February2023
News Microsoft Announces New Special Edition 'Stellar Shift' Xbox Controller
Lookin' stellar, launchin' today!
(Update): Well, it's now official! Immediately after we reported on the new controller leak, Microsoft formally announced the Xbox Stellar Shift Wireless Controller. The latest Xbox pad in the 'Shift' lineup launches today for £59.99 / $69.99, and this one comes with its own unique Xbox Series X|S dynamic...
News Call Of Duty 'Full Annual Premium Release' Set To Launch In 2023
Water is wet
Activision Blizzard's latest financial report is now out for public viewing, or at least a summarised version of it is via the company's investor website. New ActiBlizz financials means one surefire thing - plenty of talk about Call of Duty. Alongside lots of boasting about how much money last year's Modern Warfare 2 made — along...
News Xbox Marketing Budget Reportedly 'Reduced' In The Wake Of Microsoft Layoffs
Will we hear less from the company in the coming months?
While the team at Xbox have finally been a little more vocal about their upcoming slate of games recently — namely in the form of Xbox Developer Direct and future showcase announcements — it turns out that the platform's marketing push, generally speaking, could actually be reduced in...
News Xbox Reveals Release Dates For A Bunch Of New Game Pass Indies Coming In 2023
The future is bright
Recently, Pure Xbox was invited to a secret ID@Xbox event to check out a bunch of new gameplay and other details on some of the biggest indie titles coming to Xbox Game Pass in 2023. Not all of that gameplay is publicly available just yet, but we did get some brand-new release dates and release windows, so we thought we'd throw...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (February 2-5)
Three titles to enjoy
Xbox's Free Play Days promotion returns this weekend, with a distinct twist to celebrate 'Amine Month'. Yep, two of the free play choices for this week are anime-themed, with one Ubisoft title rounding out the selection. Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
Deals Xbox 'Anime Month' Sale Provides Deep Discounts On Japanese Titles
Monster Hunter, Mega Man & more!
Xbox is bringing the heat with some of these recent sales promotions, and another one has just gone live! Alongside this week's major Ubisoft sale — which has the potential to be even better thanks to a 'Just For You' bonus — the Microsoft Store has now set an 'Anime Month' sale live, featuring a selection of...
January2023
News All 25+ Backwards Compatible Games Added To This Week's Xbox Sales (January 31 - February 7)
A bunch of discounted classics!
It's Tuesday, which means it's time for another set of Xbox deals for the week ahead! This week, Ubisoft is running a publisher sale, which happens to stretch across a bunch of Xbox backwards compatible titles as well. Keep in mind that quite a few of the Xbox 360 games in this week's sales have Xbox One ports or...
Report Xbox Is 'All But Starting From Scratch' On Next Halo Project, Moving Over To Unreal Engine
Following Infinite's troubled development
Halo Infinite seems to be all over the gaming news right now, and sadly, not for the reasons you'd want it to be. Following Microsoft's recent round of company layoffs, we've been hearing a lot about restructuring at Halo dev 343 Industries, and a new report sheds even more light on what looks like a major...
News Xbox's New 'Deep Pink' Official Wireless Controller Is Now Available
Update: It's back again on the Xbox Store!
Update (Tue 31st Jan, 2023): Remember this? The official Deep Pink Xbox Wireless Controller is back in stock on the Microsoft Store as of today, and it's also now available in the UK! You can check it out at the links below. As you can see, the price is £54.99 and $64.99 USD. <products id="22264">...
News Xbox Series X And Xbox Series S Consoles Are Going Up In Price In Japan
Starting next month
Well, here it is. A few months after Xbox boss Phil Spencer warned us all of potential price increases across the Xbox division, the company's current-gen consoles are officially going up in price in Japan. Revealed by Japanese outlet Famitsu, both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S console prices are increasing by 5,000 yen in the...
News Halo TV Boss Kiki Wolfkill Has Reportedly Left 343 Industries
It seems she's jumped over to the main Xbox team
It's been a rough patch for the Halo team since Microsoft announced mass layoffs across multiple divisions including Xbox. Following the news of Joe Staten's exit at 343 Industries, it seems there's also been a significant departure from Halo's TV series. As spotted in various reports, Halo...
News First Reviews For Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition Impressed By Xbox Conversion
"The basic gameplay is just as good on Xbox as it ever has been"
Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition heads to console this week; also included in Xbox Game Pass on day one of its console launch. While we haven't had chance to play this title ahead of release (our impressions are coming soon), a few early reviews have hit the web and they're seeming...
News Xbox Research Survey Asks Fans If They Are 'Done Playing Halo Infinite'
343 guilty stark
Plenty of discussion regarding the future of Halo Infinite, and the studio behind it at 343 Industries, has been ongoing recently in the wake of mass layoffs at Microsoft. While we don't know the full details of just how badly the team has been affected by Microsoft's internal changes (there were certainly some job losses), it seems...
