Popular Games by Microsoft
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 Xbox Series X|S
- 19th Nov 2024 (UK/EU)
- 19th Nov 2024 (NA)
Reviews of Microsoft Games
Review Age Of Mythology: Retold (Xbox) - Microsoft's Godly RTS Classic Revitalised
Go beyond history
Age of Mythology might not be a major numbered entry, but it's still played a significant role in the Age timeline – transitioning the series from 2D to 3D following the success of Ensemble's real-time strategy king, Age of Empires II. Mythology wasn’t just there to fill the void when it landed on PC in 2002 and is still...
Review Sea Of Thieves - In Truly Ship-Shape Condition Two Years After Launch
It's a pirate's life for me
When Sea of Thieves initially set sail in 2018, it was met with somewhat mixed reviews. Rare's pirate playground is undoubtedly a masterful creation; a vast, dynamic, hyper-stylised sea world dotted with mysterious islands and skeleton forts in which players are set free to create their own grand adventures. However, it...
Review Forza Horizon 4 - The Best Racing Experience On Xbox One
Fuel Britannia
Offshoots aren’t meant to surpass their source material. They’re meant to be unusual curios that take an existing concept in twist it in ways the mainline series never could. When the original Forza Horizon casually rolled up onto the scene in 2012, no one really expected it to attract the fan base that it did, but eight years on...
Review Forza Horizon 2: Storm Island (Xbox One)
Making it rain.
When crafting a DLC package of any significant weight for a game that has gone down really well with gamers and critics alike, developers have to be careful. What they add can’t interfere with the mix that they already had, as they really don’t want to be messing with a successful formula. Playground Games found a way to ensure...
Review D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (Xbox One)
Look for D
Remember Deadly Premonition? It’s one of the most divisive games ever to be released upon the world. Poor production values, bizarreness to the extreme, and campy…well, everything else, meant it was one of those wonderfully weird games that either clicked with you, or it didn't at all. Now, four years after the release of Deadly...
Review Kinect Sports Rivals (Xbox One)
Do or die.
To say that Kinect Sports Rivals is a high-profile title for Xbox One would be something of an understatement. Being the only game (barring the violently bad Fighter Within, which barely passes as a game) available that’s been designed for the much-maligned Kinect device that’s included with every console, people were looking to...
Latest Microsoft News
YesterdaySat, 14th Jun 2025
News Four Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In July 2025 So Far
An early look at what's to come
As we always do around this time of the month, we're taking a look today at what's ahead for July 2025's Xbox Game Pass selection, with four games having been confirmed for Game Pass next month at the time of writing. We've got some huge games coming to the service in July right now, including Xbox first-party...
Friday13th Jun 2025
News Gears Of War: Reloaded Physical Version Confirmed For PS5, Nothing Yet For Xbox
Rumour has it the full game is on-disc, too
Gears of War: Reloaded marks the series' PS5 debut later this year, and it seems as though PlayStation players will be getting even more bonuses beyond that. Not only is the game getting a proper disc-based physical release on PS5, but it's looking like the whole game will actually be printed onto the disc...
News PS6 To Provide 'New & Enhanced' Experience As Sony & Microsoft Plan For Next-Gen
Exciting times ahead
It's all starting to hot up in terms of new gaming devices from Sony and Microsoft, isn't it? Last year, the former delivered PS5 Pro, while Microsoft has just announced its ROG Xbox Ally handheld - and it sounds like the two teams aren't stopping there, as expected. Next-gen Xbox and PlayStation plans are well underway. In a...
Wednesday11th Jun 2025
News Xbox Has Started Giving Out Free Gears Of War: Reloaded Codes To 'Ultimate Edition' Owners
Time to check your DMs!
As we mentioned right after the game was announced last month, existing owners of Gears: Ultimate Edition will get a free upgrade to Gears of War: Reloaded on Xbox Series X|S - and now Microsoft is beginning to roll out this generous offer to its users. We'd been minding our own business this evening, playing a little
News Halo 3 The Name Of The Game In New 'Operation: Legacy' Event For Halo Infinite
"Finish the fight all over again"
Halo Studios has just launched its latest event for 2021's Halo Infinite, and we're revisiting Xbox 360 classic Halo 3 in a major way as part of Operation: Legacy. This new Operation brings together seven classic multiplayer maps into the 'Delta Arena: Halo 3 Legacy Playlist', including four never-before seen in...
