Guide Microsoft Rewards & Xbox: How To Make 10,000 Points Per-Month
How to get Microsoft Rewards points fast
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 28)
Including two 'day one' launches!
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In January 2025
The list as it stands right now
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 14)
A couple of major additions to the library
News Just One Game Is Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In February 2025 So Far
It's a HUGE first-party game!
News Six Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass In Late January 2025
Including a modern-day classic we gave 10/10 to!
News - January, 2025
Friday31st Jan 2025
News Former PlayStation Exec Says 'The Game Is Changing' As Xbox Goes Multiplatform
"They were Blockbuster, they became Netflix"
With the announcement of Forza Horizon 5 moving over to PS5, Xbox has planted another flag in its new multiplatform landscape, which started to take shape around a year ago. Things are definitely moving forward as we head into 2025 though, which is causing lots of industry folk to chime in on the matter -...
News Xbox Leaker Believes Gears Collection Is Real, Will Launch On PS5 Day One
The Cole Train ain't stoppin'
After what's been years and years of rumour and speculation, we might just have our strongest evidence of a Gears of War remaster collection yet. Well-known Xbox leaker eXtas1s has posted a new video that breaks down a bunch of
News These Are The Top-Selling Games In The Xbox Lunar New Year Sale 2025
The hottest deals right now
We've got just under a week left until the end of the massive Xbox Lunar New Year Sale 2025, so it's time to bring you our final roundup! With time running out, this is an opportunity to look at what's selling the best on the Xbox Store. We're going to focus on the UK version of the Xbox Store for this list, and we'll...
Soapbox As A Huge Forza Fan, I'm Fine With Horizon 5 Going To PS5
But I might feel differently about a day one release
Well, we've officially moved into the territory where one of the big three Xbox franchises (Halo, Gears, Forza) will no longer be console exclusive - as Horizon 5 plans its PS5 course this spring. I've been preparing myself for this moment for a while now, especially with all of the rumours going...
News MultiVersus Is Shutting Down, Less Than A Year Since Its Relaunch
A sad end for the free-to-play brawler
There was so much potential behind Warner Bros. MultiVersus when it was first unveiled a few years ago, and even though the game turned out to be pretty good, it's unfortunately not performed well enough to justify a longer lifespan. Today, it's been confirmed that MultiVersus will go offline on May 30th,...
News Halo PS5 Rumours Resurface Following Forza Horizon 5 Announcement
"But we'll see"
It's been another massive week in the world of Xbox, and after ongoing rumours, it's now been officially confirmed that Forza Horizon 5 will be arriving on PlayStation 5 this spring. If you are wondering what the plan might be for PS5 beyond this point, it seems Xbox's main mascot could be one of the next ones up with Halo: The...
News Xbox Highlights Six 'Must-Play' Indie Games That Launched In 2024
One year of 'Indie Selects'
A year ago, Xbox introduced its 'Indie Selects' program as a way to highlight a batch of indie titles each and every month - and at the program's one-year anniversary, the team has picked out six must-play indies from 2024. Team Xbox says that this selection showcases "six top Indie Selects titles from 2024 that we...
Roundup Citizen Sleeper 2 Is Getting Fantastic Reviews Ahead Of Its Xbox Game Pass Launch
Coming to the library TODAY!
As we close out a pretty packed January for Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft has one more 'day one' launch to bring to the service - Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector. While we haven't had time to try this one out here at Pure Xbox HQ yet, reviews are starting to hit the web for this new sci-fi sequel. So, with that in mind,...
Poll How Would You Grade The First Month Of Xbox Game Pass In 2025?
Have you enjoyed the new additions?
January's Xbox Game Pass lineup is now officially complete with today's launch of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector - and although it's unlikely you'll have had time to play that one just yet, we want to know how you feel about the first month of XGP in 2025. We've had some big Game Pass releases lined up in...
Thursday30th Jan 2025
News Xbox Glitch Sees Alan Wake Remastered Get 100% Discount
Update: Microsoft appears to have removed it
Earlier this week, we highlighted a fantastic Alan Wake 2 deal that bundled in Alan Wake Remastered as a free bonus game - and now Xbox users appear to have found a glitch with the system that allows them to claim the remaster without making a purchase at all. Thanks to Alan Wa
Roundup Here's What Critics Think Of New Game Pass Title Sniper Elite: Resistance
Available now on Xbox Game Pass!
As we covered in our reminder post earlier today, Sniper Elite: Resistance is now available on Xbox Game Pass, which means it might be worth knowing what folks think of the game now that it can be downloaded on Microsoft's subscription service. <related ids="177499"> Of course, we posted our
News Forza Horizon 5 Officially Announced For PS5, Drifts Over In Spring 2025
New horizons on PS5
Xbox developer Playground Games has announced that Forza Horizon 5 is officially launching on PlayStation 5, with the open-world racer set to move over in Spring 2025. First released in late 2021 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC, Forza Horizon 5 took players to Horizon Mexico in the series' fifth open-world outing on Xbox...
News Xbox Free Play Days Includes One Of 2023's Highest-Rated Games
Jump into a free trial right now!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Free Play Days lineup - and this one is quite a biggie. Headlining the selection this week is Alan Wake 2, with Remedy bringing a free trial to Microsoft's FPD program this weekend. Here's your full Xbox Free Play Days lineup this week: Alan Wake 2 (3-hour free trial) Sword Art Online...
News 'Mariostro Strikers' Goes Viral As Ridiculous Rip-Off Appears On Xbox
Who needs a Switch, eh?!
Every now and again, the Xbox Store plays host to various rip-off titles that are clearly inspired by other projects (sometimes they're just straight ports), but we have to admit, this specific one is a very entertaining example. Yes, Mariostro Strikers: Soccer League is available to purchase on Xbox right now, and it...
News GTA 6 Unlikely To Run At 60FPS On Xbox, Says Former Rockstar Dev
"I think they're gonna be shooting for 30fps"
We've said it before and we'll say it again, GTA 6 could be the star of the Xbox Series X|S generation, especially considering how long we've all been waiting for it to release. However, that could also mean that it'll be quite taxing on current-gen hardware, and a former Rockstar dev has now come out...
News January's Final Two Xbox Game Pass Titles Arrive This Week (January 30-31)
A hot month for XGP
Welcome to your final Xbox Game Pass roundup for January 2025! We have two more titles coming to the library this week, including Sniper Elite: Resistance which we just reviewed here at Pure Xbox. Anyway, here's a closer look at your last two
News Microsoft CEO Chimes In As Indiana Jones Surpasses Four Million Players On Xbox & PC
Satya seems pleased!
It's been almost a couple of months now since Indiana Jones and the Great Circle launched on Xbox and PC, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has revealed that the game has surpassed four million players on those systems so far. Nadella was speaking as part of the earnings results that were announced last night, where he used the...
News Game Pass Sets New Quarterly Revenue Record, Grows PC Subs 'By Over 30%'
Microsoft CEO: Black Ops 6 and Indiana Jones played a huge part
Microsoft's latest earnings report is in and although its gaming division's hardware business has suffered another decline, Xbox's "content and services" are up. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has now gone into a bit more detail, revealing how Game Pass has set a new quarterly record in...
News Xbox Cloud Gaming's Strong Momentum Continues With 'Record' Hours Streamed
Racking up 140 million hours in the latest quarter
Another positive to come out of Xbox's latest earnings report was regarding the "strong momentum" of its cloud gaming services. Alongside his comments about Game Pass's new quarterly revenue record, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed how
Talking Point A Year Later, What Do You Think Of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League?
Yes, it's been that long!
Time flies! It's been one year since Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League arrived on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S (along with other platforms), and the game has certainly gone through quite a journey over the past 12 months. There's no getting away from the fact that KTJL was a disappointment in terms of its financial...
