Popular Games by Xbox Game Studios
Xbox Game Studios / 343 Industries
- 8th Dec 2021 (UK/EU)
- 8th Dec 2021 (NA)
Reviews of Xbox Game Studios Games
Review Ninja Gaiden 4 (Xbox) - Platinum Propels The Series Forward On Xbox Game Pass
There's a new kid on the block
When it was revealed that PlatinumGames was helping with the fourth major entry in the Ninja Gaiden series, I had two immediate thoughts. How would the Bayonetta studio handle this kind of responsibility, and could another character really lead the next big entry in the modern series, in place of the 'main face' and...
Review Keeper (Xbox) - A Memorable Puzzle Adventure From Xbox Studio Double Fine
Reviewed across both Xbox Series X and ROG Xbox Ally!
I totally understand why Xbox hasn't been marketing Keeper very well ahead of launch. Microsoft has suffered some criticism for not putting the spotlight on Double Fine's new Xbox first-party game, but after playing it, I think there are a couple of key reasons behind the decision - the first...
Review Gears Of War: Reloaded - An Xbox Classic That Flourishes On Modern Hardware
A near-perfect active reload
We've been here before a few times, haven't we? Yep, the first Gears of War returns in a shiny new package for Xbox Series X|S, with Gears Reloaded largely based on 2015's Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. While this is a wholly new experience for PS5 — which joins the platform list this time around — Xbox players are...
Review Xbox Retro Classics - A Great Addition To Game Pass, With Just One Caveat
Stream Activision's classics from the '80s and '90s
Yesterday marked the surprise launch of Xbox Retro Classics for all tiers of Xbox Game Pass, allowing players to dig into a list of over 50 Retro Classics games from the 1980s and 1990s that are all based on Activision-owned IP. I've been checking out Xbox Retro Classics ever since it dropped...
Review South Of Midnight (Xbox) - A Fantastic, Soulful Outing From Xbox Game Studios
Worth headin' south for
Update (Tue 8th Apr, 2025): With South of Midnight available on Xbox Game Pass as of today, we're re-publishing this review to give you an idea of what to expect. Original review: Ever since wrapping up my early preview of the game almost two months ago now, I've been desperate to get back to Xbox's
So, Eora into action RPGs?
Have we ever told you how much we love The Outer Worlds? There was a little pushback when it launched; some folk thought it was too short, too lightweight and wishy-washy, but we loved everything about it. Obsidian seemed to actively decide to remove itself from what felt like bit of a race circa 2019, to make the most...
Latest Xbox Game Studios News
Friday28th Nov 2025
Rumour Two Xbox First-Party Titles Get Leaked 2026 Release Windows
Big pinch of salt with these, folks
With next year (and beyond) on Xbox looking pretty darn stacked, Microsoft could be having some trouble knowing where exactly to place its first-party games in its 2026 release calendar. We know of four big titles landing next year at the moment - and some fresh rumours today are giving us a narrower window for...
News Xbox Game Studios Has Loads Of Titles Heavily Discounted In Its Steam Black Friday Sale
Lots of XGS, Bethesda & Activision offers!
Here at Pure Xbox we've done plenty of coverage on Microsoft's Black Friday offers already - from a general roundup of the big Xbox digital sale to discounts on Game Pass and so on. If you're playing over on PC a lot more these days though — especially in the wake of
Wednesday19th Nov 2025
Opinion This Xbox 360 Launch Game Is Still One Of The Best Console Racers Ever
It never gets old!
Hey, it's me, Ben here - and I'm going to talk about PGR again, okay?! It's been at least a year since I've climbed out from under my rock to talk about one of my favourite racing series ever, and with the Xbox 360's 20th anniversary coming up, I just can't help myself once again! This time, I'm going to focus on Project Gotham...
Friday14th Nov 2025
News Xbox Game Studios & Activision Are Finally Teaming Up With 'Minecraft Blast'
It's a mobile game, though...
Ever since Xbox started acquiring these big developers and publishers, we've probably all thought about the synergy we might possibly see from Microsoft's gaming division, but that hasn't really happened just yet. At large, these developers and publishers within Xbox seem pretty separate - but finally, we're at least...
Friday24th Oct 2025
News Phil Spencer Addresses AI & Developer Creativity At Xbox Game Studios
"I really leave it up to the teams..."
In a new panel at the Paley International Council Summit, Phil Spencer sat down with Double Fine Studio Head Tim Schafer to discuss a whole host of gaming-related topics - and the Xbox boss had some interesting things to say about AI use and developer creativity over at Microsoft's gaming division. Despite the...