News Hi-Fi RUSH Has Xbox Boss Thinking About Jet Set Radio Future (Again)
"I thought it would be fantastic to have that game back"
Earlier this week, Xbox and Tango Gameworks shadow dropped Hi-Fi RUSH on Xbox Game Pass. As you've probably already noticed, it's got quite a unique-looking style, drawing comparisons to certain past releases such as SEGA's graffiti rollerblade game, Jet Set Radio Future. It seems Hi-Fi RUSH...
Video Xbox Series S Ray Tracing Capabilities Tested By Digital Foundry
How does the system hold up?
The folks over at Digital Foundry have once again taken a look at Xbox Series S, this time to see how our little digital-only box tackles ray tracing. This element of 'next-gen' has proved a bit of a stumbling block at times for Microsoft's budget-friendly console, which is perhaps expected given its incredible value...
Feature Hi-Fi RUSH Has Us Mega Excited For More Xbox Shadow Drops In Future
Seriously, what else have they got up their sleeves?!
Xbox's first ever Developer Direct is in the bag, and we've come away very happy about how the whole event went down. Xbox brought a couple of release dates to the party, along with some
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (January 26-29)
Three titles available this weekend!
Xbox Free Play Days is back for the weekend, folks! Microsoft has opened up three titles for free this week, including a fantastic racing game in the form of Assetto Corsa Competizione! Here's the full lineup: Assetto Corsa Competizione Lawn Mowing Simulator
News Microsoft Confirms Another Xbox Showcase Will Take Place 'This Summer' In LA
Following the upcoming 'Starfield Direct'
Wow, what a busy day for Team Xbox! After wrapping up its first ever Developer Direct event earlier today, the team is already looking ahead at what's next. We know that a Starfield specific show is coming soon, and now we've been teased with some summer 2023 plans as well. In short, as expected, Xbox will...
Random We Played Far Cry 3 Online This Week, Four Months After Ubisoft 'Closed' The Servers
And we had a blast doing so!
To some of us, Far Cry 3 is the absolute pinnacle of Ubisoft's open world FPS franchise, even 10 years and several sequels on from its initial launch on Xbox 360. Most of that love is down to the game's engaging single-player story and vast open world, but it's easy to forget that the original release contained a bunch...
News New Report Suggests Restructure At Halo Dev 343 Industries Is 'Ongoing'
The team says it will continue to work on the franchise
As a result of Microsoft's recent round of layoffs, Halo developer 343 Industries has been hit with a number of job losses in what sounds like a fairly major restructuring of the company moving forward. The team has since put out a statement to
News Xbox Marketing Director Calls Gears Of War Leak 'Fake News'
The leaked logos related to Gears 6 and a Gears Collection
Recently, we reported on some Gears of War rumours that had been floating around on the web; mainly an apparent 'Gears of War Collection' in the works at Microsoft. Since then, a picture of two logos has been doing the rounds from a leak relating to both 'Gears 6' and this supposed...
Guide 'Xbox Developer Direct' Event Date, Start Time & Where To Watch
Today's the day!
It's almost time for Xbox's first ever 'Developer Direct' livestream! Yep, Microsoft is about to deliver deep dives into some of Xbox and Bethesda's biggest upcoming titles, in a brand-new event format for 2023. Here's everything you need to know about the Xbox Developer Direct January 2023 event. What Can We Expect From Xbox...
News Xbox Surpasses 120M Monthly Active Users, As Game Pass Reaches 'New Highs'
Despite Microsoft's decline in gaming revenue
It's a new year and as part of this, Microsoft has shared its latest earnings results for the quarter ended December 31st, 2022 (FY23 Q2). Overall, gaming revenue for the company saw a decline of 13% year-over-year. Xbox's "content and services" revenue also saw a decline of 12% and Xbox hardware...
Reaction Xbox Needs A New, Reliable Competitor For PS5's 'DualSense Edge'
Giving us the edge
A lot of Xbox fans will be seeing Sony's brand-new, high-end controller doing the rounds in gaming circles at the minute, with PlayStation finally getting into 'Xbox Elite' territory with the 'DualSense Edge'. The Japanese company's new PS5 pad is an impressive-looking bit of kit, building on what Xbox first introduced with the...
Deals All 30+ Backwards Compatible Games Added To This Week's Xbox Sales (January 24-31)
Original Xbox and Xbox 360 classics
Xbox has delivered yet another themed sale promo this week in the form of the 'THQ Nordic & Handy Games Sale', which is currently live alongside Deals with Gold, the Spotlight Sale and last week's ongoing 'Lunar New Year Sale.' Included in all of these sales promotions are a selection of backwards compatible...