Microsoft News Articles
Friday20th Mar 2026
News Xbox Game Studios Sale Now Live On Steam Featuring Major 2025 Titles
Compatible with ROG Xbox Ally... and Project Helix?
With lots of Xbox's catalogue now available on PC platform Steam, we're always curious to see when Microsoft hosts sales over there - particularly in the wake of ROG Xbox Ally and with Project Helix on the horiz
News 'Energized' Xbox Engineer Talks New Dashboard Update & Its 'Unusually' Fast Turnaround
"We got an unusual amount of stuff done"
This week, Xbox Insiders received some new dashboard features thanks to what feels like the first meaningful console update in ages - and now newly-"energized" Xbox engineer Eden Marie has given us a bit more context on its "unusual" development time over at Microsoft HQ. Following the update's mid-week
Wednesday18th Mar 2026
News Microsoft's Next First-Party Release Officially Launches On Xbox Game Pass This April
Early playtests also announced!
We have a new Xbox Game Studios launch date! Kiln, from the fine folks over at Double Fine Productions, officially releases for Xbox, PS5 and PC on April 23rd, 2026 - including on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Early playtests are also planned, but we're not 100% sure on the specific platforms for those j
News Xbox Series X|S Is Getting Its First Dashboard Update In Ages, Quick Resume Upgrade Included
New console features are coming
After what feels like months and months of Xbox updates centred around PC and Cloud, Microsoft has today unveiled a new set of Xbox Series X|S console features, rolling out now to Xbox Insiders. Yep, the Xbox dashboard is getting some fresh refinements, including the ability to add more Groups to your home page, new...
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass Premium (March 18)
Including an Xbox first-party release!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we've got just the two games moving over to Microsoft's XGP Premium library, including first-party release South of Midnight. Here's what's new on Game Pass Premium today (March 18): South of Midnight (Series X|S, PC, Cloud) - Premium: "S
Tuesday17th Mar 2026
News Forza Horizon 6 Brings Back Seasonal Weather Changes, But Playground Has 'Learned From' FH4
Winter will be more forgiving overall
In another look at Forza Horizon 6, the IGN First program has gone into a bit more detail on the seasonal weather changes coming to Playground's new open-world racing title, with a bit more context from members of the dev team as well. In short, seasons are back in a bigger way than ever in FH6; taking more...
News These 12 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (March 17 - April 7)
We have our next batch of XGP titles!
Microsoft has today revealed the latest official roundup of Xbox Game Pass titles for March and April 2026, with 12 games joining the service from March 17th to April 7th, including Disco Elysium and Resident Evil 7. If you're a Premium Xbox Game Pass member, South of Midnight, The Alters
News Bethesda Says Starfield Looks 'Amazing' With Nvidia's DLSS 5, But Don't Expect It On Xbox
"We've played it..."
Yesterday, Nvidia lifted the lid on its DLSS 5 technology, and it's safe to say that the company's newest AI-based visual fidelity "breakthrough" hasn't exactly gone down well with the internet so far. Here at PX HQ, we're trying to reserve full judgment until the tech is out there and in the wild - but one man that's already...
Saturday14th Mar 2026
News Two Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In April 2026 So Far
An early look at what's coming next month
As we always do around this time of the month, we're taking an early look today at what's ahead for April 2026's Xbox Game Pass selection - and at the time of writing, we have two games confirmed for the lineup next month so far. One of those games is Replaced from Sad Cat Studios; the long-in-development...
Friday13th Mar 2026
News Data Firm Predicts PC Revenue Will Soon Surpass Console As Xbox Prepares To Bridge The Gap
"PC revenue will surpass console revenue by 2028"
With everything we've heard about Project Helix recently and all of the Xbox news coming out GDC this week, we know that Microsoft is moving towards bridging the gap between console and PC as part of its
Thursday12th Mar 2026
News 'Xbox Mode' For Windows 11 Is Progress, And It Could Shape Microsoft's Project Helix Console
An evolution of the Xbox Full Screen Experience
As part of this week's GDC news, Microsoft has announced 'Xbox Mode' for Windows 11 PCs, and it sounds like a big step forward for the team's existing Xbox Full Screen Experience. Xbox Mode will be a new way to play games on PC starting next month, aiming to streamline the Windows gami
News Microsoft's 'This Is An Xbox' Post Taken Down As Fans Wonder If The Controversial Ad Is No More
Maybe it's not an Xbox after all
Remember Microsoft's late 2024 'This is an Xbox' ad campaign? The one that proved pretty controversial amongst long-time Xbox fans? Well, despite the marketing slogan cropping up multiple times since its introduction well over a year ago, it's looking like Microsoft might be starting to erase its existence. First...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (March 12-15)
Including a big Activision title!
Microsoft's latest Free Play Days lineup is starting to roll out now on Xbox - and we've got five games playable as part of the program this week, including Activision Blizzard's Diablo 4. Here's your full Free Play Days selection for the coming weekend: Bassmaster Fishing Diablo 4 Killing Floor 3 Tropico 6
News One Of 2025's Biggest Indie Titles Joins Xbox Game Pass Premium Today (March 12)
Silky
Welcome to today's Xbox Game Pass update! While we don't have any new titles joining the main Ultimate library, one major indie title is making the jump to Game Pass Premium - meaning middle tier XGP subscribers can now jump into this one at no extra cost. Here's some more information on today's new Xbox Game Pass Premium addition (March 12):
Wednesday11th Mar 2026
News Xbox Says Backwards Compatibility Program Will Be Revived For 25th Anniversary
But we're not sure what's being released
As part of a keynote at this year's GDC event, Xbox's VP of Next Generation — Jason Ronald — has teased that Microsoft's backwards compatibility program is being revived in some fashion this year. Now, we'll be upfront here and say that we don't know for sure if this means more unreleased games will be...