News BioWare's 'Core Team' Working On Mass Effect 5 While Some Devs Move To Other EA Studios
"We are turning towards the future"
BioWare, the developer behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, has posted a new studio update as the team looks ahead to its next title. With development on The Veilguard now complete, and no DLC currently in the works, the studio h
Wednesday29th Jan 2025
Feature All New Xbox Games Coming Out In February 2025
Avowed, Monster Hunter, Like a Dragon & more!
Welcome to our roundup of all new Xbox games coming out in February 2025! Below, we've listed every Xbox game with an February 2025 release date, including all confirmed Xbox Game Pass releases so far. As you can see below, it's a really busy month as well! The likes of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, L
News Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Updated On Xbox, Second Update Arriving Next Month
Here's what you can expect...
The big surprise of last week (apart from Ninja Gaiden 4) was the shadow drop of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black. Team Ninja has announced the first patch (Version 1.0.6.0) has today gone live, but there's also another interesting update. Apart from a patch for the Microsoft Store version of the game "to fix the issue where...
News These 50+ Games Are Cheaper Than Ever In The Xbox Lunar New Year Sale 2025
The best "Lowest Price Ever" deals
The Xbox Lunar New Year Sale for 2025 has been live for a little while now, and we've been spending plenty of time looking through the selection for the best deals - and there are so many for us to highlight here at Pure Xbox! So, just like we did during Black Friday, we thought we'd pick out 50 games that have...
News Xbox's Multiplatform Releases Made Microsoft The Top Game Publisher In The World Last Month
Trouncing EA in the process
Data firm Ampere has released some interesting stats about the month of December in gaming - stats that name Microsoft as the top publisher in the world for the final month of 2024. According to the analyst group, $465 million was spent on Xbox games last month, making Microsoft the biggest publisher across Xbox,...
Talking Point Capcom, It's Time To Get Dino Crisis On Xbox
Don't leave us out, please
Today, the company that once produced Dino Crisis games but decided to stop bothering in the early 2000s (Capcom), has randomly dropped the first two games onto PC platform GOG. Yep, Dino Crisis 1+2 are now available to buy over there - complete with new features like enhanced DirectX rendering, 4K resolution support, new...
News Xbox Hardware Declines But 'Content & Services' Grows In FY25 Q2 Earnings Report
Microsoft calls the latter a "Business Highlight"
Microsoft has released its earnings report for the quarter ending December 31st, 2024 today (FY25 Q2), which highlights how the business performed during that quarter compared to the same period the year before. In terms of Xbox, Microsoft mentions that a "business highlight" is the 2% increase in...
News No Man's Sky 'Worlds Part 2' Brings New Biomes, Planets & Graphics To Xbox Game Pass
Hello, games that keep evolving
Six months or so after it first introduced the initial Worlds update for No Man's Sky, Hello Games is back again with another huge overhaul for its Xbox Game Pass adventure. No Man's Sky: Worlds Part 2 is out now on Xbox, and again, it's another big old update from Hello Games here. Player
News Phil Spencer's Recent Gears Activity Has Nothing To Do With Rumoured Remasters
He's simply been training the rook
A week or so ago, Gears fans with a keen eye spotted Xbox boss Phil Spencer revisiting the old Xbox 360 games for the first time in over a decade - prompting fresh discussion about a potential 'Marcus Fenix Collection', as has long been rumoured. While the boss has neither confirmed nor de
News Split Fiction Goes Gold & Gets New Co-Op Trailer Ahead Of Xbox Launch This March
Soon to be reality
Hazelight Studios, the now-famous team behind the likes of A Way Out and It Takes Two, has revealed that its upcoming game Split Fiction has officially gone gold. The studio has wrapped up core development on the co-op Xbox title, and is now laser-focused on the game's launch in March 2025. To accompany this announcement, we also...
Talking Point Will DOOM: The Dark Ages Become id's Best Modern DOOM Game?
Do you think it has what it takes?
Xbox has planted a major AAA flag in early 2025 with its May release date for DOOM: The Dark Ages, and after that amazing Developer Direct showcase, we're now wondering how far id Software can go with its next title. Ever since Bethesda's FPS experts rebooted the DOOM franchise back in 2016, we've absolutely loved...
News Baldur's Gate 3 Adding Split-Screen On Xbox Series S, More Than A Year After Release
Who remembers this drama?
Just over a year ago, Xbox was embroiled in Series S drama relating to mega-popular RPG Baldur's Gate 3 - developer Larian Studios just couldn't get split-screen running on the less-powerful machine. Well, a year on from Microsoft granting them the option to omit the feature, Larian has got split-screen co-op working on X
Tuesday28th Jan 2025
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 28)
Including two 'day one' launches!
This week is a busy one for Xbox Game Pass, and we're kicking things off with three brand-new additions to the service today! Two of these are actually 'day one' launches as well, meaning they've never been released before now. Eternal Strands is the one that's been getting the most attention in recent weeks, and...
News MLB The Show 25 Is Surprisingly Not Coming To Xbox Game Pass This Year
For the first time in the series' Xbox history
Sony has unveiled the latest entry in the beloved MLB The Show series today, and the surprising reveal from an Xbox perspective is that MLB The Show 25 will not be part of Xbox Game Pass when it launches on March 18, 2025. The company simply says that the game "will not be on platform subscription...
Deals Xbox 'Indie Selects' Sale Includes A Bunch Of Big Releases From 2024
A Game of the Year contender, even
The Tuesday refresh of the Xbox Store has taken place, and in addition to the massive Xbox Lunar New Year Sale that's ongoing right now, we've got a very interesting Xbox "Indie Selects Anniversary" Sale that's just gone live! You'll find discounts on some great 2024 titles in here, including the beloved GOTY...
News Xbox Appears To Have Mistakenly Teased World Of Warcraft For Console
Update: Xbox says the "Game Pass" mention was incorrect
We hate to quell anyone's excitement around World of Warcraft potentially coming to console, but if you end up seeing a newsletter that suggests its on its way at some point, we're assuming it's a mistake on Xbox's part. You can see an example of the email that's being sent out to Xbox fans...
News Xbox Has 'Right Approach' To Exclusives & PlayStation May Follow, Suggests Ori Dev
"Not supporting all these devices makes no sense"
There's obviously been a whole lot of discussion surrounding Phil Spencer's comments about Xbox exclusives this week, and how essentially there's no red line anymore about which games could appear on other platforms as well. We've seen mixed opinions on this, but someone who is definitely in favour...
News Xbox Is Adding Three Huge Playtests This Week Via The Free 'Insider Hub'
Including a stress test for Baldur's Gate 3!
Let's get the freebies started for this week, shall we? It's been revealed that the Xbox Insider Hub is getting three playtests this week, with the first being for the monster success that is Baldur's Gate 3, and the other two being for a couple of upcoming 2025 Xbox releases. In the case of Baldur's...
News DOOM's OG Creator Praises Xbox Game Pass For Removing 'Barriers'
"I mean who doesn't want that?"
Xbox Game Pass has helped Microsoft's gaming division boom in recent years with its new titles available day one on the service, and while it's not necessarily everyone's cup of tea, there are still millions of fans out there. This includes industry legend and DOOM creator John Romero, who recently praised Xbox's...
News WWE 2K25 Goes 'Beyond The Ring' On Xbox Series X|S This March
Welcome to The Island
We've got a date for the next WWE game! It was announced last night on WWE Raw that WWE 2K25 will release for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Xbox One (along with other platforms) on March 14, 2025. Along with the trailer you see above, it was confirmed that Roman Reigns will be the cover star this year, also appearing in the...