Tuesday14th Oct 2025
Guide Keeper: Release Date, Launch Times & What To Expect From Xbox's Next First-Party Release
Double Fine is back!
Xbox Game Studios drops another release this week in the form of Keeper from Double Fine Productions - and so far, this one has been flying under the radar a little bit! Therefore, we're here with all the information you need ahead of its nearby launch - including the game's release date, exact launch times, Xbox download size...
Thursday25th Sep 2025
News Here's A Look At The Updated Xbox Game Studios Roadmap From September 2025
After some big announcements from Microsoft
Following what's been a busy few months for Xbox in a multitude of positive and negative ways, super-fan Klobrille has shared another updated version of their long-running Xbox Game Studios roadmap - with some recent additions and unfortunate casualties now accounted for on the list. As we've covered...
Wednesday3rd Sep 2025
Talking Point Next Month Is A Big One For Xbox Game Studios, And We're Here For It
Multiple first-party games in one month!
On the back of the Xbox Games Showcase in June, we reminded you fine folks that Microsoft has three first-party games launching within 12 days of each other this year - and that time is almost upon us! Yep, those three games all land next month, with Xbox preparing for a busy October for its first-party...
Saturday2nd Aug 2025
Talking Point What Are Your First Impressions Of Grounded 2 On Xbox Game Pass?
How are you finding Obsidian's new sequel?
Obsidian is having some year, eh? After the release of Avowed back in February, the team has now delivered Grounded 2 here on Xbox Game Pass - before its sci-fi sequel The Outer Worlds 2 then lands in October. So, what do you make of the studio's second major release of 2025 so far? Of course, Grounded 2...
Friday1st Aug 2025
Opinion This Month On Xbox Is Stacked, Including A Few First-Party Treats
A quiet summer? Not a chance!
We've now ticked over to the month of August, which at one time would have meant the final 'quiet' period before the gaming calendar really kicked into gear later in the year. In recent times, though, new releases seem to be coming thick and fast pretty much every month - and this one is absolutely no different!...
Wednesday30th Jul 2025
News PlayStation's Q2 2025 Sales Charts Are In, And Xbox Is Dominating The List (US)
Six of the top 10 are Xbox games
Much has been said about Microsoft's pivot to put Xbox games on PS5 in recent months, but the numbers don't lie, and the team continues to shift copies on the Sony platform. This week, Circana has put out fresh data that gathers up the top 10 best-selling games on PlayStation (physical and digital) for Q2 2025 - and...
Wednesday23rd Jul 2025
News Xbox's Next First-Party Title Gets 'Story Trailer' Ahead Of Game Pass Release This Month
Staying grounded
It's been a busy year so far for Xbox first-party, but despite us being in the slower summer months here, the team isn't stopping there. Nope, the productive folks over at Obsidian are about to drop another big release this month in the form of Grounded 2 - with the game's early access story trailer now live. You can check out this...
Thursday26th Jun 2025
News Imminent Xbox Layoffs Could Include Entire Studios, Warns Industry Veteran
"Good luck to all involved. Brutal."
Back on Tuesday, it was reported that Microsoft could be making major layoffs throughout the Xbox division at some point next week, and industry veteran George Broussard has now chimed in with what he knows about the situation. Broussard, who worked on the likes of Duke Nukem, Max Payne and Prey back in the day,...
Monday21st Apr 2025
Opinion South Of Midnight Dev Could Become An Xbox Game Studios Gem
If Microsoft continues to support them
So, just before a recent break from work to celebrate a birthday milestone I'd rather not talk about, I had the pleasure of playing and reviewing South of Midnight - which has ended up becoming one of my favourite Xbox Game Studios releases in donkey's years. In fact, pull the fantastic but ultimately...
Tuesday18th Mar 2025
News Two First-Party Games Now Confirmed For Xbox Series X|S In April 2025
A stacked schedule
For a few months now, Team Xbox has had Compulsion's South of Midnight lined up as its major first-party release for April 2025 - but Microsoft has now added a second game into the mix. After launching in Steam Early Access last year,
Friday14th Mar 2025
News Avowed's New Update Now Live For Xbox, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Community requested features, quest fixes, and more
Avowed's developer Obsidian Entertainment has been patching the game non-stop since its arrival and the latest build (Patch 1.3) has now been released on Xbox Series X|S and PC. This latest update addresses key areas including community-requested features, crashes and major issues, quests and...
Wednesday5th Mar 2025
News First Look At THPS 3+4 'Full Size' Collector's Edition Board, Pre-Orders Now Live
Don't miss it!