News Switch 2 'Closer To Xbox Series S' Than Last-Gen Consoles, Says Ninja Gaiden Dev
"It can be thought as closer to the Series S"
Nintendo's Switch 2 console is now out in the wild, and here at PX HQ we're certainly intrigued to see how much Microsoft goes on to support the system. The good news for Xbox's studios is that the device is of course a lot more powerful than its predecessor, with Ninja Gaiden dev Koei Tecmo comparing it
Tuesday10th Jun 2025
News Phil Spencer Says 2026 Is Going To Be 'A Really Special Year' For Xbox
He also explains why some big games are skipping 2025
Towards the end of Xbox's big summer showcase this year, boss Phil Spencer came out to introduce Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 - but not before he championed the ROG Xbox Ally and
News Xbox & Windows Worked 'As One Development Team' To Make The ROG Xbox Ally
"This is the tightest collaboration I've seen"
Since the Xbox Games Showcase wrapped up this past weekend, you've probably seen lots of PX content on the ROG Xbox Ally — because we're incredibly excited about it — and now Xbox boss Phil Spencer has chimed in on just how much work went into making the ASUS handheld a reality. Talking on a fresh...
News Xbox Is Still Committed To Bringing Call Of Duty To Switch, Confirms Activision
"Both teams are working on it"
Nintendo Switch 2 is out. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has been announced. And yet, Xbox hasn't committed to launching anything on the new Nintendo system right now, apart from next month's
News Two More Xbox First-Party Games Are Getting 'Code In A Box' Physical Releases In 2025
Including Microsoft's first $80 title
There's been some controversy about Microsoft's decision to move to $80 game releases with The Outer Worlds 2, and things are getting even more controversial with the way Xbox is handling its physical releases here in 2025. <related ids="181030"> Retail listings for both The Outer Worlds 2 and fellow...
Monday9th Jun 2025
Talking Point How Much Do You Think The ROG Xbox Ally Will Cost?
Two skus, two price points
Since an Xbox 'partner' handheld was first rumoured many months ago, there's been lots of discussion about potential price points for it, and how Microsoft will compete in the portable PC market. Despite the team finally announcing the device(s) during the Xbox Games Showcase, we still didn't get any pricing details -...
News Two Huge Free Demos Were Added To The Xbox Store Last Night
Post-Showcase freebies!
The Xbox Games Showcase was packed full of interesting announcements for the coming months on the platform, but what about stuff you can get stuck into in the here and now? Well, thankfully, Microsoft treated us to a couple of freebies last night in the form of two major demos that are now live on the Xbox Store! One of...
Reaction Xbox Games Showcase 2025 Was Just OK, But Next Year Should Be Amazing
A big 2026 lineup is already being teased
Well, there we have it folks - the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 has officially come and gone. We got some fantastic new game reveals — including a slew of Xbox Game Pass announcements for the months and years ahead — and all-in-all we're pretty satisfied. However, this year's show did feel a little quiet...
Sunday8th Jun 2025
News Call Of Duty Goes Co-Op With Black Ops 7, Coming To Xbox Game Pass This Year
"Following the events of Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 6"
It may have only been about 10 seconds since Black Ops 6 launched on Xbox, but Call of Duty is back once again with Black Ops 7; debuting with a co-op campaign on Game Pass this year, as you'd expect. We heard rumours about more Black Ops coming in 2025 for a while, bu
Saturday7th Jun 2025
Talking Point Switch 2 Owners, Should Xbox Embrace Nintendo's New System?
What games should launch there first?
Well, there we have it, Nintendo Switch 2 is now officially released after years of waiting - and we promise we're not getting FOMO over here, not at all. Anyway, brushing aside that massive lie, we're curious to hear from any of you who've betrayed us and bought a Switch 2... should Microsoft embrace the system...
Friday6th Jun 2025
News Lies Of P: Overture Just Shadow Dropped, Available On Xbox Today
Update: officially announced at SGF!
