Fraser is the News Editor at Pure Xbox, where he spends his time reporting on the biggest stories in the world of Xbox and beyond.
He also has an unhealthy obsession for all things related to Telltale Games' The Walking Dead series, along with an intimate knowledge of sports games!
News Gears 5 - Operation 3: Gridiron Features New Mode, Maps And Characters
Update: It's now live!
Update: (Wed 25th Mar, 2020 19:00 GMT): Gears 5 - Operation 3: Gridiron is now live! It's a free update for all Gears 5 players, including Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Original Story: (Wed 25th Mar, 2020 13:15 GMT): There's a new update on the way for Gears 5 in the form of Operation 3: Gridiron, which will bring a new...
News Sizeable Twitter Poll Suggests More People Prefer Xbox Series X Than PS5
Sample size of 30k
Self-described writer, videogame lover and standup comedian Christian Spicer took to Twitter the other day to poll users on their thoughts regarding Xbox Series X and PS5. He questioned which of the two systems people would choose if they "could only pick one", and received over 30k votes for his trouble. You can see the tweet...
News The GTA 6 Website Has Been Updated, Reveal On The Way?
Manhunt 3 website as well
We've been hearing rumours about GTA VI for years now, and it's always worth taking them with a pinch of salt, but a potential announcement date of March 25th (today!) has cropped up on numerous occasions recently. And now, Rockstar and Take-Two has added fuel to the fire by making changes to the GTAVI.com website. This...
News April Fools Comes Early As Rubber Ducks Appear In World Of Warships
Update: It's back online
Update: (Tue 24th Mar, 2020 17:38 GMT): Duck of War is back online! Time to get quackin'. Original story: (Tue 24th Mar, 2020 12:30 GMT): Bathtimes just got a lot more interesting! Giant rubber ducks and other toys have been added to a new limited-time mode called Duck of War in World of Warships: Legends.The mode is an...
News Disney+ Launches In UK And Select European Countries, Xbox App Available
But people aren't happy about Frozen 2
Following its initial release for various countries including the U.S. back in November, Disney Plus is now available in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. The catalogue isn't exactly the same, however, which has led to some disgruntlement across the web. Let's start with the good stuff...
Talking Point What Xbox Games With Gold Do You Want In April 2020?
It's almost that time again...
The end of March is just a few days away, and an announcement on April's Xbox Games With Gold titles should be imminent. We're in a strange situation right now — many of us will be spending extra time at home over the next few weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we're hoping Xbox has something really exciting up...
News PlayStation Slowing Downloads In Europe, Will Xbox Be Next?
"Players may experience somewhat slower or delayed game downloads"
President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan has confirmed the company is working with internet providers in Europe to help manage download traffic on PlayStation, resulting in potentially "slower or delayed" game downloads. "We believe it is important to do our...
News Xbox Comments On Coronavirus Pandemic, Says Teams Are 'Working Diligently'
"We are seeing an unprecedented demand for gaming from our customers"
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has commented officially via Xbox.com on the COVID-19 pandemic, explaining what the company is doing to help. He discussed the "new growth and demand" presented by the pandemic, indicating that the team is seeing "an unprecedented demand for gaming". In...
Poll How Do You Feel About The Xbox Series X Controller Requiring AA Batteries?
Let us know your thoughts
We reported last week that the Xbox Series X controller, like the Xbox One controller before it, would again ship with AA batteries, with no rechargeable power pack included with the system as standard. We received a significant number of comments from the Pure Xbox community both in favour and against the move, so we're...
News Analyst Suggests Xbox Series X Price 'Lurking In $400 – $500 Region'
Also thinks system will come out this year
Another analyst has given their thoughts on both the potential price and release date for Xbox Series X. Speaking to True Achievements, Steven Bailey, senior analyst at market research company Omdia, suggested the system probably won't go above $500 due to it being a "major psychological hurdle." Bailey...
Deals This Week's Xbox Sale Now Live, Includes Discounts For GTA V, Assassin's Creed Odyssey
All discounts valid through March 30th
Is it Tuesday already?! We've got another bunch of Xbox Live discounts to detail this week, although many overlap with last week's Publisher and Spotlight Sales. All of these deals are valid through March 30, 2020, so let's take a look at some of the highlights. Starting with Xbox Live Deals with Gold, there...
News CeX Corporate Stores In The UK Temporarily Close Due To Coronavirus
Update: Confirmation from CeX
Update: (Mon 23rd Mar, 2020 18:10 GMT): CeX has confirmed that all corporate-owned stores in the UK will close from today, with the company instead moving to an online-only service. The retailer has indicated that it strongly suggests all franchise stores do the same "as it is the responsible thing to do". Original...