After ongoing rumours, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 is now official and as previously highlighted, there'll be plenty of ways to purchase it. Apart from the standard physical release and Deluxe Edition, there's also the Collector's Edition. Now, if you remember the Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2 remaster, you might recall how the...
Thursday27th Feb 2025
Feature Five Things We Spotted In Fable's Latest Gameplay Footage
Something to make up for the delay
This week, Xbox announced the delay of the next chapter in the Fable series, with the anticipated fantasy RPG now scheduled to arrive in 2026. To make up for this, Xbox also showed some new "pre-alpha footage" of this massive project, and we've now rounded up some of the more interesting bits - highlighting a...
Wednesday26th Feb 2025
News Xbox Says It's Got A 'Bunch Of Stuff' It Hasn't Even Announced Yet
The Fable delay is no biggie
Xbox has officially delayed the next chapter of Fable, and although this game has been pushed back to next year, Microsoft's gaming division has obviously still got plenty of other unannounced projects it's working on behind closed doors. In the recent 'Xbox Game Studios Update', the division's head Craig Duncan issued...
Saturday1st Feb 2025
News Xbox's Phil Spencer Checks On Dev 'Progress' Of Gears Of War: E-Day
We're ready when you are
Gears of War: E-Day is already one of the most anticipated titles on the way to the Xbox in the future and it seems Microsoft's Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has recently checked in with developer The Coalition to get a status update. In a post on social media to kick off the month of February, Spencer revealed how he had spent...
Saturday11th Jan 2025
Rumour Xbox Has Even 'More' Games Planned For PS5, It's Claimed
"Microsoft isn't stopping"
Yesterday, new rumours surfaced about Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Flight Simulator going multiplatform in 2025. Now, in another update, Windows Central's Jez Corden has backed up these claims as "most likely true" and also suggested Microsoft won't be stopping there - with Hellblade 2, Age of Mythology, and...
Tuesday3rd Dec 2024
News Microsoft Adds Another Free Dynamic Background On Xbox Series X|S
Celebrating the return of Indiana Jones
It's a massive month on the Xbox front with the arrival of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Series X|S, PC and "day one" on Microsoft's Game Pass subscription service. To celebrate this special occasion, Xbox has added a brand-new dynamic background on Xbox Series X|S. It's available to all users and can...
Thursday28th Nov 2024
News Xbox Exec Talks 'Honouring Our Craft' As They're Named In Variety's Gaming Leaders List
Matt Booty was recently promoted at Xbox
American magazine Variety has highlighted ten '2024 Gaming Entertainment Leaders' in the past week or so, and Xbox executive Matt Booty has made the list this time around. Booty was recently promoted within Microsoft's new gaming leadership structure - the longtime exec is now President of Game Content and...
Wednesday27th Nov 2024
News Xbox Fans Are Wondering What Happened To Series X|S Exclusive 'Contraband'
It was revealed over 3 years ago!
Remember Contraband, the open world co-op game announced by Xbox Game Studios back in 2021? Well, we've seen or heard very little on the Avalanche Studios game since then - and Xbox fans are starting to wonder what the heck is going on with it. Over on the platform's
Friday22nd Nov 2024
Roundup Avowed's Latest Previews Are In, And It's Already Being Touted As 'One Of 2025's Best Games'
Xbox's next big Game Pass release sounds very promising
Ahead of Avowed's Xbox Game Pass launch early next year in February, the latest round of previews for this upcoming action-RPG have now gone live. Based on this latest build, the consensus seems to be it's looking quite promising right now - with most outlets and critics talking up the game,...
Saturday16th Nov 2024
News Xbox Could Have A Major 'Open-World Shooter' In The Pipeline, But It's Still Early Days
The team at Blizzard is now recruiting
Xbox's development teams already deliver some of the best first-person shooters on the market, and now, it seems the talent at Blizzard could be looking to adapt another blockbuster IP to this genre. Following recent rumours about a supposed StarCraft shooter being in development, Blizzard is now recruiting...
Friday15th Nov 2024
News Surprise! Xbox's Avowed Has Been Confirmed For Another Platform
Even Blizzard's digital service "is an Xbox"
Well, here's a bit of a surprise. Xbox has today revealed it's bringing Obsidian Entertainment's upcoming fantasy RPG Avowed to not only Xbox Series X|S, Windows, and Steam platforms, but also Blizzard's Battle.net launcher on PC. This was confirmed in an announcement today on Xbox Wire. While we've seen...
