car Pack that's gone live separately today. This is called the Italian Passion Car Pack, and it features four...
- Xbox
- Forza Horizon 6
- Updates
- DLC
- Xbox Series X
News Xbox Project Helix Vs. PS6 - Data Firm Reveals Its Forecasted Sales Figures For Each
But also warns that the outcome "could look very different"
We know, we know — it's way too early for anyone to be offering wholly accurate estimations on how well Xbox's Project Helix console and the PS6 will fare when they release at some point over the next few years. There are far too many variables that could alter those potential sales...
- Xbox
- Project Helix
- PS6
News Apparently Dying Light: The Beast Was Coming To Xbox One, But Not Anymore
Xbox One couldn't contain the beast
You'll be forgiven if, like us, you'd forgotten that Dying Light: The Beast was originally scheduled to launch on Xbox One following its September 18, 2026 release on Xbox Series X|S. Forgotten or not, Techland's latest zombie romp won't be coming to Xbox One after all, following a cancellation announcement on the...
- Xbox
- Xbox One
- Dying Light The Beast
- Techland
News Xbox Has Another Potential GOTY Candidate On Its Hands, Even Though It's Just DLC
The reviews for Revelations have been absurdly good
Last week, we covered a little bit about the release of DOOM: The Dark Ages - Revelations and how people seemed to be really enjoying it, but we didn't necessarily anticipate that it could be a potential Game of the Year candidate. However, as you may have seen in our Metacritic roundup of the...
- Xbox
- GOTY
- Game of the Year
- DOOM: The Dark Ages - Revelations
- DLC
News Fan Demand For Xbox To 'Stop The Cycle Of Layoffs' Trends On Player Voice Portal
Stop sacking our favourite developers
Xbox fans appear to be sick to their back teeth over mass layoffs and studio closures, with a shout to "stop the cycle of layoffs" becoming the most trending topic on Microsoft's newly-launched feedback site, Xbox Player Voice. The feeling is all too commonplace
- Xbox
- Xbox Player Voice
- Layoffs
- Microsoft
News 'Most Technically Ambitious Gears To Date' - Xbox Partners With NVIDIA On Gears Of War: E-Day
The Coalition promises a "first-class PC experience"
For the past few weeks, I've been prepping myself for October's Gears of War: E-Day by plugging away at lots of Gears 5 multiplayer, and more specifically, appreciating just how good it all still looks on Xbox Series X. A lot has changed since The Coalition's 2019 entry received its current-gen...
- Xbox
- Gears of War: E-Day
- PC
- The Coalition
- NVIDIA
Monday13th Jul 2026
Guide Microsoft Rewards & Xbox: How To Make 10,000 Points Per-Month (Overhaul Edition)
How to get Microsoft Rewards points fast
We know how amazing Microsoft Rewards is, but did you know that if you live in a certain region and you have access to all the MS Rewards benefits on offer, you can make around 10,000 Microsoft Rewards points per-month? That's the equivalent of almost £10 / $10 worth of free Xbox credit every single month!...
- Features
- Xbox
- Microsoft Rewards
- Guides
News Seven Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass This Week (July 13-17)
Starting off with Ascend to Zero on Monday
Welcome to a new week, and a particularly busy one for Xbox Game Pass! We've got seven games arriving over five days as things stand, so to prevent them getting lost in the shuffle, we thought we'd provide you with a quick roundup. The week is kicking off with Ascend to Zero on Monday, which has been...
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Pass
News Metacritic Unveils Its Top 20 Games For The First Half Of 2026
And Xbox takes #1 spot!
Every now and again, we like to highlight the best games of the year according to the folks over at Metacritic, and they've actually published their own list over the past few days to cover the top 20 games from the first half of 2026. We've mentioned before how Metacritic is a little weird in how it does this — the idea...
- Xbox
- Metacritic
- Best Xbox Games 2026
News The Elder Scrolls Online Is Planning A 'Revised Roadmap' Following Xbox Layoffs
"The plan is still to deliver great content"
In the wake of the Xbox layoffs last week, there's been some concern amongst Elder Scrolls Online players that the game could stop adding new content or even be closed entirely, but that doesn't appear to be the case at first glance. The folks over at Eurogamer have been highlighting a few quotes related...
- Xbox
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- ESO
- Bethesda
News Multiple Old Xbox Games Are Suddenly Getting Millions Of Views On Social Media
Kelly Slater, Bee Movie, Ed, Edd n Eddy and others!