News Xbox's Phil Spencer Had A Big Role To Play In The Creation Of Ninja Gaiden 4
"We were having difficulty deciding on a plan"
Ninja Gaiden 4 was the big surprise of the Xbox Developer Direct last week, and many were surprised to see Xbox publishing a PlatinumGames / Team NINJA (Koei Tecmo) title in the first place - which is down to Phil Spencer! In an interview with Game Watch re
Monday27th Jan 2025
Hands On Eternal Strands Brings Single-Player Monster Hunting To Xbox Game Pass
Adventure at your own peril
Ahead of its day one arrival on Xbox Game Pass tomorrow, we've been hands-on with Eternal Strands; the brand-new action-adventure IP from Yellow Brick Games. Part Monster Hunter, part Dragon Age: The Veilguard, this single-player affair strips back some of the complexity of both of thos
Resistance is futile, you slags
Have you ever wanted to play an entry in Rebellion's fantastic Sniper Elite series that stars Danny Dyer as the protagonist? Have you ever wanted to give a whole bunch of Nazi slags a right good doing? Well, we reckon you're not alone, sunshine. In fact, we've been petitioning Rebellion for this very thing for years...
News Xbox Boss Dismisses Idea Of Removing The Series S Parity Clause
"I think about it in almost exactly the opposite way"
Ever since the Xbox Series S was first released back in 2020, we've heard very occasionally from developers who have had a tough time getting their games onto it - Baldur's Gate 3 was the most high-profile example to date. In fact, during that saga, it was mentioned that Xbox had parity clauses...
News Xbox Is 'Evolving' Rather Than 'Losing' Its Identity, Says Phil Spencer
"I believe it's an identity that this industry needs"
With Team Xbox embarking on a major multiplatform push these days, there's been some concern in the community that without focusing on first-party exclusives, Xbox may essentially lose part of its identity and appeal in the process. This was brought up in Phil Spencer's couple of interview...
PSA Alan Wake 2's 'Lunar New Year' Xbox Discount Includes Two Games & Two Expansions
A pretty fantastic deal if you ask us!
We've been browsing the Xbox Lunar New Year Sale looking for discounts on a regular basis over the past few days, and one that you may not clocked onto is Alan Wake 2 - specifically because it includes more than you might expect! So, the Alan Wake 2 Deluxe Edition is currently 50% off on the Xbox Store,...
News Phil Spencer Shares His Aspirations For Xbox Before He Reaches Retirement
"Let's stay willing to take risks..."
It's been over 10 years now since Phil Spencer became the head honcho of Xbox, and in another ten years, he will have reached retirement age in the United States. Sorry Phil, we swear we're not trying to make you sound old! With this in mind, he was asked by interviewer Destin Legarie over the weekend about his...
News Xbox Reporter Hints At Potential For More First-Party Surprises In 2025
Could we see Gears this year?
After the stacked Xbox Developer Direct event last week, Xbox is an amazing position when it comes to its first-party slate for early 2025, and with the likes of Fable and The Outer Worlds 2 still to come, late 2025 could be incredible too. Of course, the rum
News 'People Can Fly' Becomes Official Co-Developer For Gears Of War: E-Day
"We have always been passionate about the series"
We've got some fresh Gears of War: E-Day news to report! It's been announced today by development studio People Can Fly that the company is partnering with The Coalition on the upcoming prequel that's set to arrive in 2025 or 2026. You may remember the name "People Can Fly" because of the 2022 Xbox...
Reminder Six Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass This Friday (January 31)
Not long left with these!
There's a lot going on in the world of Xbox Game Pass this week, so before the madness kicks off, we thought we'd take this opportunity to remind you of six games that are leaving the service on Friday, January 31st. We're particularly keen to let you know about these because of Death's Door - it's one of the few games...
Sunday26th Jan 2025
News Xbox On Keeping Games Off Other Platforms: 'That's Not A Path For Us'
Starfield's exclusivity window could be ending...
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has been doing press interviews this week following Xbox's big Developer Direct broadcast and during a chat with Destin Legarie, he's been asked if Starfield will be "staying put for the time being" on Xbox. The short answer is "no" and according to Phil - there's...
Saturday25th Jan 2025
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (January 27-31)
A big week for Xbox Game Pass
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for January 27-31! We're looking at a particularly great week for Xbox Game Pass over the next few days, with four 'day one' launches confirmed for the service in Sniper Elite: Resistance, Citizen Sleeper 2, Orcs Must Die
Deals Lots Of Major Games Reduced By 90% In The Xbox Lunar New Year Sale 2025
We're being spoiled with INCREDIBLE discounts!
Looking for some amazing 90% and 95% discounts in the Xbox Lunar New Year Sale 2025?! Well, the list is looking incredible right now! So many major games have been reduced to ridiculous prices until early February, including the likes of Suicide Squad - Kill The Justice League, Batman Return to Arkham,...
News Xbox Will Continue To Ship More Games On PlayStation And Nintendo
Phil Spencer: "We're not going to put walls up"
Xbox has mixed up its strategy over the past year - releasing four titles across Sony and Nintendo's platforms, and pushing a new marketing campaign making pretty much every device an Xbox. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has also mentioned how there are
Poll Are You Buying The 'Early Access' Upgrade For Avowed?
Or are you happy to wait for the full launch?
We've now got a whole bunch of first-party Xbox releases on the calendar for 2025 thanks to this week's Developer Direct, and don't forget about the initial one that's coming along in just a few weeks' time - Obsidian's Avowed! This epic fantasy RPG launches for Xbox Series X, Series S, PC and
News Phil Spencer Reiterates Hardware Is Still A 'Critical Part' Of Xbox
"I think it's fundamental to what Xbox is"
There has been a lot of discussion over the past year about the future of Xbox's hardware division and now Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has touched on this subject again in a new interview with Gamertag Radio while responding to a question about the company's new campaign.
News DOOM: The Dark Ages Drops Multiplayer In Favour Of 'Most Expansive' Campaign Ever
"We're just really happy with the decision"
Xbox and Bethesda developer id Software this week shared a proper reveal of DOOM: The Dark Ages and more details about it are beginning to emerge. One thing, in particular, highlighted in the first round of previews - is the fact this game is a "strictly campaign" affair. In other words - don't expect...
News Xbox Was Knocking On Doors About Ninja Gaiden 4 'Six-Seven Years Ago'
The project was officially announced this week
The surprise of the Xbox Developer Direct this week was the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4, and according to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, it's been a long time in the making. In the same chat with Gamertag Radio, he revealed how Xbox was actually knocking on doors around "six-seven years ago"...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 25-26)
How about some Ninja Gaiden 2 Black?
Welcome to the weekend! We've had a busy couple of days in Xbox world, and now it's time to relax with some games - with new Game Pass titles, Free Play Days offerings and the massive Xbox Lunar New Year Sale to check out! Here's what we're playing this weekend:
Friday24th Jan 2025
News Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown Is Free To Play On Xbox This Weekend
A surprise fifth addition to Xbox Free Play Days!
When Xbox unveiled this weekend's batch of Free Play Days titles yesterday, they didn't tell us about a surprise fifth addition that would be added today! It's arguably the most interesting as well - the new Test Drive game from last year. Yes, from January 24th (today) until 9am UTC on January...
Deals All 20+ Backwards Compatible Games In The Xbox Lunar New Year Sale 2025
Including more Ninja Gaiden!
The massive Xbox Lunar New Year Sale for 2025 has officially kicked off today, and as you'd expect, it includes a bunch of backwards compatible titles from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 eras - around 20 of them in all. You'll find some definite highlights in the mix, including a massive range of Call of Duty titles...
Deals Xbox 'Lunar New Year' Sale Now Live, 600+ Games Discounted
The biggest sale of the year so far!
It's time for the Xbox Lunar New Year Sale 2025! Yes, after yesterdays huge Developer Direct showcase, Xbox has only gone and treated us to the biggest Xbox sale of the year so far - with over 600 games reduced until February 6th. There are some massive AAA games in here as well, from the likes of Call of Duty:...
News 'Raft' Has Dominated The Xbox Charts Since Shadow Dropping In December
"Experience the thrill of survival at sea"
If you're a fan of PC gaming, you may have come across a title over the past few years called "Raft" - which takes the form of a solo and multiplayer survival adventure that's racked up hundreds of thousands of Steam reviews so far. Those Steam reviews are "Very Positive" as well, so it stands to reason...
