December2023
News Microsoft's Gaming CEO Spent 917 Hours Playing Xbox Games This Year
His most played game was Starfield
Although Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer is in charge of a huge video game division, he still finds plenty of time to game throughout the year. If you are wondering just how many hours he's racked up in all things Xbox this year, he's now shared his official 'Year in Review' data for 2023. All up, Phil put in...
News Former Sony Exec Says Japan Publishers 'Need' Xbox If They Want To Expand Business
Claims it would be tough to "do that just with the PlayStation"
Microsoft's Xbox business is booming thanks to services like Game Pass, but one market it's still trying to succeed in is Japan. After apparently "losing trust" with Japanese studios during the Xbox One era, earlier this year it appointed the former Sony executive Mena Sato Kato as the...
News Two More Dynamic Backgrounds Now Available On Xbox Series X|S
Power your dashboard dreams
Fancy an Xbox background change? If so, you're in luck! Microsoft has added a couple of fresh dynamic options recently, including a new 'Power Your Dreams' theme for all the dedicated 'Team Green' fans out there. As you'd expect, this latest background focuses on Microsoft's pair of current-gen consoles - all wrapped up...
News Xbox Series X|S Gets Huge UK Sales Boost Thanks To Black Friday 2023
Up 231% on the previous month!
It feels like it's been a big Black Friday this year, with Microsoft finally dropping the price of its Xbox Series X console at multiple retailers last month - and the move seems to have paid off handsomely in the UK. According to GamesIndustry.biz, UK sales data shows that Xbox Series X and S sales were up a whopping
News 343 Industries 'Thank You Card' Causes Concern For The Future Of Halo: MCC
"Together, we have achieved a significant milestone"
Halo: The Master Chief Collection has ended up getting an almost 10-year update cycle after its rough launch back in 2014, and a new developer message is hinting that work on the game might finally be wrapping up in 2023. Doing the rounds on social media is a 'thank you' message posted by some of...
News Phil Spencer & Co. Send Birthday Wishes To 'The Game That Changed Video Games Forever'
Happy Birthday, Marine
Few games are as influential to their respective genres as DOOM is to the first-person shooter, so it's hardly surprising to see lots of industry folks post online about the franchise's 30th birthday. Of course, the IP is now owned by Microsoft, and Phil Spencer & co. have hopped on social media to wish the first game a...
News Xbox Exclusive 'As Dusk Falls' Jumps Over To PS5, And There Might Be More In The Works
"You'll see more of that in the future. It's not the last"
As part of last night's The Game Awards ceremony, Interior Night announced that its Xbox exclusive As Dusk Falls is making the leap to PlayStation next March, and apparently, it might not be the last Xbox title to do so. Yep, As Dusk falls was originally published as an Xbox Game Studios...
News Xbox's 'Wu-Tang Clan' Action-RPG Resurfaces After New Insider Report
It's apparently in Alpha stage right now
A couple of years ago, we woke up on an October morning to hear a very surprising report that Xbox was working on some sort of game in partnership with Wu-Tang Clan. Yep, you heard that right, Wu-Tang Clan - and a fresh Insider Gaming report has brought the project back into the limelight. Tom Henderson of...
News Xbox Series X|S Sales Have Now Surpassed Original Xbox In The UK
Roughly three years in
Xbox Series X and S have seemingly hit a new sales milestone in the UK this month. According to Christopher Dring of GamesIndustry.biz, Microsoft's pair of current-gen consoles have now sold more units in the region than the OG Xbox. Considering we're only three years into the gen, this seems pretty good going - although Xbox...
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass Core (December 6)
The Core library gets an update!
Last week's Xbox Game Pass update brought news on two brand-new additions to the Core library, and those two titles are arriving today! Members of Xbox's Game Pass Core service, formerly known as Xbox Live Gold, will be able to play Chivalry 2 and Totally Reliable Delivery Ser
News Xbox Appears To Be Teasing New Game Pass Reveals For TGA 2023
What's in store for us this Thursday?
The Game Awards hype is kicking into gear now as we begin to learn more and more about the show for 2023, and yet again, Xbox is teasing its inclusion in the December event. After saying that the team will be there with "news you don't want to miss", Xbox is now bringing Game Pass into the fold. Ads for the...
News Forza Horizon 5's Next Three Seasonal Updates Detailed
Starting out in a Winter Wonderland
Ahead of the festive season, Forza Horizon 5 developer Playground Games has detailed its next three major updates, and as you'd expect, the first one is appropriately themed for the winter season. Kicking off this month, 'Winter Wonderland' adds your usual array of Forza Horizon 5 goodies — including a new...
News Another Two Games Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In Early 2024
One coming as soon as January!