If you're not a big user of social media these days, we absolutely wouldn't blame you, but it's part of the job here at Pure Xbox - and one of the things we've noticed is a new account called "Xbox Nostalgia" that's been getting attention. There's nothing particularly mind-blowing about this...
- Xbox
- Xbox Nostalgia
- Random
News 32 Packs Of DLC For Black Ops 2 Are Now Free To Claim On Xbox
Hopefully the base game gets a discount soon as well
The release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 on PlayStation didn't bring about any changes to the Xbox versions in terms of how they play, but a few changes were evidently made to the how they've been priced on the Microsoft Store. To be honest, we don't tend to track DLC price changes all that...
- Xbox
- Black Ops 2
- Call of Duty
- DLC
News Xbox Seems To Be Making A Fortune On The New Black Ops Ports For PS5
They've been spotted trending higher than GTA 6
When Activision shadow dropped the new ports of Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 on PlayStation consoles last week, it quickly became obvious that people were lapping them up despite the lack of any real improvements to either game. Now that we're a few days on, we're starting to see just popular these...
- Xbox
- Black Ops 1
- Black Ops 2
- PlayStation
News Xbox Fan Supposedly Wins Legal Battle Over Hacked Account & Missing Games
"They have to restore my acc with all my games"
Here's an interesting story we came across over the weekend! The likes of Eurogamer, Windows Central and Tom's Hardware have all been picking up on a Reddit post
- Xbox
- Random
- Industry
Sunday12th Jul 2026
Retro Recap All The Classic Gaming News From The Past Week (July 12th 2026)
Time Extension Super Mario Bros. Special! Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure! Evercade price hike!
Welcome to Retro Recap, a regular feature we run each and every weekend which rounds up all of the best retro gaming news and content of the past week in one place. The Story Of Hudson Soft's Bizarre Super Mario Bros. "Spin-Off": Super Mario Bros. Special, for the...
- Features
- Retro Recap
Review Turtle Beach Pacific Skyline - The New Xbox Controller With GTA 6 Vibes
It certainly looks the part
Whenever companies contact us about reviewing new Xbox controllers, we obviously have to be quite picky about how many we cover, and it typically comes down to whether they have any unique qualities that make them stand out. The Turtle Beach Pacific Skyline is pretty much your standard Xbox controller in terms of how it...
- Xbox
- Reviews
- Controllers
- Turtle Beach
Random Xbox Owner Goes Viral After Wild Gecko 'Appears' Inside Their Series X
"Now you have to buy the Gex Trilogy"
It was around this time last year that we published a big guide to cleaning your Xbox Series X in order to reduce the fan noise and instances of it overheating, but it's also a good idea to keep it clean for other reasons as well! Case in point: one of the top threads over in the Xbox Reddit community this...
- Xbox
- Xbox Series X
- Random
- Gecko
- Gex
News These Are The Top 10 Microsoft Rewards 'Feedback Portal' Requests After One Week
The most upvoted bits of feedback from MS & Xbox Rewards fans
Back on Tuesday, we highlighted the introduction of a new Microsoft Rewards Feedback Portal that would allow Microsoft and Xbox Rewards fans to share their top feature requests. This is obviously very similar to the Xbox Player Voice program that was implemented recently, so they're...
- Xbox
- Microsoft Rewards
- Xbox Rewards
- Feedback Portal
Saturday11th Jul 2026
Feature These 40+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (July 13-17)
Including seven Xbox Game Pass additions!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for July 13-17! We've got quite a lot happening over the next few days, including the releases for The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu, Moss: The Forgotten Relic and various other exciting indie games, along with seven Xbox Game Pass additions highlighted by Densha
- Xbox
- Features
- Weekly Roundup
- Xbox One
- Xbox Series X
News Five Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In August 2026 So Far
An early look at what's to come
As we always do around this time of the month, we're taking an early look today at what's ahead for August 2026's Xbox Game Pass selection, with five games currently scheduled to arrive in a few weeks' time. We've got two absolutely massive additions here in Beast of Reincarnation and Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy,...
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Pass
- August 2026
- Microsoft
Poll What Do You Think Of Assassin's Creed Black Flag In General?
Either the original or the new version
The biggest release of this week (along with DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations) has been Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, and if you weren't aware already, it's a remake of the original Black Flag from 2013. The Xbox Series X and S mark the third console generation that Black Flag has appeared on,...
