Microsoft News Articles
Friday17th Apr 2026
News Nine Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Late April 2026
Everything that's leaving soon
Microsoft has revealed the final nine games leaving Xbox Game Pass in late April 2026, with all of these being highlighted as "leaving soon" on the official Xbox mobile app. There are some definite fan favourites in here, including the popular extraction shooter Hunt: Showdown 1896, sci-fi action adventure game...
Thursday16th Apr 2026
News Xbox's New Dashboard Update Is Now Available For All Users
New Quick Resume features, customisation options and more
Around a month ago, we brought you the news that Microsoft was delivering its first substantial Xbox Series X|S console update in ages - and now, that update is available for all users rather than being limited to Xbox Insiders. Yep, Microsoft's new Quick Resume features, guide customisation...
News Xbox First-Party Title 'Wasteland Remastered' Is Free To Claim Right Now
Grab it for free to keep!
Although inXile's Wasteland Remastered is included in multiple tiers of Xbox Game Pass, it's currently showing up as being totally free to keep on the Xbox Store right now - which means that it's probably worth adding to your account while you can. Indeed, heading over to the Microsoft Store listing for Wasteland...
News Another Call Of Duty Game Is Seemingly Being Prepped For Xbox Game Pass
Could it be arriving soon?
Following Modern Warfare's arrival on the service later this week, it looks as though Microsoft is preparing another Call of Duty title for Xbox Game Pass sometime in the near future. It's been spotted that Call of Duty: Vanguard — the series' 2021 entry by Sledgehammer Games — has just gotten an Xbox for PC version...
News Three Games Are Available Late This Week With Xbox Game Pass (April 16-17)
Including a couple of big first-party games
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Over the next two days, we've got three games coming to the service - two all-new for XGP and one that's moving over from Ultimate to Premium. Here's the lowdown on everything coming to Xbox Game Pass this Thursday and Friday (April 16-17): NHL 26 (Series...
Wednesday15th Apr 2026
News Xbox's Studios Are Working 'Side-By-Side' With Microsoft On Project Helix
"Our teams are involved early on..."
At this point, we know that Microsoft is full-speed ahead with Xbox Project Helix, and now Chief Content Officer Matt Booty has revealed that the company's first-party teams are deeply involved with crafting the hardware, even at an early stage. Speaking on a new episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, Booty...
News Gears Of War E-Day Direct Length Detailed As Xbox Games Showcase Reveals Get Locked In
Here's how much of Gears we're gonna see
At the end of last month, Microsoft revealed fresh details on its Xbox Games Showcase featuring Gears of War: E-Day Direct, and now exec Matt Booty has revealed just how much of the new Gears game we're going to see in roughly two months' time. While talking about planning for the show, Booty said that...
News Starfield PS5 Sales Estimates Revealed & Compared To Other Xbox Ports
"The high-profile port has had a middling start..."
With Starfield now being out for a week or so on PS5, the folks over at Alinea Analytics have provided us with some sales estimates at the port's seven-day mark - and it sounds as though the Bethesda RPG has just done okay so far. According to the firm, Starfield has shifted roughly 140,000 copies...
Tuesday14th Apr 2026
News Xbox Is Having 'Very Big Discussions' About Exclusivity, Says Reporter
"There are very very very big discussions..."
With Asha Sharma now in charge of Microsoft's Xbox division, the team is going in a slightly different and more console-focused direction here in 2026, with Xbox exclusivity coming up as a hot topic for the new boss already. Whilst nothing has been confirmed publicly yet — and
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (April 14)
Including two brand-new Xbox releases!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we've got three games joining the library, including a long-awaited day one release and a highly-regarded title that's new to Xbox in the form of Hades 2. If you want to know the exact release times for Hades 2, we'll chuck a link to our coverage on that...
Monday13th Apr 2026
News Microsoft Announces New 'Xbox First Look' Showcase For Later This Week
Featuring the new Metro from 4A Games!
Surprise! Microsoft has just announced that a new Xbox showcase will air later this week - focusing solely on 'Metro 2039' in a similar vein to the team's upcoming Stranger Than Heaven event. This one is being called 'Xbox First Look' though; where developer 4A Games will be revealing its brand-new Metro game...
News Xbox Reporter Suggests Microsoft Is Being More Lenient With Its Gaming Profit Goals
"This has given Xbox extra breathing room..."
Back in October, we heard that Microsoft had been pushing its Xbox teams to aim for increased profit margins in recent years - and although the Xbox owner responded by saying that the quoted 30% margin was incorrect, it was still believed that increased pressures had been put on Microsoft's studios as of...
Rumour Fable Has Apparently Been Delayed Internally, But May Still Launch In 2026
"They are worried about the launch of GTA6"
GTA 6 could be a bit of a trouble-maker when it comes to other 2026 game launches, couldn't it? The Rockstar epic is sure to swallow up everyone's time and attention when it finally launches this year (supposedly), and the latest rumour doing the rounds suggests that Xbox's Fable may end up getting delayed...
Sunday12th Apr 2026
Rumour Microsoft Might Not Launch Call Of Duty 2026 On Xbox Game Pass
This year's COD may skip a day one XGP release
In the last couple of years, Microsoft has made the bet to launch Call of Duty day one on Xbox Game Pass; first with 2024's Black Ops 6 before following it up last year with Black Ops 7. However, a new rumour doing the rounds suggests that Xbox is considering reversing that decision for this year's Call...