News 'Xbox Play Anywhere' Makes A Welcome Appearance At Developer Direct 2025
Will it have a bigger role to play in the future?
We've long been fans of Xbox Play Anywhere here at Pure Xbox, but it's not always been promoted as well as we'd like - Microsoft makes it very difficult to see a full list of games that actually support the Play Anywhere program. In fact, fans have discovered that over 1,100 Xbox games are included...
News Xbox Unveils The 'Excellence Awards' And Reveals All The 2024 Winners
"The games you loved most in 2024"
Today, we're being formally introduced to the Xbox Excellence Awards, which seeks to highlight the games that fans "loved most" in the previous year - with trophies being sent to the devs and publishers who created them. "These teams create unforgettable gaming experiences that engage and inspire players of all...
Roundup The First Previews Are In For DOOM: The Dark Ages
Get ready to rip and tear this May
Well, it's now officially confirmed - DOOM: The Dark Ages is releasing for Xbox, Game Pass, and other platforms on May 15, 2025. This title has obviously been in the pipeline for some time now, and with this in mind, multiple outlets have already experienced guided previews of the new prequel entry. The first...
Thursday23rd Jan 2025
News Multiple Xbox Game Pass Titles Seemingly Leaked For February 2025
Next month is shaping up very nicely!
As things stand, we only know about two games for Xbox Game Pass next month in Far Cry New Dawn and Avowed, but a new report from Insider Gaming is suggesting that three more will be added to the list very soon. These three games are Cras
Guide Xbox Developer Direct 2025: Event Date, Start Times & Where To Watch The Showcase
We're getting VERY close now!
It's almost time for the Xbox Developer Direct! Yep, the 2025 edition of Microsoft's dev-focused showcase returns this Thursday (which is today!), with multiple titles confirmed for the show already. In this guide, we're going to tell you everything you need to know about the Xbox Developer Direct 2025 ahead of it...
Guide Xbox Game Pass Perks: Everything You Can Claim In January 2025
A new year of Xbox Perks has begun!
The Xbox Game Pass Perks program is a neat little bonus for members of the 'Ultimate' tier who can benefit from a series of cool freebies, and to kick off January 2025, there are loads of free Xbox Perks that you can claim right now! We're doing things a little differently with these guides in 2025 - instead of...
Feature Xbox Developer Direct 2025: The Full List Of Reveals, Including Two Surprises
Missed the event? Here's a recap
Weren't able to catch the Xbox Developer Direct 2025 showcase earlier today? No worries! You can always go back and watch the on-demand version for yourself, which you'll find elsewhere on Pure Xbox. If you don't want to watch it all the way through, we've also detailed all the important reveals in this article...
Live Watch The Xbox Developer Direct 2025 Showcase Here
Three major titles and at least one surprise
The time has arrived for Xbox Developer Direct 2025! Today's show promises closer looks at DOOM: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight and the third-party Xbox Game Pass title Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, while we're also getting at least one
News Surprise! Ninja Gaiden 2 Black Launches Today On Xbox Game Pass
A shadow drop for this Unreal Engine 5 remaster
Shadow drop alert! In addition to the surprise announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4 at 2025's Xbox Developer Direct showcase, we've also been treated to the surprise launch of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black on
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (January 23-26)
Included with Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Free Play Days is back! After an EA-fueled return last weekend, the program continues into 2025, with four titles making up the lineup this weekend. Here's this week's full Xbox Free Play Days selection: A Little To The Left (two-hour trial) For Honor Train Sim World 5 Way of the Hunter You'll need a...
Reaction Xbox's Killer January Showcase Proves That Its Games Pipeline Is Finally Ready
ALL of this in the next few months?!
Well, that's a wrap on Xbox Developer Direct 2025, and wasn't that just an awesome showcase again from Team Green? We got a look at four new Xbox titles; three of which received release dates spread over the next few months. Oh, and who can forget about that fifth shadow drop title? Yep, The Ninja Gaiden 2
News Xbox Game Pass Hit Palworld Was So Successful It's Spawned A New Publisher
Pocketpair Publishing is a-go!
The team behind Xbox Game Pass mega-hit Palworld has announced 'Pocketpair Publishing', a new game-making company set up to help fund games by other developers. The team's Publishing Manager says "we've been working on this for so long" and that "big things" are coming for the publisher moving forward. Speaking of...
News Xbox Reveals Ninja Gaiden 4, Coming Day One To Game Pass In Fall 2025
What a way to start the Dev Direct!
It had been rumoured before today's Xbox Developer Direct 2025 event that a legendary Japanese IP would make a surprise appearance, and it's turned out to be Ninja Gaiden 4 - launching in Fall 2025 on Xbox Game Pass! The game, which is officially being published by Xbox Game Studios, will feature a
Poll How Would You Grade 2025's Xbox Developer Direct?
Give us your verdict
The dust is now beginning to settle on 2025's Xbox Developer Direct showcase! If you haven't had a chance to watch it yet, you can catch the full thing over at our live coverage page, as well as check out our recap of everything that happened as part of the show. So, all things considered, what grade would you give the Xbox...
Review Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles (Xbox) - The Return Of Another Prequel Game
The nostalgia is strong with this one
More than 25 years after the release of the Phantom Menace movie, Star Wars: Episode I: Jedi Power Battles has now returned. Like the movie, this game wasn’t all that well-received on release when it launched for the original PlayStation in the year 2000 – with the Dreamcast release tidying up the whole...
News Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Brings Its Stunning RPG To Xbox Game Pass This April
Not to be overlooked!
We've been excited for Sandfall Interactive's Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 ever since it was announced for Xbox Game Pass a little while ago, but after watching today's Xbox Developer Direct Showcase, it's become a must-play! The game, which now has a r
News DOOM: The Dark Ages Punches Onto Xbox Game Pass In May 2025
Right around the corner!
Id Software is back, and their next game is out sooner than you might think! Bethesda's FPS expert has announced that DOOM: The Dark Ages is launching in just a few short months on May 15, 2025 - and it'll be available day one on Game Pass now that the studio is a part of Team Xbox. This has all been announced during...
News EA Says Two Of Its Major AAA Titles 'Underperformed' In 2024
Announces lower financial forecast as a result
Publisher and game maker EA has dropped a new financial report as it looks ahead to 2025, and the results aren't exactly rosy for the team's late 2024 releases. CEO Andrew Wilson says that "Dragon Age and EA SPORTS FC 25 underperformed" last year, while the company "expects a return to growth" in its...
News Banjo-Kazooie Revival Would Be 'Instantly Hated' By Some Fans, Says Original Composer
"I have zero hope for another Banjo game"
Earlier this week, we covered a story about the CEO of Moon Studios questioning why Xbox hadn't decided to make a new Banjo-Kazooie game yet - he suggested that a talented developer could "rival 3D Mario" in the process. This story attracted the attention of original Banjo-Kazooie composer Grant Kirkhope,...
News Xbox's South Of Midnight Brings Folklore Magic To Game Pass This April
See you in the bayou
Compulsion Games has today announced the launch date for South of Midnight, its upcoming southern folklore inspired adventure for Xbox Series X|S. We're finally getting hands on with this one on April 8th, 2025, and we're glad - because it looks bloody beautiful! As part of the team's extended deep dive at Dev Direct, we've got...
News Xbox Is Hiring For Someone To Lead An Unnamed Dev Team, Starting Next Month
Job post spotted
An interesting Xbox job post has been spotted online today, leading to questions about whether this role is for an unannounced team or project over at Xbox Game Studios. Microsoft is looking for "an experienced Executive Producer" to "lead a game team" - but what that team is within Xbox remains a mystery at this time. Furthermore,...