- Xbox
- Assassin's Creed Black Flag
- Polls
- Features
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 11-12)
How about some Black Flag Resynced?
Weekend time! As we head into another hot couple of days here in the UK, we're planning to check out a bunch of new Xbox Game Pass titles, a few new Free Play Days additions, and possibly the new releases of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced and
- Xbox
- Features
- Talking Point
- What Are You Playing
Friday10th Jul 2026
News Xbox Sends Out Brief Statement Regarding 'Inaccurate' id Tech Reports
They say dozens of people are still working on the engine
With the Xbox layoffs dominating the headlines this week, it's no surprise that we've been seeing countless stories, reports, rumours and speculation about the state of Xbox's game studios as we head into the second half of 2026. DOOM: The Dark Ages developer id Software is one company...
- Xbox
- id Software
- id Tech
- Industry
News Xbox Teases Potentially Major Console Update That Will Be 'Worth The Wait'
Insiders might be getting access to it next week
We've seen a lot of Xbox console updates being implemented ever since Asha Sharma took charge as Xbox CEO a few months ago, and it looks like we're getting primed for yet another exciting one in the near future. Brad Rossetti, who is the lead of the Xbox Insider program, noted earlier today that all...
- Xbox
- Updates
- Console
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Xbox Summer Sale 2026 'Teaser' Now Live, 300+ Games Discounted
Game Pass members get the deals a few days early!
It's time to kick-off the Xbox Summer Sale 2026! This year's promotion has begun with a few days of exclusivity for Game Pass members, before the sale is blown open to all Xbox players in the near future - seemingly on July 15th. Otherwise known as the Xbox "Ultimate Game Sale" 2026, this teaser...
- Xbox
- Deals
- Summer Sale
- Xbox One
- Xbox Series X
News Digital Foundry Shares Its Initial Analysis Of Black Ops 1 For PS5 Vs. Xbox
"This is a deeply odd state of affairs"
We mentioned last night how Activision had released new ports of Black Ops 1 and Black Ops 2 for PlayStation consoles, and in the initial footage that was doing the rounds, it seemed like very little had changed compared to the original Xbox 360 (and PS3) releases from back in the 2010s.
- Xbox
- Black Ops 1
- Black Ops 2
- PS5
- Digital Foundry
News Two Games Are Getting New Additions Today On Xbox Game Pass (July 10)
"...to make your adventures more thrilling than ever before"
Today's a weird day for Xbox Game Pass, because even though two games are technically arriving on the service in some ways, we also think it's a stretch to call either of these brand-new XGP releases. In the case of Palworld, that game's been on Xbox Game Pass since all the way back in...
- Xbox
- Xbox Game Pass
- Palworld
- Wuthering Waves
Random The Internet Is Going Crazy For This Early 2000s Activision Surfing Game
Time Extension The people yearn for Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
If you told me I'd be waking up to an outpouring of love for Activision and Treyarch's Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer, a 24-year-old sports game, I probably wouldn't have believed you. After all, it's not exactly a game that comes up naturally in many conversations today, with most people I know typically...
- Random
- News
- Activision
- Xbox
News PUBG Is Getting Two New Graphics Modes For Xbox, Full Resolution & FPS Details Revealed
Along with various other console improvements
It's been a while since we last talked about PUBG here at Pure Xbox, but we did cover its new Xbox Series X and S versions back in November of 2025, and now they're about to get some substantial improvements in the near future. The key thing here is that two new graphics modes are coming to both the...
- Xbox
- PUBG
- PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
- Xbox Series X
- Xbox Series S
News Forza Horizon 6 Reportedly Tops The List Of Steam Releases For Gross Revenue In 2026
"Pulling revenue three times faster than Forza Horizon 5"
In the midst of what's been a challenging week in Xbox land to say the least, we've noticed the folks over at Alinea Analytics reporting that Forza Horizon 6 appears to be the "top new game of the year by Steam revenue". We already knew that FH6 was doing well both in terms of sales and...
- Xbox
- Forza Horizon 6
- Steam
News DOOM Developer Addresses Concerned Fans With Message About Xbox Layoffs
"We're going to keep building the great games and tech..."
We've already mentioned today how Xbox has issued a brief statement regarding the status of id Tech — the game engine used by id Software — and now the DOOM developer has also issued a separate statement of its own. A lot has been reported about the studio in recent days, including that...
- Xbox
- DOOM
- id Software
- Industry