Over the last few days, we've had a few new Xbox Game Pass confirmations as teams begin to lock in their launch dates for 2024. One of these titles was confirmed for Game Pass already and has now been fully dated, while another has a brand-new release window ahead of its day one arrival. Don't forget we've got a full...
News Microsoft Spends 'Over A Billion Dollars A Year' Bringing Content To Xbox Game Pass
And it's still profitable!
One of the biggest selling points of Xbox Game Pass is Microsoft's first-party input, but the team also puts lots of time, energy and ultimately money, into bringing valuable third-party content to the service. Some of Game Pass's day one coups are fantastic, and as it turns out, those coups cost quite a bit of money for...
News Starfield 'A Tremendous Hit' And One Of Xbox's Top 10 Most-Played Games, Says Phil Spencer
"Thank you everybody for all the support on Starfield"
Starfield is a purely single-player affair, but that doesn't seem to be stopping people from playing Bethesda's new RPG for months and months. Speaking in a new interview at Brazilian convention CCXP, Xbox boss Phil Spencer discussed Starfield and how the game has been performing so far. First...
News Xbox Provides An Update On Its Xbox Game Pass 'Friends & Family' Plan
"Yes, there is a roadmap"
Earlier this year in July, Xbox announced it would be ending its preview for the Xbox Game Pass 'Friends & Family' plan. If you're wondering what's happening with it, Windows Central recently got an update from Phil Spencer. According to the Microsoft Gaming CEO, there is apparently still a roadmap for the Xbox Family...
Pick One What Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Game In November 2023?
Remnant 2? Like a Dragon Gaiden? Tell us!
Another successful month of Xbox Game Pass is now behind us - with Microsoft delivering one final surprise on the last day of November when it added two Remnant titles to the library. All in all, it ended up being a pretty stacked month for Xbox Game Pass, and D
November2023
News Incredible Custom Console Unveiled To Celebrate 'Jusant' On Xbox Game Pass
"Calling all DON'T NOD and Jusant fans!"
Jusant developer DON'T NOD is running a competition to win a brand-new custom Xbox Series X - and this console is a sight to behold. "Decked out like the tower" and complete with handholds, ropes and nets, this is a pretty elaborate piece of Xbox hardware up for grabs here. There's only one to win of course,...
News The UK's Best Tea Brand Has Created A New Xbox Controller
In partnership with PopeArt!
There's nothing better than sitting down after a long hard day with a cup o' Yorkshire Tea and an Xbox game to play, right? Well, how about combining the two with the tea maker's brand-new Xbox controller! That's right, you can now actually buy a Yorkshire Tea-themed Xbox controller - created in partnership with the...
News Xbox CFO Explains Why Microsoft No Longer Reveals Console Sales
It's all about the bigger picture
Xbox hasn't officially revealed console sales figures for years at this point - since early on in the Xbox One generation. During that time, Xbox sales were clearly behind the likes of PlayStation 4 so that surely played a part in Microsoft being sheepish over hardware figures back then, however these days it's not...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (November 30 - December 3)
Included with Game Pass Core and Game Pass Ultimate
Following a break last week for Thanksgiving, Xbox's Free Play Days promotion has returned with four titles to try out this weekend. We already knew about the inclusion of Hell Let Loose in this week's lineup, which is now live alongside three other Xbox titles. Here's the full Free Play Days...
News Xbox Would Like Game Pass On 'Every Screen' Including PlayStation & Nintendo
Update: Phil Spencer says there are "no plans" for it though
Update: Just to confuse things further, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has told Windows Central this week that there are "no plans to bring Game Pass to PlayStation or Nintendo". We've covered this elsewhere on Pure Xbox: <related ids="159126"> Original story: Xbox is constantly talking...
Talking Point Will We Ever Get Another 'Special Edition' Xbox Series X?
Or have those plans wrapped up?
Earlier today we spotted some neat-looking console wraps for Xbox Series S, and that got us thinking about the future of limited edition consoles from Microsoft. Sure, these Series S wraps are totally unofficial, but Microsoft's Series X ones are official - and their very existence could spell the end for limited...
News Xbox Opens In-Person 'Audio-Visual Experience' Featuring Hellblade 2
Get immersed into Senua's twisted world
Xbox has announced some pretty cool in-person events happening in the UK and Germany right now - and they both feature an "Immersive Audio-Visual Experience" based on some of the team's biggest games. Hosted at the Charing Cross Road Outernet Store in London and The Lighthouse of Digital Art in Berlin, Xbox...
News Xbox & Activision Blizzard Are Merging At A 'Really Impressive Speed', Says Xbox CFO
"The speed at which we've worked together is really impressive"
Xbox and Activision Blizzard have only been one entity for a little over a month, at least officially, but the two companies seem to be coming together at speedy pace so far. Speaking at a recent summit, Xbox CFO Tim Stuart talked about the team integrating with ActiBlizz, and how the...