Latest Reviews of Xbox Game Studios Games
Review Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (Xbox): An Incredible Spectacle That Lacks An Essential Hook
Diminishing Returns
If we cast our minds all the way back to 2019's The Game Awards, all the way back to that very first reveal for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, it's a strange thing that, amidst all of the next-gen hype and excitement of that specific time, we still clearly remember considering a sequel to Ninja Theory's 2017 tour-de-force a weird,...
Review Forza Motorsport (Xbox) - The Next Generation Of Racing Is Here
All revved up with lots of places to go
It's been a long time coming, but developer Turn 10 has finally rounded the bend to deliver its vision for next-gen racing on Xbox Series X and S - yep, Forza Motorsport is here. We've been waiting for this one since 2017's Forza Motorsport 7 brought gorgeous 4K / 60FPS racing to Xbox One X, but the question...
Review Minecraft Legends - The Action Strategy Spin-Off That's Even More Fun With Friends
Rise up against the Piglins and save the overworld
Reflect on Minecraft and you’ll likely find yourself thinking about the original crafting, building and survival sandbox title which has gone from strength to strength over the past decade – becoming one of the greatest video game IPs of all time. Since Microsoft’s acquisition of Mojang in...
Review Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure - A Love Letter To Rally
Eat dirt in this latest expansion
Rally has played a significant role in the automotive industry over the years, and Forza Horizon 5 is now acknowledging this important history (and the many rally games over the past few decades) in its latest ‘Rally Adventure’ expansion. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time there’s been a rally add-on...
Review Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition - Microsoft's PC Classic Makes Its Debut On Xbox
RTS historical battles…with a controller
Where do you start with Age of Empires 2? It’s arguably the greatest RTS (and perhaps one of the best games) of all time. When it made its debut back on Microsoft Windows in 1999, it received absolutely huge levels of praise for not only taking the series to the next level, but also bettering the genre in...
Review Pentiment - Obsidian's Medieval Murder Mystery Is A Game Pass Delight
A narrative adventure most unexpected
We've been really looking forward to getting our hands on Obsidian's Pentiment ever since it was first announced back at the Xbox & Bethesda Summer Showcase in June of this year. A uniquely stylised narrative-driven murder mystery, it ticked all the boxes for us in terms of presenting a game world so...
Review Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels – Back For An Enjoyable Second Lap
The skies above Mexico are calling
There was definitely some confusion when the first Forza Horizon 5 expansion was leaked on the Steam Store – indicating it would be Hot Wheels (again). While it was thought to be placeholder artwork for something else at the time, it was in fact another Hot Wheels expansion. This announcement received mixed...
Review As Dusk Falls - A Cracking Crime Thriller On Xbox Game Pass
Free fallin'
Going into As Dusk Falls we were a little apprehensive. Xbox's marketing push has been somewhat light with this one considering it's an Xbox Games Studios effort, and we've only just seen Road 96's similar tale of loss and hope through to its fantastic conclusion. As it turns out, we needn't have worried at all; As Dusk Falls is a...
Review Halo Infinite - Master Chief's Latest Outing Was Worth The Wait
Hail to the Chief
After a couple of weeks' worth of blasting around the same ten maps in its excellent multiplayer component, Halo fans are about to get their hands on the next part of their early Xmas present, the campaign component of Halo Infinite is finally here. It's been six whole years since our last mainline Master Chief experience and this...
Review Forza Horizon 5 - An Amazing Game, But One That's A Little Too Familiar
We feel like we've been to Mexico before...
When the Forza Horizon series originally showed up on Xbox 360 in 2012, it was quite a surprise for fans of the racing genre and was perhaps the first real competitor EA’s Need for Speed series had faced in a long time. The Xbox Game Studios franchise has since gone from strength to strength and is now...
Latest Xbox Game Studios Articles
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
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...
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...
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,
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
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...
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
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...
Pick One Which 2024 First-Party Game Are You Most Looking Forward To From Xbox?