Friday25th Oct 2024
News Microsoft Boasts About Owning '20 Franchises That Have Generated Over $1 Billion'
Including ActiBlizz and Bethesda games of course
Microsoft's Satya Nadella has certainly been in the headlines today and not always in the most positive light, but one section of the CEO's recent annual company update at least talks about some of Xbox's more positive achievements in recent tim
Thursday24th Oct 2024
News Xbox Boss Namedrops Marvel's Blade & Everwild Following Recent Studio Visits
Phil has been busy!
As of late, the Xbox exec team have been a bit quieter on social media, especially in the wake of Microsoft's recent studio closures and developer layoffs. However, Phil Spencer has been breaking that trend recently with a return to the Threads platform - and the boss has delivered some interesting Xbox Game Studios updates over...
Thursday3rd Oct 2024
News Xbox Co-Founder Joins Amazon, Says He'll Be Working On 'New Ideas'
He's now VP of devices and services
One of the original Xbox co-founders, J Allard, has joined Amazon as the company's vice president of devices and services. He told The Verge it's "too early" to say what's on the way, but he'll be working on "new ideas" at the tech giant. Interestingly, Allard will supposedly report to the former Windows and...
Friday27th Sep 2024
Rumour Blizzard Is Supposedly Working On A New StarCraft Shooter
Hell, it's about time
Until yesterday, it didn't seem like Blizzard's legendary StarCraft series would be making a comeback any time soon, and now, both titles are on their way to PC Game Pass. If this wasn't already enough for one week, there are also new rumours about a supposed "StarCraft shooter" being in development. During a chat with IGN...
Wednesday26th Jun 2024
Soapbox Forza Horizon 4 Hosted The Best Racing In The Series, And I'll Be Sad To See It Go
One more trip to the lakes
Well, Forza Horizon's British racing festival is about to close its doors - with Xbox announcing that Forza Horizon 4 will be delisted from digital storefronts later this year. Of course, the game will remain playable for existing owners after this date, but it's being removed from Xbox Game Pass
Tuesday25th Jun 2024
News Xbox's Avowed Is Fully Playable In Third-Person, Confirms Obsidian
One for you over-the-shoulder fans!
In the aftermath of the Xbox Games Showcase, Avowed developer Obsidian starting going a bit more in-depth about its upcoming fantasy RPG, including the ability to switch to a third-person perspective. At the time, details on this were a little vague, but now the team has confirmed that the game is fully playable...
Wednesday12th Jun 2024
News State Of Decay 3 Development Is Being Supported By Two Other Xbox Teams
Better with friends
Since its major acquisitions, Xbox has mentioned how studios within its ecosystem would be able to collaborate on projects and generally help each other out. We've already seen this before with some games in the past, and it seems the developer behind State of Decay 3 has also had some assistance crafting the next entry in its...
Sunday9th Jun 2024
News South Of Midnight Gets Gameplay Reveal, Coming To Xbox Game Pass In 2025
Another Xbox exclusive!
Remember South of Midnight from Compulsion Games? The bayou-inspired Xbox title got its big reveal last year - and now we have actual gameplay and a confirmed release window! Yep, the We Happy Few developer is bringing the game day one to Xbox
News State Of Decay 3 Is Back As Part Of 'A New Era' For Xbox's Undead Labs
Coming soon!
Gosh, it's been a while but State of Decay 3 is back! Yep, Xbox's open-world zombie sequel has re-emerged after almost four years of radio silence - and it's looking like development has come along nicely since. Up above, we've got a brand-new look at the game from developer Undead Labs, who themselves have undergone some major changes...
News Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 Launches This October On Xbox Game Pass
Just a few months to go!
We already know that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is launching day one on Xbox Game Pass, and now we have a launch date! Yep, the next Black Ops title arrives for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on October 25th, 2024. Of course, this marks the first time ever that a
Monday13th May 2024
Rumour State Of Decay 3 Is 'Coming Along Very Nicely' Over At Xbox
In a good state
State of Decay 3 is one Xbox title that we've heard basically nothing about since its announcement back in 2020 — aside from news that Gears developer The Coalition is helping out on development — but a new rumour from Windows Central's Jez Corden suggests that the game is shaping up rather nicely over at Xbox. Talking on a...
Friday10th May 2024
News Xbox Reiterates Every First Party Title Is Coming To Game Pass 'Day One'
A recent report suggested Call of Duty could be excluded
Following a recent report claiming Xbox was considering not including new Call of Duty releases on Game Pass, it seems Microsoft's gaming division remains committed to "day one" releases. Xbox president Sarah Bond has mentioned at the Bloomberg Technology Summit this week how "day one"...