News WRC 9 Confirmed For Xbox Series X, Launches Earlier On Xbox One
Also coming to PS, PC and Switch
The latest entry in the popular and long-running World Rally Championship series will be heading to next-gen consoles in September 2020, including Xbox Series X. But first, it'll be launched on current-gen platforms including Xbox One, with no official date given as of yet. According to the official WRC website, the...
News Football Teams Around The World Are Playing FIFA 20 Together For Charity
It's called #UltimateQuaranTeam
If you're a football (soccer) fan in the UK, you probably already know about this. For everyone else, this is #UltimateQuaranTeam — a major online FIFA 20 tournament featuring participants from across the world of football, including Manchester City, AS Roma and AFC Ajax. The tournament was originally arranged by...
News Microsoft Reveals How Long The Xbox Series X Has Been In Development
Since before Xbox One X
Something we mostly glossed over last week during the massive Xbox Series X reveal was exactly how long the Xbox Series X has been in the works. As revealed by both Digital Foundry and Austin Evans, we now know the console first began development all the way back in 2016. For those keeping track, this means Microsoft was...
News World War Z Crossplay Now Live, PS4 To Be Added In The Future
New features and tweaks added
Here's the good news — World War Z crossplay between Xbox One and PC is live right now, and PS4 crossplay support is on the way. The bad news? We don't know exactly when PS4 support is coming, aside from that it'll be "some point in the future". The official World War Z Twitter posted earlier today revealing the...
News People Are Hoarding And Price Gouging Toilet Paper In Fallout 76
Because of course they are
You're probably already aware of this, but the coronavirus pandemic and panic-buying consumers has made toilet paper one of the most sought-after items in many places around the world. And now, for some reason, it's also ridiculously expensive in the world of Fallout 76. Various people on Reddit (thanks US Gamer) have...
Video Microsoft Demos Xbox Concept Controller For Mobile Devices
Very versatile
Microsoft Research uploaded an old video to its YouTube channel a few days ago showcasing a "versatile controller concept for mobile gaming." The video was made back in 2018, but represents work carried out between 2012 and 2014, so it goes back a bit! It's still a really interesting showcase, however, highlighting how the controller...
Random Golfer Hits Hole-In-One With Xbox One Disc
Yes, you read that right
Have you ever seen anyone perfectly chip an Xbox One disc into the disc drive before? Well, you have now! You might think this is a consequence of self-isolation driving everyone to boredom, but this comes courtesy of holein1trickshots on Instagram, who does this sort of thing all the time. The feat was later shared by the...
UK Charts DOOM Eternal Enters At #2, Loses Out To Animal Crossing
Forza Horizon 4 re-enters the top ten
To the surprise of few, both DOOM Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons have dominated the UK charts this week. Both games were released last Friday (although were sold early by various retailers), and have enjoyed fantastic starts as previously expected. Elsewhere, it's been a fantastic week for Crash...
News Xbox Series X And PS5 Power Difference 'Quite Staggering', Hints Ex-Sony Designer
"I've chatted to a few devs"
We heard a lot of information last week about the spec differences between Xbox Series X and PS5, leading to plenty of debate about which console will be the more powerful of the two. Now, ex-Sony Game Designer Chris Grannell has weighed in with some interesting comments, noting he's "chatted to a few devs" who have...
Talking Point How Important Is Backwards Compatibility To You?
Critical or a waste of time?
One of the big talking points here at Pure Xbox over the weekend has been backwards compatibility, with Microsoft recently announcing the Xbox Series X would support "all Xbox One games", before retracting its statement to confirm that while it's still in the process of validating, it can confirm "thousands" of games...
News ID@Xbox Shows Off Retro-Inspired 2020 Skate Deck
It's very old-school
The Independent Developers program at Xbox (ID@Xbox) has been giving out custom-made skate decks to participating developers and lucky Xbox fans for some years now, and has just unveiled its latest design for 2020. As you can see, it's a gorgeous design reminiscent of the 80s and early 90s gaming era. We're not sure exactly...
News GameStop Is Temporarily Shutting Its U.S. Storefronts From Today
"This is an unprecedented time"
GameStop has announced that all stores in the U.S. are to temporarily cease customer access to their storefronts starting today, with the company instead processing orders on a "digital-only basis, moving to curbside pick-up at stores and eCommerce delivery only". The move comes as a result of the coronavirus...
