Microsoft News Articles
Wednesday21st Jan 2026
News Xbox 'Developer Direct Sale' Now Live With Big Discounts On Xbox Game Studios Titles
Microsoft debuts a new Dev Direct sale
Ahead of Xbox Developer Direct airing tomorrow, January 22nd, the Microsoft Store is hosting a new Dev Direct sale - featuring a bunch of Xbox Game Studios titles at up to 80% off. This particular promo contains everything from Psychonauts and Jade Empire on the OG Xbox to South of Midnight,
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
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
Tuesday20th Jan 2026
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 20)
Two big additions to XGP
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, two big additions are arriving on the service, including a well-loved survival horror title from Capcom in the form of Resident Evil Village. Here's a quick introduction to that, alongside today's other XGP arrival, which is a day one release! MIO: Memories In Orbit...
Monday19th Jan 2026
News Ubisoft's Retrofuture Far Cry Game Has Always Deserved 60FPS, And It's Almost Here
The next 60FPS Far Cry trailer has landed
At the weekend, Ubisoft announced that three Far Cry games were set for 60FPS updates on current-gen consoles this week - and now that the Blood Dragon trailer is here for us to feast our eyes on, we can't wait to replay this one at a smooth frame rate on Xbox Series X|S. We've chucked this 60FPS update...
News Footage From Xbox's Cancelled ZeniMax Online Game Leaks, Looks Very Cyberpunk
Here's what the ESO dev was working on
Back in July of last year, Microsoft cancelled The Elder Scrolls Online dev's next game — Project Blackbird — despite reports that some Xbox execs were "blown away" by it previously. Unfortunately, the public never got to see the title in action, but now, some footage of the canned MMORPG has leaked online,...
Report Microsoft Is Set To Launch An Xbox Cloud Gaming Ad-Tier This Year
Messages are already popping up for some users
Late last year, we heard that Microsoft had started doing internal tests for an ad-supported tier of Xbox Cloud Gaming, and while this hasn't gone live for the public yet, a new report — along with some concrete evidence from other sources — suggests that the new tier is real and will launch in the...
Saturday17th Jan 2026
News Three Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In February 2026 So Far
An early look at Feb's lineup
As we always do around this time of the month, we're taking an early look today at what's ahead for February 2026's Xbox Game Pass selection, with three titles having been confirmed for the service next month already. The headline game so far is definitely High on Life 2; this absurd-looking sequel aims to level up...
Thursday15th Jan 2026
News Bethesda's Fallout Resurgence Is In Full Swing As FO4 Hits Almost 100K Daily Players On Xbox
Madness!
At this point, it's safe to say that Amazon's Fallout TV show has been a massive success not only in itself but also for the franchise at large, and some new data from the Christmas period shows how big of an impact the show has had on older Fallout games for Microsoft and Bethesda. Coming from GamesIndustry.biz (with data supplied by...
News Four New Games Added To Retro Classics On Xbox Game Pass In January 2026
Three Activision classics, one 90s Sierra title
We have our first Xbox Retro Classics games of the new year! Four titles have been added to the library here in January 2026, including three old school games straight from Activision's '80s catalogue. Here are those new additions to Xbox Retro Classics this month: Keystone Kapers (1983) (Atari...
The PlayStation 2025 charts are in
Sony has this week revealed the top 20 best-selling PS5 games digitally throughout 2025, and Microsoft has a large presence on the list — with Black Ops 7, Black Ops 6, Forza Horizon 5, Oblivion Remastered and more making the cut. Forza Horizon 5 is perhaps the most impressive performer here; the four year old...
Tuesday13th Jan 2026
News Call Of Duty On Switch 2 Looks Imminent As 'Nintendo' Files Appear In COD App
Call of Datamine
Last month, we heard from Xbox reporter Jez Corden that Microsoft's Call of Duty series would soon move over to Nintendo platforms, and over the last few days, some evidence has cropped up to suggest that COD on Switch 2 is imminent. As covered in an update by our friends over at Nintendo Life, social media account
Monday12th Jan 2026
News Forza Horizon 5 Hits Huge Sales Milestone In Its First Year On PS5, According To New Estimates
Absolutely flying
We've consistently heard that Forza Horizon 5 has been selling very well on PS5 since its debut last April, and now the head of Alinea Analytics — one of the firms keeping us updated on those sales — has a new update for us here as we enter 2026. According to
News Xbox's Avowed Gets Permanent Price Drop To Coincide With Upcoming PS5 Release
Now available at $50
Avowed arrived on Xbox and PC almost a year ago now, and to coincide with last week's announcement of a PS5 release, Microsoft has dropped the price of the base game on all platforms — with a plan to launch at the same price on the Sony system next month. Yep, head over to the Microsoft Store or Steam and you can now grab...
News Three Games Are Available This Week With Xbox Game Pass (January 12-15)
Including a massive new addition
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass roundup! We've got three new titles coming to the main PC/Ultimate library this week, including tomorrow's huge addition of Ubisoft open-world affair Star Wars Outlaws. Here's a full overview of what's new on Xbox Game Pass this week (January 12-15): Quarantine Zone: The Last...
Saturday10th Jan 2026
News Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In February 2026
Some early predictions
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in February 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...