News Xbox Mobile Store Launches This July With Its Own 'First Party Portfolio'
Expect games like Candy Crush and Minecraft
For some time now Microsoft has been planning to launch its very own Xbox mobile store in hopes of shifting consumers away from the competition. Now, in a new interview at Bloomberg's Technology Summit, Xbox president Sarah Bond has confirmed the launch is on the horizon. Xbox's mobile store will...
Tuesday7th May 2024
Reaction Xbox's Push Towards 'Microsoft Gaming' Looks More Drastic Than We First Thought
The price of ever-expanding growth
It's been a wild few years over at Team Xbox, with the brand being marked by vast change since the launch of Xbox Series X and S back in late 2020 - which is starting to feel like a lifetime ago now. Huge acquisitions like that of both Bethesda and Activision Blizzard have massively changed how the team now...
News Xbox Exec Provides Reasoning Behind Bethesda Studio Closures
"I’m sharing changes we are making to our Bethesda teams"
We're all somewhat in shock by today's news surrounding the closure of four Bethesda development studios, including the teams behind the likes of Hi-Fi RUSH and Redfall. While it's hard to wrap your head around why Xbox would go out and buy these studios only to shut them down a few years...
News Phil Spencer Set To Take Part In Big Interview After 2024 Xbox Games Showcase
Things are heating up ahead of the big day
Xbox Showcase season is really starting to kick into gear now! We recently got all the details on when exactly the 2024 summer show will take place, and now outlet IGN has announced that it will be hosting an interview with Xbox Boss Phil Spencer right after the show. According to IGN's Xbox guru Ryan...
Tuesday16th Apr 2024
News Xbox's Towerborne Beta Is Opening Up To More Players Ahead Of 2024 Launch
"Sign up thru the Insider Program today"
Xbox Game Studios' Towerborne first opened up pre-release playtesting last year, and now the team has announced another expansion to its Insider Program. Developer Stoic will be "opening the doors" to more players "very soon" as the team continues to build towards the game's full launch. At the moment we...
Wednesday10th Apr 2024
Talking Point What Do You Want To See Xbox Do With State Of Decay 3?
Rumour has it the game could make an appearance soon
Late last week, a certain Jez Corden tweet started to spread around like wildfire - a tweet that some corners of the Xbox community believed was teasing a State of Decay 3 summer showcase appearance. While we felt that the tweet was perhaps a bit too vague to report on, we do think that Undead...
Tuesday12th Mar 2024
News Gears Of War Creator Thinks 'The More, The Merrier' In Regards To Getting Gears On PS5
"You know, I think ‘the more, the merrier'"
Xbox has ported a small selection of its games to other platforms recently — as was much publicised last month — however, despite just four titles having been mentioned by Microsoft, fans are still wondering what might be next to move over. And, in a recent interview with Game Rant,
Thursday7th Mar 2024
News Xbox Adds More First-Party Games To Boosteroid Cloud Gaming Service
From Bethesda & Xbox Game Studios
Microsoft has today announced another batch of games for Boosteroid; the cloud gaming service involved in one of Xbox's 10-year deals surrounding the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Today's batch of titles are as follows: Deathloop, Dishonored, Dishonored 2, Dishonored: Death
Wednesday28th Feb 2024
Guide Xbox And Microsoft Reveal Full GDC 2024 Schedule
"Microsoft and Xbox are here to help power your games "
The 2024 Game Developer Conference will take place next month in March and as part of this, both Microsoft and the Xbox team will be there to "engage and empower" developers, publishers as well as technology partners across the globe. "Our message is simple: Microsoft and Xbox are here to...
Monday26th Feb 2024
News Xbox First-Party Title 'Pentiment' Seems To Run Much Better On PlayStation 5
Update: Director confirms it's "just a bug"
Update: Well, we've got an official answer about this! Pentiment Director Josh Sawyer has confirmed the omission of 120FPS on Xbox is "just a bug", and the feature will added to the Xbox version in the next patch. Original story: Obsidian Entertainment's Pentiment is the first of
Friday23rd Feb 2024
News Xbox Influencer Klobrille Shares Impressive Player Numbers For First-Party Lineup
Two games now have over 35 million players!
If Xbox Game Pass helps drive one thing it's huge player numbers - especially for some of the bigger AAA games out there. Naturally, Xbox's own first-party releases get lots of attention on Game Pass — and indeed the platform in general — and influencer Klobrille has gathered some of the team's recent...
