October2023
News Forza Motorsport's Release Brings New Dynamic Background To Xbox Series X|S
Oooh, shiny!
Forza Motorsport reviews are out now ahead of the game's early access release tomorrow, and the team has also delivered our latest Xbox Series X|S dynamic background to pair with the new title! Yep, a brand-new animated background has just appeared on Xbox Series X and S consoles; themed around Forza Motorsport'
September2023
News Xbox Game Pass Listing For Octopath Traveler 2 Was An 'Error'
"We’ve removed the mention"
Update: And that's the end of that! Microsoft has removed the mention of Octopath Traveler 2 coming to Xbox Game Pass in 2024, explaining that it was added in error. Here's the statement: "Editor’s Note: We’ve removed the mention of Octopath Traveler II coming to Xbox Game Pass which was included in error...
News Kojima Shares Snaps Of Phil Spencer & Co. Visiting During Tokyo Game Show Week
A friendly ol' visit
We've known for a good while now that Xbox and Kojima Productions are finally working together on a new project, and it seems that the two parties have become quite friendly in recent times as well. Various members of team Xbox have visited the Japanese studio since, and it looks like a friendly stop was in order during Tokyo...
News Starfield Update 1.7.33 Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
"Featuring improved performance and general gameplay fixes!"
Another Starfield title update has just dropped! Yep, version 1.7.33 of Bethesda's latest RPG is now live on Xbox & PC, and it contains a fairly brief list of changes and fixes for the Xbox and PC versions of the game. "This update addresses some issues with performance and stability...
News Smash Bros. Director Masahiro Sakurai Shows Off His 'Rare' Xbox 360
"It has my name engraved on it!"
Microsoft has been gifting rare limited edition Xbox consoles for a very long time now, and even to this day there are probably many out there that we don't actually know about. With this in mind, back during the Xbox 360 generation, Microsoft sent certain people within the games industry special launch systems...
News 'Crash Vs. Spyro Racing' Prototype Discovered On Original Xbox Devkit
This would have been amazing!
These old Xbox finds just keep on coming! Earlier this month, YouTuber Modern Vintage Gamer discovered an unreleased original Xbox classic lying around on an old devkit hard drive, and now he's at it again with another retro find. This time out, MVG has unearthed some sort of prototype for a 'Crash vs. Spyro' kart...
News Phil Spencer Reveals Which IP He'd Like To See Revived On Xbox
"That franchise was ahead of its time"
Xbox boss Phil Spencer is often spotted playing Xbox in his spare time (you only have to follow his gamertag to see what he's up to), so it's fair to say there are some old franchises he'd love to play again on modern systems. Well, at a recent Tokyo Game Show panel, the boss talked about one Xbox franchise...
News Sea Of Thieves Is 'Not Just PvE Or PvP', According To Creative Director
It's apparently a "shared world adventure game"
Earlier this week, Rare outlined its plans for Sea Of Thieves Season Ten - revealing the game would finally be adding private PvE servers. Although this decision is going to potentially increase the game's audience, it's definitely resulted in a mixed reaction from the community with some players...
News CMA Approval A 'Significant Milestone' Towards Xbox Merging With Activision Blizzard
"This approval is critical to completing our merger"
Today has brought welcome news in regards to Xbox's ActiBlizz deal, with the UK CMA now approving the acquisition - pending input from various third party companies that took part in the investigation. While the purchase hasn't been completed just yet, both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard feel...
News UK CMA Grants 'Preliminary Approval' Of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Purchase
"Microsoft has now substantially restructured the deal"
We're almost there, folks! The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has today announced that it has granted preliminary approval for Microsoft to purchase Activision Blizzard. The CMA's decision still needs to be consulted with any third parties involved in the process, but for all intents...
News As Of Last April, Xbox Series S Accounted For 75% Of Microsoft's Current-Gen Console Sales
Massively outweighing Series X!
In yet more FTC document leaks, information about Xbox Series X and S sales data has started to proliferate, and the results might be surprising to some. As spotted by IGN, in April 2022 Microsoft said that the Xbox Series S accounted for 75% of total Xbox Series sales since launch. That's a hefty amount for a...
News Microsoft Adds New Player Profile Badge To Make Sure We All Remember Xbox Live Gold
RIP sweet prince
Xbox Live Gold is officially no more as Game Pass Core now carries Xbox's online networking torch, but Microsoft is making sure we all remember the company's seminal multiplayer service. A new update has been rolled out that applies an 'Xbox Live Gold' badge to player profiles on Xbox. The neat logo contains some classic XBL Gold...
"We need to learn from this and build a plan forward"
It's no secret at this stage that Xbox wasn't particularly pleased with its exclusive games lineup in 2022. Delays to major projects like Starfield meant that Xbox first-party suffered from a particularly barren year, and a new leaked email from Phil Spencer shows just how disappointed the team...