Recent soulslike Lies of P was a pretty fantastic addition to Xbox Game Pass when it launched there back in 2023, and it seems as though the game's upcoming 'Overture' expansion is about to shadow drop on Xbox - bringing more action-RPG goodness to the platform in the process. Ahead of
News Xbox's First Switch 2 Release Skates Onto Hybrid Console Next Month
Pro move, Microsoft
Here at Pure Xbox, we're keeping an eye on Switch 2 to see how Nintendo's new console launch goes, and we're definitely excited by the prospect of playing Xbox games on the new hybrid system. While Microsoft hasn't detailed much of its Switch 2 plans yet, the Activision team has just announced its first releas
News Forza On PS5 Has 'Easily' Made $100 Million For Xbox, Says Analyst
"Easily exceeding revenues of $100 million"
Earlier this week, we posted about Forza Horizon 5 dominating the PS5 sales charts for the month of May - and now data firm Alinea Analytics has come out and translated that into an impressive revenue number for Team Xbox. According to the firm, Forza Horizon 5 has now surpassed 2.2 million sales on...
Thursday5th Jun 2025
News These 10 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (June 5-17)
Your latest batch of new titles
Microsoft has announced the full Xbox Game Pass lineup for June 5th to 17th today, bulking out the growing list of June 2025 Game Pass titles that we've covered elsewhere on Pure Xbox. Some of the highlights from this latest lineup include Space Marine Master Crafted Edition
Wednesday4th Jun 2025
Guide Xbox Handheld: Everything We Know So Far, Including The Latest Rumours
Your all-in-one guide to Xbox's handheld plans
What's going on with the Xbox handheld?! For quite a while now, we've been hearing about plans for Xbox to develop such a device, and even Xbox boss Phil Spencer has talked about it on a series of occasions. More recently, we've heard that ASUS is working on some kind of partner handheld, and that Xbox...
News Xbox Dominates PS5 Charts, Forza Horizon 5 'Most Downloaded' Game In May
Half of the PS5 top 10 are Xbox games!
PlayStation has just released its 'top downloads' chart for May 2025, and once again, Microsoft is dominating the list on PS5 in both the US and the EU - including a pole position for Xbox's Forza Horizon 5. Yep, Playground Games' open-world racer is top of the charts for PS5 in both regions, following what...
Tuesday3rd Jun 2025
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (June 3)
Our first additions of the month!
Welcome to your first Xbox Game Pass update for June 2025! Today, we have two fresh additions to the library, including the highly-rated metroidvania Crypt Custodian. Here's everything new on Xbox Game Pass today, June 3rd: Crypt Custodian (Console, PC, Cloud
Friday30th May 2025
News Microsoft Signs 'Historic Tentative Agreement' With QA Devs At Bethesda
"In a first for the video game industry..."
The Communication Workers of America (CWA) has announced that unionized QA developers at Bethesda owner ZeniMax have signed a "historic tentative contract agreement" with Microsoft, after "nearly two years" of negotiation. The deal — which is still being finalised with it only being 'tentative' at this...
News Xbox 'Hits You Can't Miss' & 'Super Giant Swords' Sales Now Live, Get Up To 90% Off
Microsoft has put two more promos live
Earlier this week, we posted our typical weekly deals roundup that focused on a new Bundle Sale on the Microsoft Store - but Team Green is getting a little more unpredictable these days in terms of its sale dates, with two more promotions going live a little later this week. <related ids="182909"> These...
Wednesday28th May 2025
News Xbox Is An Official Partner For Next Week's Summer Game Fest 2025
Summer gaming season is upon us!
We know that the Xbox Games Showcase 2025 is right around the corner here on June 8th, but we actually have another major event to look forward to now - with Xbox just confirmed as an official partner for this year's Summer Game Fest show. SGF, as it's otherwise known, has basically become the de-facto E3...
News Xbox Copilot Now Live For Testing As Microsoft Introduces Its AI Companion
Ask the Xbox app for help
A couple of months back, Microsoft publicly announced its 'Copilot for Gaming' program to the world; a new AI tool that allows players to directly ask for game help through the Xbox mobile app. Well, today, the team has started testing out the AI companion on iOS and Android - in certain regions. For now, you'll need the...
News Microsoft Has 'Strong Confidence' In Rare's Everwild, Says Xbox Reporter
"The game is now on track"
Ahh, it's almost Xbox Games Showcase time, which means we're going to see lots of rumours and speculation on what Microsoft might be preparing to show as part of its 2025 event. To that end, Windows Central reporter Jez Corden has just put out a massive predictions piece ahead of next month's show - and while lot
News Xbox Shares New 'Join The Adventure' Ad To Show Off Incredible Game Pass Lineup
"There’s always a new world to dive into"
The last few months of Xbox Game Pass have been pretty incredible - we've had a bunch of fantastic first and third-party additions; building out an amazing lineup of games to play as part of the service. And, this week, Microsoft has decided to shout about that fact with a stylish new Game Pass advert -...