Wednesday22nd Jan 2025
News Seven Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 22)
Across the Standard & Ultimate libraries
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we have seven titles coming to Microsoft's Game Pass service - five new additions to the Standard library and two fresh titles for Game Pass Ultimate members. Here's the full list of new games for January 22nd, along wi
News Xbox Is Adding Support For Even Bigger Storage Devices In 2025
Starting with Xbox Insiders
The current limit for external hard drive size on Xbox is already pretty big, but the team is expanding that capability, starting out with Xbox Insiders this month. Microsoft's current limit of 16TB will soon be removed - allowing players to utilise even more storage space on Xbox in 2025. Going off the team's wording on...
Talking Point Have You Been Tempted To Switch To Xbox Game Pass Standard?
The library is growing fast!
Last year, Microsoft launched Xbox Game Pass Standard, phasing out its 'Console' tier of the subscription service at the same time. When it was revealed, we questioned the need for its existence, especially given how great Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is and the extras that are included in that service. However, with Game...
Talking Point The Dev Who Greenlit Insomniac's Xbox One Classic Is Retiring
We wish we'd have seen more
Today, Insomniac Games has announced that its legendary CEO Ted Price is retiring from the company, after more than 30 years at the helm. While Insomniac has always been closely aligned with PlayStation — Sony now owns the studio outright — the team did produce an Xbox One classic back in 2014 - and Ted Price played a...
News SEGA Launches New 'SEGA Account' System Offering Bonus In-Game Goodies
You can register now
SEGA has this week launched a new online profile system called SEGA Account. It gives fans access to a "host of benefits" when playing SEGA and Atlus titles and using their titles' online services. This will include a bunch of exclusive bonuses for select games, starting with the upcoming release of Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza...
News 'Silent Hill F' & Another Long-In-Development Xbox Game Rated In South Korea
Could we be seeing these soon?
Today, a couple of new video game appearances on the South Korean ratings board have us intrigued as to when these titles might show up again. First off, Konami's Silent Hill F has been rated in the region, alongside a long-in-development Xbox title - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2. The latter has been stuck...
News Black Ops 6 Season 2 Brings Back Classic Maps & Modes On Xbox Game Pass
Alongside another new Zombies level!
Treyarch and Activision have announced the next season of Black Ops 6 and Warzone, set to kick off on January 28th with lots of new content. Season 02 of Black Ops 6 will bring five multiplayer maps, a brand-new Zombies experience, new weapons and more to the Xbox Game Pass FPS. Of those five multiplayer maps
News Xbox's Indiana Jones Voice Actor Wins 'Best Acting' Prize At New York Game Awards 2025
Beating out some stiff competition
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle may have launched too late to pick up any prizes at The Game Awards last month, but not all ceremonies have such a cutoff date, and a new prize for the 2024 title has now come in. Presented at the New York Game Awards this month, Troy Baker's performance has netted them the 'Best...
Tuesday21st Jan 2025
News Six Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass In Late January 2025
Including a modern-day classic we gave 10/10 to!
It's that time again! Microsoft has revealed the next batch of games leaving Xbox Game Pass in late January today, which includes six titles in all - with the likes of Death's Door and Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem amongst them. In fact, Death's Door is one of those games that received an extremely ra
News These 13 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (January 22 - February 4)
Including another Ubisoft addition!
It's that time again! Microsoft has officially revealed the second batch of Xbox Game Pass titles for January 2025 today (as well as the first title for February) which includes 13 games in all - although some are already part of certain tiers. Prior to now, it had already been confirmed that Eternal Strands,...
Feature Far Cry New Dawn Got A Mixed Reception, But It'll Be A Great Addition To Xbox Game Pass
Expectations got in the way
Today, Microsoft has delivered its latest roundup for Xbox Game Pass, filling in some blanks between now and early February for its subscription service. The one title that immediately sticks out here is Far Cry New Dawn, and we actually think this is a really solid addition to the library - especially with its...
News Multiple Xbox Games Drop To 'Lowest Price Ever' In This Week's THQ Nordic Sale
We might be grabbing some of these!
Xbox always refreshes its deals on a Tuesday, and we've got a couple of new sales that have gone live on the Microsoft Store - one is a Publisher Spotlight Sale, and the other is dedicated to THQ Nordic and Handy Games titles. You'll find some great stuff in the Publisher Spotlight Sale (we've included some...
News Xbox's First New Controller Of 2025 Is The 'Pulse Cipher' Special Edition
Launching in early February
Anyone fancy a new Xbox controller to start the year? Microsoft has unveiled one today in the form of the Pulse Cipher Special Edition, which follows on from the Sky Cipher and Ghost Cipher editions that were released last year. Obviously the big difference is the blood-red colour scheme that leaves a striking impression...
News Here's 20 Minutes Of 'Eternal Strands' Ahead Of Next Week's Xbox Game Pass Launch
Exclusively captured by Pure Xbox!
Eternal Strands has been one of the most highly-anticipated Xbox Game Pass titles of January 2025 for quite some time now, and we're pleased to confirm we've been playing it here at Pure Xbox over the past few days! You can see 20 minutes of our footage in the first video down below, followed by a look at the...
News Xbox Fans Hoping For 'Marcus Fenix Collection' News After Phil Spencer Revisits Gears Classics
Update: Phil shuts down the speculation
Remember a few years ago when some sort of Gears of War remastered collection seemed to be constantly churning away in the rumour mill? Well, those rumours have died down quite a lot over the last year or so - but Xbox boss Phil Spencer's recent gaming activity is getting people's hopes up once again...
Talking Point What Release Dates Will We Get At Xbox Developer Direct This Year?
Filling out the 2025 calendar
As we continue to get closer and closer to the arrival of the Xbox Developer Direct showcase this Thursday, we thought we'd use this opportunity to ponder over the various release dates that could be announced at the event. We already know what's going to be there, of course - DOOM: The Dark Ages,
News Xbox 'Investigating' Reports Of Laggy Media Apps After Extended Playback
There's a workaround if you need it
An Xbox console is much more than just a games machine (as Don Matrick tried to tell us a decade ago) and many of us spending hours watching content on there, so ideally we want our TV apps to be running smoothly at all times. That's usually the case, but Xbox is actually investigating an issue at the moment that...
News Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 21)
A new day one arrival
Welcome to your latest addition to Xbox Game Pass! Today, Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders hits the library as a wintery follow-up to the much-loved Lonely Mountains: Downhill - and it's a day one XGP launch to boot. Here's what you can expect from Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders when it comes to the Game Pass catalogue today:
Monday20th Jan 2025
Rumour Leaker Names Multiple Xbox Games Potentially Releasing On Switch 2
Microsoft might be going big with this thing
Last week, Nintendo officially announced the Switch 2 as its next console, set to launch worldwide in 2025. Off the back of that announcement, we touched on how we'd like to see Microsoft support the console in a big way with new Xbox ports - and it sounds like we might be about to see that become a...
Feature Five Guesses For The 'Legendary' Surprise At Xbox Developer Direct This Week
Based on the big rumour so far
Happy Xbox Developer Direct week! January's big Xbox showcase is now just a few days away, and the big question on everyone's mind is what the fourth surprise will be at the event - it's been purposely teased by Team Xbox: "...visit a surprise location to see another studio’s brand new game." The rumour that's...
News PS5 Pro Surprisingly Loses To Xbox Series X In HDMI Bandwidth Test
"The Xbox Series X can do 4K120 at full RGB/444"
Did you know that the Xbox Series X has better HDMI 2.1 bandwidth than the PS5? You might know that, because it was tested a few years ago by a YouTuber named Vincent Teoh, and he's returned to test the PS5 Pro recently as well. As it turns out, the PS5 Pro features the same spec as the PS5 in this...
News Resident Evil 6 ESRB Rating Spotted Ahead Of Xbox Developer Direct
Could it be this "legendary Japanese IP"?
Today, a new ESRB rating for Resident Evil 6 has been spotted online, with Capcom's 2012 Xbox 360 title looking set for another re-release in some form. To be clear, the Japanese developer hasn't announced a new version of RE6 in any way at this time - so the exact nature of this rating is still quite...