Let's talk games before tomorrow's 'business update'
We have a super serious day ahead of us tomorrow when Xbox delivers its 'business update' on what's next for the platform, but for today, let's talk about some video games. Putting all of the multiplatform drama aside for a minute here, Xbox has a really good games lineup planned for 2024. As was...
News Xbox Supposedly 'Very Surprised' At The Extent Of The Latest Rumours
Apparently not much is "set in stone"
Rumours about Xbox's future have been circulating online recently, with the company to directly address this in a "business update event" early next week. There have been some pretty wild claims so far, but apparently, nothing is "set in stone" according to Insider Gaming's owner Tom Henderson. He has been...
News 343 Hires New Art Director To Lead 'A Very Exciting New Era' For Halo
"I am incredibly proud to join 343 Industries"
Halo developer 343 Industries appears to making moves for its next major release. Following on from hints last month at an 'unannounced' project being in the works, the team has hired a brand-new art director to lead the series "into a very exciting new era". The news comes from LinkedIn, where former...
Pick One Which Is Your Favourite Obsidian Game On Xbox?
They've been prolific over the years!
Back in 2018, Xbox made a fairly high-profile purchase when it acquired Obsidian Entertainment, the team behind Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds and others. Truth be told though, this development studio has been active on Xbox for many years before Microsoft's recent acquisition. The team began its Xbox...
News Gaming Becomes Microsoft's 'Third Largest Business' In Latest Quarter
It has surpassed Windows with the help of ActiBlizz
It's been a bit of a wild start to the year for Xbox with a Developer Direct, mass layoffs, some record-breaking milestones, and now the
News Shapeshifter Games Apparently 'Co-Developing' Xbox Game Studios Project
Update: Confirmed as Clockwork Revolution
Update: It's now been confirmed by InXile Entertainment that Shapeshifter Games has been working on the upcoming Clockwork Revolution as a "co-development partner". Here's a bit more about the collaboration: "Shortly after Volition closed, we flew to Illinois and worked with Xbox and the then ex-Volition...
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
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...
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...
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,
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
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...
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
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...
Pick One Which 2024 First-Party Game Are You Most Looking Forward To From Xbox?
Let's talk games before tomorrow's 'business update'
We have a super serious day ahead of us tomorrow when Xbox delivers its 'business update' on what's next for the platform, but for today, let's talk about some video games. Putting all of the multiplatform drama aside for a minute here, Xbox has a really good games lineup planned for 2024. As was...
News Xbox Supposedly 'Very Surprised' At The Extent Of The Latest Rumours
Apparently not much is "set in stone"
Rumours about Xbox's future have been circulating online recently, with the company to directly address this in a "business update event" early next week. There have been some pretty wild claims so far, but apparently, nothing is "set in stone" according to Insider Gaming's owner Tom Henderson. He has been...
News 343 Hires New Art Director To Lead 'A Very Exciting New Era' For Halo
"I am incredibly proud to join 343 Industries"
Halo developer 343 Industries appears to making moves for its next major release. Following on from hints last month at an 'unannounced' project being in the works, the team has hired a brand-new art director to lead the series "into a very exciting new era". The news comes from LinkedIn, where former...
Pick One Which Is Your Favourite Obsidian Game On Xbox?
They've been prolific over the years!
Back in 2018, Xbox made a fairly high-profile purchase when it acquired Obsidian Entertainment, the team behind Fallout: New Vegas, The Outer Worlds and others. Truth be told though, this development studio has been active on Xbox for many years before Microsoft's recent acquisition. The team began its Xbox...
News Gaming Becomes Microsoft's 'Third Largest Business' In Latest Quarter
It has surpassed Windows with the help of ActiBlizz
It's been a bit of a wild start to the year for Xbox with a Developer Direct, mass layoffs, some record-breaking milestones, and now the
News Shapeshifter Games Apparently 'Co-Developing' Xbox Game Studios Project
Update: Confirmed as Clockwork Revolution
Update: It's now been confirmed by InXile Entertainment that Shapeshifter Games has been working on the upcoming Clockwork Revolution as a "co-development partner". Here's a bit more about the collaboration: "Shortly after Volition closed, we flew to Illinois and worked with Xbox and the then ex-Volition...