Tuesday27th May 2025
News Xbox 'Bundles Sale' Now Live, Featuring Some Hefty Discounts On AAA Titles
Definitely worth a look!
With another Tuesday now here, we have a fresh set of weekly deals available on the Xbox Store - and a chunky 'Bundles Sale' is the main promotion worth highlighting this week. As the name suggests, this promo focuses on franchise and publisher bundles containing multiple titles. However, some of these can still be had for...
Monday26th May 2025
Talking Point Will We See Another 'Anniversary Event' For Xbox 360 Turning 20 This Year?
We certainly hope so!
Four years ago, Xbox hosted a massive 'Anniversary Celebration Event' for the Original Xbox, and we really really enjoyed what this event brought to the table. We had some fantastic announcements from Team Green, we got that incredibly insightful
News Hellblade 2 Is Getting A Physical Release On Xbox, But Not By Microsoft
ESRB rating reveals all
Following the reveal of Hellblade 2's enhanced edition arriving alongside a PS5 port, the ESRB has this week posted about a physical release of the Ninja Theory title - but Microsoft isn't listed as the game's publisher this time around. That's right, Limited Run Games will be the publisher for Hellblade 2 on dis
PSA You Can Now Redeem Custom Xbox Gift Card Amounts Via Microsoft Rewards
No more $5 increments!
Last week, we covered Microsoft's big May update for the Xbox platform - including the introduction of Retro Classics, which was a huge surprise to us here at PX HQ. However, that release did overshadow what was a huge console update overall - and we think one new feature in particu
Saturday24th May 2025
Talking Point Will You Be Buying The 2025 Xbox Handheld From ASUS?
If it ever gets revealed, that is
Earlier this month, we saw some leaked images and details of the 2025 Xbox handheld console - which is seemingly in development right now over at ASUS. While the device hasn't been formally announced yet, this early leak did give us our first idea of what the console can do, and we're curious to know if you folks...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 24-25)
Anything from this week's sales?
Another weekend is upon us, folks! With DOOM: The Dark Ages' big release now passing, it's been a somewhat quieter week in the world of Xbox - but we still have absolutely loads to be getting stuck into here. Here's what we're playing over the weekend: Ben Kerry, Staff Writer: This weekend, getting stuck into...
Friday23rd May 2025
News Xbox Exclusive Space Marine Remaster Now Available To Preload, Supports Play Anywhere
Day one on Xbox Game Pass!
Yesterday, the big Warhammer Skulls showcase delivered some fantastic news with the Game Pass-bound Space Marine Master Crafted Edition - and we have some additional information on it to bring to you folks today. Not only is the upcoming Space Marine remaster seemingly skipping a PS5 release for now, making it a rare Xbox...
Rumour Xbox's Starfield Is Moving To PS5, Should Be Announced This Year
"It's just a matter of when"
At this point, it's actually somewhat of a surprise that Xbox hasn't moved Bethesda's Starfield over to PS5 yet given everything else that's been ported to the console - but it sounds like the plan is for that to change in the near future. According to prominent leaker NateTheHate — who was heavily involved in all the...
News Xbox Insiders Can Now Remove Tiles On The Dashboard, And It Looks Weird
How about those ads though, Microsoft?
Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a bunch of new features for the Xbox dashboard, including the ability to remove some tiles from the home screen to free up space. Well, The Verge's Tom Warren has now shown this feature off via the Xbox Insider program - at looks a little weird if we may say so...
Thursday22nd May 2025
News Xbox Game Pass Standard Grows As Microsoft Adds Two Recent Releases To The Library
Some big games joining XGP Standard!
Earlier today we brought you folks the latest Xbox Game Pass update from Microsoft - but that was for the main XGP library; let's not forget about Game Pass Standard here too. Yep, Microsoft's mid-tier subscription service has added two games today, and these a
News Free Play Days Features Eight Xbox Games This Weekend (May 22-25)
Huge Warhammer promotion included!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Free Play Days lineup! This weekend's selection features eight Warhammer titles as part of a massive promotion for the franchise, so there's plenty to go at on Xbox with FPD this week. Here's the full list of Warhammer titles now live on Xbox Free Play Days: Blood Bowl 3 Warhammer...