News Xbox Could 'Rival 3D Mario' With A New Banjo-Kazooie Game, Says Ori Developer
"...and probably sell similar numbers"
We've been hearing for years and years and years about how Xbox might do something with the Banjo-Kazooie IP at some point in the future, but as things stand, it doesn't seem like anything particularly noteworthy is happening. A lot of people have shown support for it, including the CEO of Moon Studios (best...
Talking Point It's Been Three Years Since Xbox Announced The Activision Blizzard Deal
Covering Xbox has been a whirlwind ever since
Well folks, over the weekend, we officially passed the three-year mark since Xbox first announced its intentions to purchase mega-publisher Activision Blizzard. Yep, January 18th, 2022 was when the news first sent shockwaves throughout the industry - the most expensive gaming acquisition ever. Of...
Talking Point What Are Your Plans For This Week's Big Xbox Event?
Will you be watching it live?
With the Xbox Developer Direct for 2025 now just a few days away, this is our chance to do what we always do - ask you what your plans are for it! In other words, will you be watching this live, or just catching up after the event? If you're not a big fan of the lengthy summer showcases, the nice thing about Developer...
News Xbox's Black Ops 6 Team Is Making Changes To Servers, Crossplay, Anti-Cheat & More
A new community update
If you've been keeping up with Black Ops 6 and the current Call of Duty scene as of late, you'll probably have noticed quite a bit of negativity in the community. Over the holidays, it seems that plenty of issues have cropped up regarding online servers, cheaters and the likes - and developer Treyarch has now tackled these...
News Hollow Knight: Silksong Is 'Progressing' And Still Expected On Xbox Game Pass
A rare update for the highly-anticipated sequel
It was all the way back at the Xbox Games Showcase in 2022 that Hollow Knight: Silksong was first announced as a day one Xbox Game Pass release, and to be honest, we've barely heard anything about the game ever since! Last year was pretty much radio silence aside from the Xbox Store page going live in...
Saturday18th Jan 2025
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (January 20-24)
January is getting BUSY now!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for January 20-24! We're really starting to get busy now with these new Xbox releases for 2025, with over 20 of them confirmed for the next few days - including the likes of SYNDUALITY Echo of Ada and
Talking Point Xbox Series X|S Owners, How's Your Storage Looking In 2025?
Our yearly feature returns!
Every year here at Pure Xbox, we poll the community about how well you've been managing your Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S storage, and so we're doing the same again for 2025 - in a year where games are getting bigger than ever! Looking back over the past couple of years, it comes as no surprise that free space appears...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 18-19)
Diving into Xbox Free Play Days?
Weekend time! There's plenty to check out on Xbox over the weekend, with the highlight being a massive array of Xbox Free Play Days titles from EA Sports, and there are also a small number of new Xbox Game Pass additions as well. Here's what we're playing this weekend: Fraser Gilbert, Editor: I feel like there's...
Friday17th Jan 2025
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In January 2025
The list as it stands right now
Looking for a complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in January 2025? It can be pretty difficult to keep track of all the comings and goings in the world of Xbox Game Pass every week, so we've put together this handy guide to provide an overview of what's coming to Xbox Game Pass in January, as well as the...
News Lots Of Games Are Discounted By 90% On Xbox This Weekend (January 18-19)
Bag yourself a ridiculous bargain!
Looking for some cheap games on Xbox during mid-January? Well, it's time to bring back our 90% discounts feature! Looking at the current deals on the Xbox Store, there are plenty of games that have been discounted by 90% until at least the start of next week, including some AAA titles. In the table below, we've...
Rumour Xbox Reporter Teases One More Potential Surprise At Developer Direct 2025
A strong emphasis on "maybe"
We're less than a week away now from Xbox Developer Direct 2025, and with yesterday's Switch 2 reveal now firmly in the rear-view mirror, all eyes are on Microsoft and its next big showcase. The question is, how many surprises will be packed into this year's show? We already know about
News GTA 6 Raising Prices To '$80 Or Even $100' Could Cause Industry To Follow Suit, Says Analyst
"Breaking a key price barrier"
Video game prices continue to be a bit of a sore subject, especially in a world where the cost of practically everything seems to only be going up and up. Unfortunately, those rising costs are leading to ballooning game budgets - and an investment analyst believes GTA 6 could provide a potential "moving up" point for...
Talking Point Will Microsoft Fully Reveal Its Next-Gen Xbox This Year?
Or will Xbox stay quiet in 2025
A year ago next month, Microsoft first started talking about its next-gen Xbox - a console that's supposedly going to provide the "largest technical leap" ever seen from generation to generation. The thing is though, we still don't really know what that means, even if Xbox fans have pondered the topic for months now...
News Xbox Reminds Us Engagement Is At 'All-Time High' Going Into 2025
Big milestones have been achieved recently
Earlier this week, Microsoft reached out to ourselves here at Pure Xbox (and seemingly a series of other outlets) aiming to provide some context about a report headlined "Microsoft’s Gaming Business Falls Short, Despite Activision" - by an outlet known as The Information. Now, we'll be honest... we...
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About 'Tales Of Graces f Remastered'
Out today on Xbox!
Tales of Graces f Remastered makes its debut on Xbox today, alongside other major platforms, and that means lots of reviews for the remaster have cropped up online in recent hours. Things are looking pretty good for Bandai Namco's latest re-release, so we've gathered up a bunch of the critics' opinions on Tales of Graces f...
Report Majority Of Devs Expecting To Release New Games In 2025, Driving Industry Growth
Survey sheds positive light on 2025
Let's have a bit of Friday night positivity, shall we? Despite what's been a rough year-or-so for the gaming industry, the outlook seems a bit better for 2025 so far - and a new report backs that up, as a majority of game developers expect the industry to grow this year. Of 150 senior Unity game devs surveyed in...
Thursday16th Jan 2025
News Xbox Store Adds Two Extra Freebies To Enjoy Over The Weekend
Including a First Berserker: Khazan demo!
It feels like we've been talking a lot today about free Xbox games! There's the whole Xbox Free Play Days thing, with EA making eight games free to try, and we also discussed the "Just For You" deals that are going around right now. Beyond that though, there are two extra freebies that we don't want you to...
News Lucky Xbox Players Are Getting Free 'Just For You' Deals This Week
For the likes of Destiny 2 and EA Sports FC 25
The 'Just For You' section of the Microsoft Store has become pretty popular over the last year-or-so, with Xbox choosing to populate it with a series of great offers - particularly for those who are Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. That remains the case as we speak, but some extremely lucky Xbox...
Soapbox I Hope Xbox Properly Supports Switch 2 When It Launches In 2025
Offering a new & different Xbox experience
A lot has been said, discussed and debated about Microsoft deciding to make Xbox games available on rival platforms, and much of that chatter has been pretty negative so far. Sony's PS5 has been the big focus point for discussion, especially because it's confirmed to be getting some huge Xbox games like...
News Xbox Fan Shares 'Genius' Method For Putting Console In Idle Mode
We didn't know this was a thing!
It's not often we learn something that we didn't know already about our Xbox consoles here at PX HQ, but browsing the platform's Reddit channel this morning, we've done exactly that. Basically, a user has shared a tip for instantly putting your console in 'idle' mode, and yep - we had no idea you could do this! So,...
Talking Point What Is Xbox Going To Do With Halo In 2025?
Do you think we'll get an announcement?
This is a really interesting time for the Halo franchise. A few months ago, it was announced that a major shakeup was taking place at 343 Industries, with the company rebranding to "Halo Studios" and embarking on a series of new games using Unreal Engine 5. It served as the beginning of a new chapter with Halo...
News Sniper Elite: Resistance's Biggest Features Detailed Ahead Of Xbox Game Pass Launch
Coming later this month
While we're seemingly in for a quiet week on Xbox Game Pass, the service starts to ramp up at the end of the month, including the day one launch of Sniper Elite: Resistance. Yep, following the Game Pass release of Sniper Elite 5 a couple of years back, Rebellion returns to the service at the end of the month with a...