News 'Xbox 25' Fanta Collab Hints At What We Might Be Getting With Call Of Duty 2026
Getting the band back together?
Infinity Ward is back at the helm of Call of Duty this year, which means that naturally, a new Modern Warfare title is likely for Fall 2026. We've already heard various rumours and reports that this is the case - and now a new Xbox x Fanta collaboration gives us our strongest hint at 'Modern Warfare 4' so far. Shared...
Tuesday10th Mar 2026
News Microsoft's 2026 GDC Booth Showcases An Impressive Look At The History Of Xbox Consoles
As the team "builds for what's next"
The 2026 edition of the Game Developers Conference gets underway this week, and Microsoft is there in a big way this year, with a huge display showcasing the storied history of its Xbox gaming brand. Indeed, alongside the team "building for what's next" at GDC, a collection of important moments throughout the...
News Fortnite Price Hikes Are Coming, And They'll Affect Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Fortnite Crew members get less V-Bucks per month
Epic Games has today announced sweeping changes to the Fortnite economy, starting March 19th for all players across all platforms. The main change here is that from that date, players will get less V-Bucks for their money. Before these changes come into effect, $8.99 grants you 1000 V-Bucks - and...
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (March 10)
Including a massive Xbox RPG
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we've got two games joining the XGP library, including the absolutely mammoth RPG Cyberpunk 2077 from the folks over at CD Projekt RED. Here's a quick refresher on that one, alongside today's other addition to Xbox Game Pass: Construction Simulator (Console, PC,...
Monday9th Mar 2026
News Digital Foundry Speculates Whether There'll Be An Xbox Series S Successor Next-Gen
"They're talking about a range of devices..."
Just a few hours ago, we shared a discussion about Project Helix and the sort of price we can possibly expect it to launch at, and while it's sounding like that particularly device will be pretty high-end, another outlet has speculated on whether Microsoft will return to the lower end of the market with...
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Say About Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
Capcom's latest MH launches on Xbox this week!
Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection arrives on Xbox Series X|S later this week, and while we haven't had chance to check this one out yet here at Pure Xbox, plenty of reviews have just gone live, so we're going to round some of those up here in this article. It sounds as though folks are...
News Tech Journalist Predicts A Price Of 'At Least $1,000' For Xbox Project Helix
"They’ll probably charge $1,000 or more for this thing..."
Ever since Sarah Bond began talking about the next-gen Xbox as a 'Premium' high-end device, it's been assumed that the cost will be much higher than what we're used to seeing from a traditional console - and now tech journalist Moore's Law Is Dead has predicted that Project Helix could end...
News Xbox Superfan Shares Blades Dashboard Concept For 'Project Helix' Console
Would you like to see this for the next-gen system?
With Project Helix now out in the wild at least in terms of name and concept, folks have started speculating on what exactly this console will look and play like, with Xbox seeking to merge console and PC in a bigger way than ever before. That obviously leads to questions about what the user...
Saturday7th Mar 2026
News Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In April 2026
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in April 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...
Thursday5th Mar 2026
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (March 5-8)
Including Black Desert & Sonic Racing CrossWorlds!
Microsoft has just revealed its Free Play Days lineup for the coming weekend! This time around, four Xbox games are playable for free over the next few days - headlined by Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds from the folks over at SEGA. Here's your full Xbox Free Play Days lineup this week: Black...
News Xbox Hardly Ever Advertises Free Demos, But A Handful Have Been Added In Recent Weeks
Including a brand-new Fatal Frame 2 demo!
Here at Pure Xbox, we like to highlight Xbox demos wherever we can - at the end of the day, they give folks a taste of upcoming titles for free ahead of their respective launches. Having said that, the Microsoft Store kind of buries them these days (they're listed in popularity order rather than by release...
Wednesday4th Mar 2026
News Digital Foundry Compares Fallout 4 On Switch 2 & Series S, Xbox Version Wins Out
A breakdown on Bethesda's newest Fallout 4 port
Fallout 4 has gotten another new version here in 2026, more than a decade after the game's initial Xbox One release. Yep, Bethesda has ported its post-apocalyptic epic over to Nintendo Switch 2 recently, and the folks over at Digital Foundry have been seeing how this new edition of the game stacks up...
Tuesday3rd Mar 2026
News Activision Announces 'Black Ops Royale', A New Free-To-Play Call Of Duty Experience On Xbox
COD's new 100-player mode inspired by Blackout
Activision has taken to the internet airwaves this week to announce 'Black Ops Royale', a new "Blackout-inspired" experience hosted in the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone on Xbox and other platforms. Blackout, for those of you who don't know, was the first battle royale mode to arrive in Call of...
News Support Studio Denies Teasing Work On Fallout Remasters With Xbox & Bethesda
Update: The dev has issued a statement
Long-time support developer Iron Galaxy Studios — which has worked with Xbox and Bethesda in the past — appears to have teased some sort of Fallout work on its LinkedIn page, leading to speculation that some sort of remaster work could be on the cards. Indeed, the studio shared a workplace update a few...
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (March 3)
Update: We've got a surprise third game!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today's a day that many folks have been waiting for, as the epic Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 becomes available to XGP subscribers. We'll sum up the Warhorse Studios RPG down below, alongside today's other addition to Xbox Game Pass (March 3): Final Fantasy III...