Saturday11th Apr 2026
News Four Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In May 2026 So Far
Including a first-party release you may have heard about
As we always do around this time of the month, we're taking an early look today at what's ahead for May 2026's Xbox Game Pass selection, with four games currently scheduled to arrive next month. One of those is the absolutely massive release that is Forza Horizon 6; Xbox's first major AAA...
Friday10th Apr 2026
News Former Xbox Exec Says Project Helix Is 'Very Similar' To Microsoft's Plan For The OG Xbox
"It's very similar to what the original Xbox plan was..."
Microsoft is moving further and further back towards its PC gaming roots with the advent of the next-gen Xbox — Project Helix — and according to former exec Ed Fries, the upcoming console sounds a lot like what Microsoft had originally planned for the OG Xbox before the system morphed...
Thursday9th Apr 2026
News Halo: Master Chief Collection Deploys 'Significant Ban Wave' In Latest Update
Gravity ban hammer
The Halo Support team has announced that a new backend update has been deployed to its Easy Anti-Cheat efficiency program in The Master Chief Collection, resulting in a "significant ban wave" for the Halo collection on Xbox and PC. This was announced by the team on social media late last night, where it's noted that this doesn't...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (April 9-12)
One of them is free to keep forever!
Microsoft's Free Play Days selection for this week is rolling out now on Xbox! We've got four games playable as part of FPD over the next few days - and one of them is a special entry as it's free to keep once downloaded! Here's what's playable with Free Play Days this coming weekend: Graveyard Keeper One...
News Two Games Are Available Late This Week With Xbox Game Pass (April 9-10)
Including a new day one Ultimate release!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! To round out the end of the week, we've got a couple of fresh additions to the XGP library, including new day one Game Pass Ultimate title Tiny Bookshop on Friday. Here's what's new on Xbox Game Pass late this week (April 9-10): Planet Coaster 2 (Series X|S,...
Wednesday8th Apr 2026
News Four Games Are Available Today Across Various Tiers Of Xbox Game Pass (April 8)
New games for Ultimate, Premium & Essential players
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we've got four games entering various different XGP tiers - including two new Premium titles, one new Essential title and a PC-only addition across all tiers of Xbox Game Pass. Here are your four new Xbox Game Pass additions, complete with all...
Tuesday7th Apr 2026
News These 19 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (April 7-23)
A huge list of new XGP titles!
Microsoft has today unveiled its next batch of Xbox Game Pass titles, which features some huge Xbox releases such as Hades 2 and the long-in-development Replaced. Here's everything coming to Xbox Game Pass from April 7 through April 23: Date Game Platform Tier April 7
Saturday4th Apr 2026
News Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In May 2026
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in May 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...
Thursday2nd Apr 2026
News Five Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early April 2026
Everything that's leaving soon
Microsoft has revealed the next six games leaving Xbox Game Pass in early April 2026, with all of these being highlighted as "leaving soon" on the official Xbox mobile app. The most notable departure here is Grand Theft Auto V, which is disappearing across all platforms including Xbox Series X|S and PC. We've also got...
Tuesday31st Mar 2026
News Fable, Grounded 2 Co-Developer Loses Studio Head Following Mass Layoffs
The team has supported multiple Xbox studios
In another bit of disappointing industry news this week, Eidos-Montréal has announced that 124 employees have been let go — alongside the departure of the team's studio head, David Anfossi — as "a result of changing project needs and impacts across production and support teams". The studio took to
Monday30th Mar 2026
News Three Final Xbox Game Pass Additions For March 2026 Are Available Early This Week
Including a new day one title!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update, and our final one for March 2026! Indeed, we've got three games coming to the library across the last two days of this month - including the pictured Resident Evil 7 and a brand-new day one drop. Here's the lowdown on your final Xbox Game Pass additions of the month (March...
Sunday29th Mar 2026
News Xbox's 2027 Game Pass Lineup Is Off To A Great Start Following March Partner Preview Event
Our first 2027 games announced!
This week's Xbox Partner Preview wasn't exactly light on Game Pass reveals; we got 14 new announcements as part of the March showcase. While most of these titles are set to drop this year, the event did give us our first glimpse at what to
Friday27th Mar 2026
News Sony Announces Major PS5 Price Hikes, Here's How They Compare To Xbox Series X|S
Series S looking like a bit of a bargain!
Sony has today announced what our good friends at Push Square are calling "gigantic" PS5 price increases, including a $200 price bump on the company's flagship PS5 Pro console. Of course, Microsoft has done similar things in recent months and years - heck, we even compared just how much Xbox Series X and S...
Thursday26th Mar 2026
News Xbox Announces 14 Titles Coming To Game Pass At March's Partner Preview Showcase
A ridiculous amount of new XGP reveals!
Xbox's March Partner Preview showcase is now over, and it was absolutely stacked with Game Pass reveals. Of the 19 games that were showcased during the event, 14 of them are coming to Xbox Game Pass day one - including some massive titles like Hades 2,
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (March 26-29)
Live now through Sunday evening!
The latest edition of Xbox Free Play Days has officially begun, and Microsoft has two games for us as part of the program this weekend - including Train Sim World 6: Thomas & Friends Edition (sorry, it's not the recently-released Thomas & Friends: Wonders of Sodor that's included here). Anyway, here's the full Free...
Wednesday25th Mar 2026
News Microsoft Beats Out Sony & Nintendo In Metacritic's 2026 Game Publisher Rankings
A spot in the top five!
Metacritic has today revealed its list of top game publishers for 2026 (based on their 2025 output), and this year, Microsoft has made the top five - beating out the likes of Sony and Nintendo in terms of average Metascores. Based on its 2025 releases, Microsoft managed a Metacritic average rating of 80 - with Forza Horizon...