News Xbox Free Play Days Features Eight EA Games This Week (January 16-19)
Jump in for free this weekend
Xbox Free Play Days has officially returned for the new year, and EA is helping kick things off with a bang. Starting today, the publisher is adding eight games in total to the program, including the likes of College Football 25, EA Sports WRC and more. Without further ado, here's your full Xbox Free Play Days lineup...
News Ex-Witcher Devs Unveil New Dark Fantasy RPG 'Dawnwalker' For Xbox
"From the director of Witcher 3"
As CD Projekt Red focuses on its next big game in The Witcher 4, the former Witcher 3 director and select other industry veterans at the new Polish team 'Rebel Wolves' are now gearing up for their debut title backed by Bandai Namco. If you
News New Console Repair Options Headline Xbox Sustainability Efforts In 2025
Going all green
Microsoft has detailed some new sustainability efforts relating to Xbox as we move into 2025, and while this sort of stuff often just happens in the background for us as players, Team Green is actually bringing some pretty neat initiatives to the table here - chief among which is a new repairs program for users in the US, which...
Wednesday15th Jan 2025
News Xbox Series X|S Console Sales In Europe Dropped By Almost 50% In 2024
PlayStation & Nintendo also suffered last year
Throughout the year, we've been tracking multiple sales reports for Xbox Series X and S consoles, and unfortunately - the news hasn't often been very good for Microsoft. Well, a new look at the entirety o
Rumour Microsoft Reportedly Chose Buying Studios Over 'Winding Down' Xbox In 2021
Update: The company provides some context
Xbox fans, buckle up. Today, a fresh report is circulating from outlet The Information that claims Microsoft thought about winding down its Xbox gaming business back in 2021. According to the report, which is unfortunately paywalled, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella "faced a choice" between buying studios to...
News Microsoft's 'VP Of Next-Gen' Seems To Think That Xbox Console Hardware Isn't Under Threat
We see you, Jason
Xbox exec Jason Ronald was recently named the 'VP of next-generation' over at Microsoft, with the Xbox Series X|S architect now spearheading the team's next-gen console plans. Given his new job title, then, it's probably good news that Ronald seems to think that Xbox consoles are here to stay. Between his undoubtedly busy schedule...
News Microsoft Is Apparently Working On Some Big Improvements To Xbox Cloud Gaming
As the team "expands its network storage capacity"
Xbox Cloud Gaming is becoming a major part of Microsoft's games business these days, especially as it continues to expand Xbox as a platform, and some new information from
News Microsoft Has Announced More Layoffs In Its Gaming Division, Says New Report
Amount of job cuts not specified
During 2024, Microsoft made heavy job cuts across multiple divisions including Xbox, and a new report suggests that this culling of staff isn't stopping into the new year. First reported on by Business Insider (paywalled) and shared by GamesIndustry.
Talking Point Are You Hoping For Another 'Shadow Drop' At Xbox Developer Direct 2025?
That would be awesome!
As Xbox Developer Direct fast approaches, we're getting quite excited for what we might see in the 2025 edition of the event. We know three of the games that will be showcased, while rumours are pointing towards a "legendary Japanese IP" for Xbox's fourth game of the show. But, what about another shadow drop of some sort?...
News Xbox Fighter 'Killer Instinct' Joins EVO 2025 In New Extended Lineup
The battle begins this August
Killer Instinct rolled out a special Anniversary Edition update in late 2023 and now it's making a comeback on the biggest fighting game stage in the world. Today, in a bit of a surprise announcement, EVO revealed its main game lineup for 2025 as well as an "extended" roster - including Killer Instinct. Alongside it...
Report Ubisoft Founders Considering A New Business 'Venture' Using Certain Franchises
Which franchises? We're not sure.
The latest twist in the ongoing Ubisoft drama has occurred today, with outlet Bloomberg delivering a fresh report on what's happening behind the scenes at the French game maker. According to this new report, Ubisoft's founders — the Guillemot family — along with major shareholder Tencent, are considering...
News Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered Introduces Spruced Up Bosses Ahead Of Next Month's Xbox Launch
"They're back and ready for round 2"
We're about a month away now from Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered landing on Xbox consoles, and the teams at Aspyr and Crystal Dynamics have just shared a fresh look at the spruced up bosses featured in their new collection. Showcased up above in the game's latest trailer, Cleopatra’s Guard, Brother Obscura, and...
Tuesday14th Jan 2025
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 14)
A couple of major additions to the library
Welcome to the biggest Xbox Game Pass update for 2025 so far! Today, we have two major titles heading to the library, although one of them is a PC exclusive that debuted all the way back in 1997. That'll be Blizzard's first Diablo title, which makes its way onto Microsoft's modern PC storefront today,...
Deals Xbox Is Hosting A Huge 'Buy One, Get Two Free' Indie Sale Right Now
Some good deals, some not so much
Multiple Xbox Store promotions have gone live today, as usual for a Tuesday, and we reckon the pick of the bunch this week is the team's 'Buy 1, Get 2 Free' indie game sale we're seeing on our consoles right now. Don't get us wrong, not everything in this promotion is a particularly good deal, but we are seeing...
News 'Rewards Hunter' Announces Retirement Following Xbox Rewards Overhaul
We like the changes, but hate to see this
When we started covering the Xbox Game Pass Quests (and therefore, Microsoft Rewards) program back in 2020 here at Pure Xbox, there were a lot of game-specific tasks that players needed to complete for points. Some of these were lengthy and difficult, and we created a big
News Xbox Game Pass Quietly Adds New Skiing Title To January's Lineup
The sequel to Lonely Mountains: Downhill
It's always a good day when new games are announced for Xbox Game Pass, and although Microsoft hasn't said anything about it (at the time of writing, at least), it's been confirmed that a new skiing game is joining January's lineup! This is Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders, which is the sequel to the much-loved
Talking Point 10 Years Ago, Microsoft Delivered An Incredible Lineup Of Exclusives For Xbox One
It wasn't all bad back then!
The Xbox One has always got a bit of a bad rap when it comes to exclusives. Sure, the console did tail off towards the end when Microsoft's games pipeline seemed to clog up, but the first few years were amazing - we'll die on that hill. From 2016 onwards the console no-doubt began slowing down, but 10 years ago in 2015,...
News PGA Tour 2K25 Officially Tees Off For Xbox Series X|S This February
Pre-orders begin today!
Out of nowhere, 2K has announced PGA Tour 2K25! The latest entry in this very popular golf series arrives for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in just a few short weeks on February 28th, with early access beginning on February 21st. Some of the upgrades in this year's game include new shot types, ball flights, roll physics,...
Soapbox With Xbox Games Now On PS5, Microsoft Needs To Ditch Forced PC Crossplay
Back to an even playing field
A few years ago, with the help of Microsoft and Xbox, crossplay became the norm for multiplayer games across the industry. Sony famously pushed back on the feature before PlayStation eventually hopped aboard, but nowadays, it's pretty much a standard in most big multiplayer games. To be honest though, I think crossplay...
News Lunar Remastered Collection Brings Retro JRPG Action To Xbox In April 2025
"The series that started it all"
PlayStation's recent State of Play was loaded with all sorts of Xbox-related announcements, and one in particular for JRPG fans was the Lunar Remastered Collection announcement. This game will include Lunar: Silver Star Story and Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, and launches in Spring 2025 for Xbox One. The updated collection...
Random SEGA Files Trademarks For Classic IP, Is A Comeback Imminent?
Just imagine 'Ecco the Dolphin' splashing onto Xbox
Look, we're not saying the two things are connected here, but it's certainly some funny timing! It's been discovered SEGA filed trademarks in late December for one of its classic...or should we say "legendary" IP that's now decades old. The trademarks are for 'Ecco the Dolphin' and 'Ecco' - an...