Wednesday21st May 2025
News Xbox Is Making Loads Of Old First-Party Titles Cloud Gaming Compatible This Week
This is a big update to the service
While Microsoft continues to deliver chunky updates to its 'Stream Your Own Game' collection, as part of today's Xbox Game Pass roundup, the team has announced a different sort of Xbox Cloud Gaming refresh. Out of the blue, 15 Xbox titles will become cloud compatible in gen
News Hellblade 2 Announced For PS5 Alongside 'Enhanced' Edition On Xbox
"We look forward to sharing more details soon"
Microsoft has announced the next Xbox game that's moving over to PS5 consoles, with Ninja Theory's Hellblade 2 now set to launch on PlayStation this summer. We don't have a specific date yet, but the Xbox studio has announced an "Enhanced Edition" of its 2024 adventure that will include a PS5 port...
News These 11 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (May 21 - June 3)
Your latest batch of new titles
Microsoft has revealed the full Xbox Game Pass lineup for the next few weeks, as we begin creeping into June 2025's selection of titles. Before that though, a handful of additions close out the May 2025 Game Pass list, including the fantastic
Talking Point What Game Franchises Would You Pay $80 For On Xbox?
Price increases are inevitable
Since Nintendo revealed that $80 games are coming to Switch 2 — and Microsoft announced price increases that include upcoming AAA titles — the cost of video games has been a hot topic. Recently, outspoken Borderlands 4 lead Randy Pitchford also chimed on this by
News Xbox Mobile Store Plans Being 'Stymied' By Apple, Says Microsoft
"This solution has been stymied by Apple"
Some of you may remember that back in 2024, Microsoft had every intention to launch its own mobile app store to "shift consumers away" from Apple & Google - but we're here in 2025 with no such storefront, with that move seemingly being delayed by the iPhone maker. With fresh details coming from
Tuesday20th May 2025
News Xbox & Bethesda Say DOOM: The Dark Ages Is id Software's 'Biggest Launch' Ever
Hits milestone 7x faster than DOOM Eternal
Exactly one week on from DOOM: The Dark Ages' early access launch, Xbox and Bethesda have announced a huge player milestone for the id Software FPS - which has now become the "biggest launch" in the studio's history. A week after the game's initial release, DOOM: The Dark Ages has now hit three million...
Monday19th May 2025
Talking Point Do You Have High Expectations For The Xbox Games Showcase 2025?
Does Microsoft have enough in the tank?
With Xbox formally announcing its 2025 showcase in April, the anticipation for this year's show is starting to build - we're now less than two months away from the event kicking off on June 8th. Last month, we asked you guys what your dream reveal for this year would be, but now we want to keep things a little...
News Xbox Fan Shares & Compares Recent Aggregate Review Scores For First-Party Releases
Solid, but room for improvement?
Earlier this month, Xbox super-fan Klobrille shared another one of their Xbox Game Studios roadmaps, giving us a glimpse at the team's upcoming pipeline of first-party titles. We always like a good look at these graphics to see what's ahead, but it's also worth looking back every now and then - and after
News One Month On, Oblivion Remastered Has A Pretty Low Completion Rate On Xbox
Game Pass likely a factor
Just under a month ago, Bethesda shadow dropped Oblivion Remastered after what felt like an eternity of rumour and speculation, and we were here for it. The hype around launch was certainly real, with the game exploding in popularity shortly afterwards - but that hasn't resulted in the majority of its user base blasting...
News Despite Xbox's Multiplatform Push, Activision Abandons COD Warzone Mobile
"Thank you for your dedication and passion"
Since finally acquiring Activision Blizzard in late 2023, Microsoft has continued to boast about the size and success of Call of Duty Warzone Mobile - but this weekend, it's decided to pull the plug on Warzone's iOS and Android spin-off. Making the announcement via its support page, Activision has now...
News Fantasy Life's Xbox Debut Was Delayed Due To 'Ongoing Technical Issue' With Microsoft
The issue does not affect PC and PS5
Last week, we posted about how Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time got a pretty fantastic rating in its first public review - but if you were keen to get stuck into Xbox's first-ever Fantasy Life ASAP, you're going to have to wait a little bit longer. Right on the eve of developer Level-5 unleashing its...