News Microsoft Is Targeting 2028 For A 'Hybrid' Next Generation Xbox Console
More leaked goodies
Ready to start talking next next-gen yet? We've already heard that a 2028 launch is the rough timeline for Microsoft's next generation plans, however, fresh FTC documents have now dropped a hint at what exactly the Xbox owner is planning for its next console - including a new 'hybrid' approach to next-gen gaming. Perhaps...
News Xbox Series X All-Digital Console Refresh Planned For Late 2024
Codename 'Brooklin' has leaked
In yet more leaked documents from Microsoft's ongoing FTC court case over its ActiBlizz acquisition, a brand-new console refresh has been outed. Apparently planned for an October 2024 release, Xbox Series X will soon go all-digital, according to the docs. Codenamed 'Brooklin', a discless Xbox Series X console is...
News Well, It Looks Like The Elder Scrolls 6 Will Be Xbox Exclusive After All
New FTC docs point towards Xbox & PC exclusivity
Publicly, Microsoft has been quite coy on the future of The Elder Scrolls and what platforms any future releases will land on. Part of that is because the sixth entry is so far away at this stage, but also, the team is still saying it will look at upcoming Xbox exclusivity on a "c
Talking Point Xbox Live Gold Members, Are You Happy With The Game Pass Core Launch Titles?
The full 36-game list has been revealed
So, Xbox Live Gold is officially dead and in its place comes Xbox Game Pass Core - a brand-new subscription tier launched yesterday by Microsoft. While the retirement of XBL means that Games with Gold has now wrapped up, Game Pass Core is here
News Xbox Game Pass Hit 30 Million Subscribers Prior To 'Core' Tier Launch
Update: 30M figure quietly removed
(Update - 15:00): The Xbox exec has now removed the Xbox Game Pass figure from their LinkedIn profile (that was quick!), so it's worth taking this "30 million members" quote with a pinch of salt for now. (Original Story - 14:50): Xbox Game Pass has been growing each year since its first introduction in 2017, and...
News Phil Spencer On Tokyo Game Show 2023: 'The Future For Xbox In Japan Is Bright'
Tune into the TGS Xbox showcase next week!
Ahead of next week's Tokyo Game Show 2023 livestream, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has shared a welcoming message to fans in the region, and those watching around the world at home. Phil reminds us all that "the future for Xbox in Japan is bright", hinting that fans of Japanese titles have lots to look forward...
Deals All 70+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (September 12-19)
Including a massive Call of Duty sale!
There are loads of Xbox backwards compatible games from the OG Xbox and Xbox 360 eras on sale this week, folks! Not only do we have the biggest Call of Duty sale in franchise history that contains plenty of Xbox 360 titles, but there's lots to pick from elsewhere across various other publisher sales and...
News Starfield Has Given Xbox Series X|S Sales A Huge Boost In The UK
The best performing week of 2023 so far
Some fresh data is coming out of the UK at the moment that suggests Starfield has had a huge impact on Xbox Series X|S sales already. According to gamesindustry.biz, UK sales of Xbox Series X and S jumped up 73% in the week ending September 2nd - when Starfield was becoming available via early access. This...
News Xbox's Latest Controller Design Goes All Spiritual With An 'Astral Purple' Theme
Another one for the collection?
Microsoft has announced the latest Xbox controller being added to the lineup - this one taking shape as an 'Astral Purple' design. It'll cost you £59.99 / $64.99 to add to your collection, and the team's latest accessory hits the market on September 19th. This is a more basic design overall, with the colour choice...
News Xbox Apparently 'Wants' To Overhaul Achievements, Someday
But it's "a matter of priorities and time"
For a number of years now Xbox fans have been curious about potential upgrades to the achievement system - most notably adding an equivalent to PlayStation's 'Platinum' trophies to further incentivize game completion. Well, we have a new update from gamescom 2023 thanks to Windows Central's Jez Corden, and...
News Xbox Boss Reiterates Platform Exclusives Will Be Determined On A 'Case-By-Case Basis'
"It's really about giving players choice"
Bethesda's brand-new space exploration RPG Starfield officially launched last week and it really is exclusive to Xbox and PC platforms - there's no definitely no sign of it ever coming to PlayStation or Nintendo. If this has got you wondering about the future of certain Xbox game releases going forward,...
News Starfield Players Are Loving Xbox Quick Resume, But Some Users Are Reporting Issues
"Fixed this by turning off quick resume I think"
Quick Resume was heavily touted as one of the top Xbox Series X|S features as we headed into this generation, and on the whole it's worked pretty well so far. The option — which allows users to suspend games and resume them right where they left off — seems a great fit for single-player adventures...