Wednesday7th Jan 2026
News StarCraft, Wolfenstein 3 & Fallout New Vegas Remake Could All Be In The Works Over At Xbox
With other big games also mentioned
As we shared earlier today in relation to Developer Direct, well-known Xbox reporter Jez Corden has put out a huge report/predictions piece on the future of Xbox in 2026 and beyond — and it namedrops some absolutely massive releases, even if they're still to be confirmed by their respective Microsoft development...
News Xbox Reporter Teases What Might Be Shown At Developer Direct, Including A Potential Surprise
Update: Microsoft confirms three games for the event
Xbox Developer Direct is right around the corner now, having been confirmed by Microsoft last month, and attention is quickly turning to predicting just what might show up at Xbox's annual January s
News The UK Games Industry Had Its Biggest Year Since 2020 Last Year
UK games revenue rose 7.4%
GamesIndustry.Biz has shared some news from the folks over at the Entertainment Retailers Association that suggests 2025 was a pretty big year for gaming in the UK. The ERA gathered data from multiple sources to show that UK customers spent £5.4 billion on gaming in 2025, which is up 7.4% on the year before. "This is the...
News Four Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass Premium (January 7)
Four more titles make the jump from Ultimate
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass roundup! Today's all about Microsoft's mid-tier service in the form of XGP Premium; where four games move over from the Ultimate library today, including some heavy hitters. Here's all four games available with Xbox Game Pass Premium today (January 7):
Tuesday6th Jan 2026
News These 11 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass, Including Two Major Additions (January 6-22)
Your first official XGP roundup of 2026!
Microsoft has today revealed its first official roundup of Xbox Game Pass titles for January 2026, with 11 games joining the service from January 6-22, including two major additions in Star Wars Outlaws and Resident Evil Village! A couple of games have already arrived on Xbox Game Pass this morning in the...
PSA Choo-Choo Charles Costs Less Than A Cup Of Coffee On Xbox This Week
90% off!
As the Xbox Countdown Sale wraps up this week, a small batch of new deals has gone live on the Microsoft Store today — and while there's not much to write home about, we have noticed that terror-inducing horror hit Choo-Choo Charles is available for a ridiculously low price on Xbox right now. Live now and available for the next week or...
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 6)
Two surprise additions to kick off 2026!
Welcome to your first Game Pass update for 2026! Today, we have two surprise additions to the library, including Little Nightmares: Enhanced Edition which delivers a new ray-traced version of Tarsier's classic to Xbox Series X|S and PC. Here's some more detail on that, alongside your other Xbox Ga
Monday5th Jan 2026
News Xbox Console Sales 'The Worst On Record' In 2025 As Microsoft Shifts Focus (UK)
"Sales of Xbox consoles were down 39%"
Over the last year or so, it's not been particularly positive news when it comes to Xbox console sales, with Microsoft continuing to focus its efforts on PC and ROG Xbox Ally in recent months. That trend has been felt here in the UK, where Xbox Series X|S sales are down almost 40% in 2025; leading to "the worst...
Thursday18th Dec 2025
News Xbox's Blizzard Team Is Preparing For Its 'Biggest Year Yet' In 2026
What could we see?
We already know that Xbox Game Studios has a pretty big year planned in 2026 with the likes of Fable, Forza Horizon 6, Gears of War: E-Day and Halo: Campaign Evolved set to land next year, and now the folks over at Blizzard Entertainment sound like they're getting in on the Xbox anniversary party as well. Speaking with
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (December 18-21)
More free trials for Xbox players
Welcome to your latest Xbox Free Play Days lineup! Microsoft has today revealed the full list of games available with the program for the coming weekend - including some Call of Duty and Fallout trials which we've covered elsewhere this week at Pure Xbox: Here's the full FPD lineup this week: Ark: Survival...
Wednesday17th Dec 2025
News 40+ Games Were Added To Xbox Play Anywhere In November 2025
Silent Hill 2 the headline addition
As part of the Xbox December 2025 Update, Microsoft has highlighted more than 40 Xbox Play Anywhere titles added to the program last month, including major games such as Silent Hill 2, Football Manager 26, Dave the Diver and more! Many of the
News Black Ops 7 Was The Best-Selling Game In November, But Battlefield 6 Remains Top For 2025 (US)
Circana has all the details
We've heard a lot about how Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7 have been performing in the sales department already, and now Circana has some fresh data on how both titan FPS titles have been getting on commercially in the US. First off, despite Black Ops 7 dropping off
News Xbox Highlights Four Retro Classics Coming Soon To Game Pass
Big player milestone also announced
As part of the Xbox December Update, Microsoft has announced the next four titles coming to Xbox Retro Classics; the retro gaming collection that's been available to Game Pass subscribers since May 2025. Three of those titles are included in the image up above, and thankfully, Microsoft has also listed all four...
News Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 Free Trial Now Live On Xbox One & Series X|S
Here's how to get in
Xbox's Activision team has dropped its first free trial period for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, now live on all platforms including Xbox One and Series X|S. This first-ever free access period for this year's COD includes "a selection of Multiplayer and Zombies content including the fan-favourite 'Nuketown 2025'". Here's Xbox's...
