Microsoft News Articles
Wednesday23rd Sep 2026
News Former Xbox Studio Suffers 'Significant' Layoffs Hours After Going Independent
"Development of State of Decay 3 remains actively underway at Undead Labs"
Yesterday, Undead Labs announced it had completed its separation from Xbox and was now a fully independent operation. Just mere hours later, however, the State of Decay developer returned with news that a significant number of employees had been let go. In the same message...
News Microsoft Files Patent Which Could Bring Game-Pausing Ads To Xbox
Say it isn't so...
Microsoft has filed a patent focused on injecting in-game ads at predictable times during gameplay. The filing, titled 'Contextually Aware Management of Interactive Software Application Access', describes the process of suspending your game and running "promoted audiovisual content to the user". In laymen's terms, this means ad...
News Unlocking Xbox's New Mythic Achievement Sounds Incredible, And Here's How It Might Work
Answering the big DLC question
Xbox players have yearned for a completion achievement akin to Sony's Platinum Trophy for yonks now. Just a little something extra for hunting down all the challenges tucked away in our games. Not too long ago, Xbox Boss Asha Sharma all but confirmed something was in the works, which seems to have been recently...
Tuesday22nd Sep 2026
News Arkane Studios' Future With Xbox Remains A Total Mystery
Will Marvel's Blade ever see the light of day?
Xbox has revealed its next steps in the company's continued reset, but it's still uncertain what the future holds for Marvel's Blade developer Arkane Studios. In a company-wide message, Xbox CCO Matt Booty detailed the next wave of layoffs, the future of Halo, Forza and Fable, as well as restructuring...
News Xbox Confirms Activision Will Develop The Next Halo Title
Halo Studios suffers layoffs too
Woah! It's been officially confirmed that Activision will be developing the next Halo game. Xbox CCO Matt Booty shared a message titled 'Continuing Our Reset' with employees across various Xbox teams, outlining the next steps for the company's big restructure through 2026. There's a lot going on in the post. Like,...
Friday11th Sep 2026
News Sony Dropped Kojima's 'PHYSINT' Over Budget, Profits & Timed Exclusivity Concerns, Sources Say
Apparently missing deadlines and over budget
It's fair to say we were all a bit surprised by the news that Xbox would be taking over from Sony to publish Hideo Kojima's PHYSINT, dubbed as a spiritual successor to the Metal Gear Solid series. Sony's split from Kojima Productions co
Saturday5th Sep 2026
News Here's What Might Be Leaving Xbox Game Pass In October 2026
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in October 2026? Well, Microsoft hasn't confirmed anything just yet, but based on some games that were added to the service this time last year, we can at least make a few predictions ahead of time. We know that a lot of Xbox users want more advance notice of games leaving Xbox Game Pass, but...
Monday10th Aug 2026
News Blizzard Is Now 'Top Performing' Xbox Studio, Mostly Due To Overwatch and Diablo IV Success
Good to know Blizzard is still cooking!
Blizzard joined forces with Xbox through the Activision acquisition a few years back, and whilst it's been a rough year for Microsoft's Xbox division, it seems the Overwatch maker is kicking butt. As reported by Windows Central, leaked intern
News Xbox Rolls Out Mandatory Age Verification To Access 18+ Rated Games In Australia
Age verification needed for both Xbox and Microsoft Stores
The next time you're looking to buy a game on the Xbox Store, you may be prompted to confirm your age. Xbox is now asking users in Australia (and even some in New Zealand) to verify their age before purchasing 18+ rated games, both on console and through the Microsoft Store on PC. Users...
Saturday8th Aug 2026
News Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In September 2026
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in September 2026? Well, Microsoft hasn't confirmed anything just yet, but based on some games that were added to the service this time last year, we can at least make a few predictions ahead of time. We know that a lot of Xbox users want more advance notice of games leaving Xbox Game Pass, but...
Monday3rd Aug 2026
News Xbox Adds Dynamic Background & Gamer Pics To Celebrate 25 Years Of Play
Community Celebration!
To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Xbox has unveiled a fancy new batch of gamerpics alongside an all new dynamic background for Xbox Series X|S. Aye aye, to celebrate 25 big years of Xbox, Microsoft has released a community-inspired dynamic background showcasing Xbox's core four franchises in the styling of Klobrille...
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...
Saturday4th Jul 2026
News Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In August 2026
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in August 2026? Well, Microsoft hasn't confirmed anything just yet, but based on some games that were added to the service this time last year, we can at least make a few predictions ahead of time. We know that a lot of Xbox users want more advance notice of games leaving Xbox Game Pass, but...
Friday12th Jun 2026
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (June 11-14)
Three more games to check out over the next few days
The Xbox Free Play Days program has returned once more for the coming weekend, and for this latest edition from June 11th to June 14th, we've got three games playable for free on Xbox consoles. Here's Microsoft's full Free Play Days lineup: Blasphemous 2 (five-hour trial) Hell Let Loose State...
Tuesday9th Jun 2026
News Here's A Look At The Updated Xbox Game Studios Roadmap From June 2026
Following the Xbox Games Showcase
We always look forward to Xbox fan Klobrille sharing their highly-popular Xbox Game Studios roadmap after the conclusion of any big event, and that's exactly what they've done following the Xbox Games Showcase 2026! This version adds in loads of upcoming Xbox first-party titles including Senua,
Sunday7th Jun 2026
News Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In July 2026
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in July 2026? Well, Microsoft hasn't confirmed anything just yet, but based on some games that were added to the service this time last year, we can at least make a few predictions ahead of time. We know that a lot of Xbox users want more advance notice of games leaving Xbox Game Pass, but...
Tuesday2nd Jun 2026
News Three Games Are Available Today Across Various Tiers Of Xbox Game Pass (June 2)
Game Pass, uh, finds a way
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we've got three games entering the library, two of which are brand-new to Game Pass entirely, and the other of which is transitioning over to PC. The big highlight here is arguably Jurassic World Evolution 3, which is replacing Jurassic World Evolution 2 ahead of
Friday29th May 2026
News Three Games Have Just Received Xbox Game Pass Release Dates For Next Month
June's XGP lineup is almost here!
With May's Xbox Game Pass additions now officially over, we've started to look ahead to June already - with a couple of games quietly added to the lineup last week. Now though, we've got another three games with fresh Game Pass release dates for next month, so we thought we'd highlight those down below with June...
News Modern Warfare 4 Isn't On Xbox Game Pass, But 'Eligible' Members Can Get Vault Edition Discount
New loyalty program announced
At this point, you're probably aware that Microsoft lowered the price of Xbox Game Pass recently and removed day one Call of Duty games in the process - which means that the newly-announced
Thursday28th May 2026
News Steam Deck Has Gone Up In Price Massively, And It Makes ROG Xbox Ally Look Great Value In 2026
Might be time to hop on board?
Well, well, well! Valve is the next gaming hardware maker to raise its prices, with Steam Deck units now costing more; a lot more than they did just a few short weeks ago. If you've not seen the news already, the 512GB and 1TB Steam Deck OLEDs are going up by £170/$240 and £210/$300, respectively. Ouch. That makes...
News Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Launches This October, And It Won't Be On Xbox One
Series X|S, PC, PS5 and Switch 2 confirmed
Less than a week after revealing that it was making a new Modern Warfare game, Infinity Ward has today unveiled Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 - which "pushes the series into darker and more dangerous territory". The headline news here — besides Activision making its seventh Modern Warfare game,...
News Microsoft Changes Game Pass Font To Match New Xbox Logo
Brand synergy, baby
A lot has been made of Xbox changing its logo and related branding to match the original console's style and spirit - and now Team Green has decided to bring Xbox Game Pass into the fold as well. Yep, to match the new, electric green Xbox logo, Microsoft has changed its Game Pass font here in 2026. Gone is the more 'plain' XGP...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (May 28-31)
Our final FPD for May!
Xbox's Free Play Days program has gone live once again for the coming weekend, and for the final edition of FPD for May 2026, we've got four games playable for free on Xbox consoles. Here's Microsoft's full Free Play Days lineup: Dying Light Formula Legends Gears of War: Reloaded
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass, Including A Surprise Drop (May 28)
Three new XGP titles!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we've got three new additions to the Game Pass library - one brand-new day one launch for Ultimate players, and two new-to-Xbox titles that are joining Premium as well as GPU. Here's some more information on your new Xbox Game Pass titles for May 28: Crashout Crew (Series...
Wednesday27th May 2026
News Resident Evil Requiem Gets Free Demo On Xbox Series X|S
Play "the game's early stages" absolutely free
Resident Evil Requiem, one of the year's hottest games so far, has just received a free demo on Xbox Series X|S - as creator Capcom tries to get even more people through the door. The RE Requiem demo features "part of the game's early stages" and is now up on the Xbox Store. We'll link directly to the...
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (May 27)
Including an Xbox first-party remaster!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we've got a couple of fresh additions to the library, including a brand-new day one release for Game Pass Ultimate players. Here's a quick rundown of today's two new XGP titles (May 27): Echo Generation 2 (Series X|S, PC, Cloud) - Ultimate, PC:...
Monday25th May 2026
News Unreal Engine 6 Revealed By Epic Games, Will Likely Power Lots Of Project Helix Titles
An early look at next-gen tech?
Well, this is a bit of surprise for a Monday morning! Yesterday, as part of the Paris Major for Rocket League esports, developer Psyonix announced that its beloved multiplayer title is getting a massive engine upgrade; it's moving to Unreal Engine 6 in the near future. That's right - Epic Games has basically used...
Friday22nd May 2026
News Call Of Duty 2026 Is A 'Visceral, Immersive' Modern Warfare Game From Xbox
"We are making the definitive Modern Warfare"
After odd teases here and there — often from strange third-party sources like Fanta — Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward has officially confirmed that it's making a new Modern Warfare game this year, and it sounds as though it'll be an ambitious title from the long-time COD dev. The news initially...
Thursday21st May 2026
News Epic Games Boss Calls New Xbox Leadership Team 'World Class', Asha Sharma Responds
"Foreshadows serious dedication to the future of gaming"
Yesterday, we brought you the news that Xbox had made even more leadership hires to take the team into a new era - and now Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney has heaped praise on what Asha Sharma is building within Microsoft's gaming division. Taking to social media shortly after yesterday's news,...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (May 21-24)
A Warhammer takeover!
Xbox Free Play Days is back again for the next few days, and as always, we've got a few titles that are free to play throughout its duration, with Warhammer being the name of the game this week. Yep, to tie in with the 'Warhammer Skulls' event this month, a batch of grimdark Xbox games are free to play over the coming weekend...