Monday13th Jan 2025
Guide Xbox Cloud Gaming: How It Works, Accessing Your Games, And All Supported Devices
A guide to all things xCloud / Xbox Cloud Gaming
Xbox Cloud Gaming is becoming more and more important to Microsoft's games business, especially as the company continues to expand Xbox onto new devices. These days, we're seeing the team advertise pretty much any electronic devices as a potential 'Xbox', but what exactly is supported? And how do you...
News Xbox's Big Surprise For Developer Direct Is Reportedly A Legendary Japanese IP
"Should make a lot of fans happy"
We're just over a week away from the Xbox Developer Direct event for 2025, and speculation has been rife ever since it was announced about what the surprise game might be in the show. Well, apparently we now have some hints! Windows Central is reporting today that the surprise game is expected to be "a new ent
News Xbox Series X|S Stock Drops To Surprisingly Low Levels At Multiple UK Retailers
Holiday hangover?
You may or may not be aware that Pure Xbox is actually a UK-based website, and usually it's pretty common for us to spot Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles at large retailers such as Amazon, Argos, Smyths, GAME and many others. However, all four of these (along with others) have a surprising lack of stock following the...
Feature 10+ Major Games That Xbox Could Be Preparing To Release This Year
What a lineup this would be!
With the Xbox Developer Direct 2025 just around the corner, we're in that period right now where everyone seems to making predictions about not only the show, but also the rest of 2025 and how it looks for Xbox's lineup of games. The official word is that we're already getting a great set of titles this year, with the...
News Lenovo Accidentally Raises Hopes Of A Halo 5 PC Release
Lenovo Legion No
To this day, Halo 5: Guardians remains the only mainline Halo title not to release on PC, despite the Master Chief Collection being super popular on Steam ever since it arrived five years ago. Well, fans of Xbox's big green chief had their hopes up this weekend that things may soon change regarding Halo 5 on PC, but that doesn't...
Rumour Bethesda's Oblivion Re-Release Will Be 'Fully Remade' By Developer Virtuos
Featuring reworked gameplay & more
In recent months, we've heard multiple rumours about a modern re-release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Within those rumours, it's not been clear whether this new version of the game will be a remaster or a full remake - but a new report today has suggested that Bethesda is going down the full
News Five Different Sonic Games Are In The 'Top Paid' Xbox Charts Right Now
The movie's clearly having a big effect
There's no doubt that the Sonic The Hedgehog movie franchise has turned out to be a massive success, and the latest film (Sonic 3) seems to be doing better than ever - which has even made ripples in the world of Xbox as well. Looking at the "Top Paid" Xbox charts in both the UK and the US right now, there are...
Reminder Xbox's First Game Pass Departures Of 2025 Will Leave This Week (January 15)
Some big games are exiting GP
At the turn of the year, we learned about the next six games leaving Xbox Game Pass, and we're now just a couple of days out from those titles exiting the service as Microsoft's first departures of 2025. So, we're here to remind you of exactly what's leaving XGP, in case you'd like to give any of these games a try...
Talking Point Will Nintendo Switch 2 Appear At The Xbox Developer Direct 2025?
We could be in for a crazy two weeks, folks
OK, look, Nintendo Switch 2 rumours are flying around so much at the moment they're hard to ignore. Yes, we know the system isn't directly related to Microsoft, and yes, we're fully aware that this site is called Pure Xbox - but we actually reckon Team Green could have quite a major role to play in the...
News Dynasty Warriors: Origins Hits Xbox This Week, And It's Getting Great Reviews So Far
Sounds like a worthy buy!
January is really kicking into gear with some notable major releases this week, perhaps none bigger than Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors: Origins - and the good news is that it's getting some very impressive reviews ahead of launch. Although we're not reviewing this one here at Pure Xbox, our sister site Push Square has...
Feature 10 Exciting New Xbox Indie Games To Check Out In January 2025
The hidden gems of the month
Who says January is a bad time for new releases?! 2025 has already given us plenty of new Xbox games, and there's a lot more to come - including so many great indie titles that we've found it near impossible to whittle this list down! It's well worth checking out the full list of games coming out on Xbox in January 2025...
Saturday11th Jan 2025
News Just One Game Is Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In February 2025 So Far
It's a HUGE first-party game!
It's been a weird start to the year for Xbox Game Pass, with the first couple of weeks being a bit underwhelming in terms of new releases, but we've got some cool stuff on the way - including a biggie for mid-February! The one confirmed Xbox Game Pass release of February 2025 right now is Avowed, which arrives on...
Feature These 10+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (January 13-17)
Including two more Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for January 13-17! We're getting our first major Xbox release of 2025 over the next few days in the form of Dynasty Warriors: Origins, while two Xbox Game Pass titles are also heading to the service very soon - the orig
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...
Talking Point Will 1 Vs. 100 Ever Make A Comeback On Xbox?
It was supposed to, but what happened?!
We're getting a huge wave of nostalgia looking at that image! 1 Vs. 100 truly was a memorable part of the Xbox 360 era, serving as a live gameshow where Xbox fans could compete and try to win prizes while answering quiz questions. It was a really cool way to bring the Xbox community together, and Xbox boss...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 11-12)
How about some Road 96 on Xbox Game Pass?
It's time for the weekend! There's not too much going on with Xbox at the moment, but we do have a new Xbox Game Pass addition in the form of Road 96, and don't forget about the ongoing Last Chance sale on the Xbox Store! Here's what we're playing this weekend: Fraser Gilbert, Editor: I'm firmly in
Friday10th Jan 2025
News 'Unannounced' Bethesda Game Listed For Xbox & Other Major Platforms
As fans look for anything on Switch 2
Unless you've been living under a rock these past few days, you've probably seen some of the speculation regarding Nintendo's next console plastered all over the internet. Yep, Switch 2 leaks are everywhere at the minute, and some fan investigation into matters has led to a Bethesda-related discovery that also...
Rumour Xbox Series S Could Have Big Impact On The Nintendo Switch 2
When it comes to third-party ports at least
The Nintendo Switch 2 has been all-but announced at this point, with leaks taking place on a near-daily basis for the console that's set to be officially unveiled over the next couple of months. We're only watching the news from afar here at Pure Xbox, but an interesting new rumour suggests the Xbox Series...
News Dishonored 2 Has Received A Surprise Xbox Update, But Don't Get Too Excited
Unfortunately, it's not a performance boost...
Well, here's something we weren't expecting in 2025, Arkane's Xbox One title Dishonored 2 has today received a new update. That's roughly nine years after it was originally released! It's generated a lot of surprise (as well as some confusion) within the fanbase and wider Xbox community, so what...
Rumour Leaker Names Two More Xbox Games Possibly Going Multiplatform In 2025
PS5 and Switch 2 both mentioned
We've heard plenty about Xbox's multiplatform plans in recent weeks, and as we head into 2025, prominent leaker NatetheHate has namedropped a few more titles that Xbox is possibly planning to move over this year. According to the leaker, Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Microsoft Flight Simulator (presumably...
News Atomfall 'Overview' Introduces Xbox Game Pass Survival Experience Coming March 2025
Welcome to Atomfall
Developer Rebellion has today dropped a gameplay overview of its upcoming survival title Atomfall, which makes its way onto Xbox Game Pass this March. We're getting Fallout, We Happy Few and of course Sniper Elite vibes from this one; the latter being Rebellion's most well-known IP to date.
Rumour Final Fantasy 7 Remake & Rebirth Supposedly 'Confirmed' For Xbox In 2025 / 2026
Could FF16 be getting a shadow drop as well?!
We've reported on a rumour today from Nate the Hate's podcast about a couple of Xbox first-party titles jumping over to the PS5 and Nintendo Switch 2, but something else he mentioned related to the Final Fantasy series on Xbox. Even though the podcast is titled "predictions", he mentions at one point...
Poll Which Xbox Developer Direct 2025 Reveal Are You Most Hyped For?
It should be a good show!
We've finally got the confirmation of an Xbox Developer Direct event for 2025, and the good news is that it's only a couple of weeks away! We also know what's going to be included, with four titles featured in all. Three of these have been named in the form of DOOM: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight and the third-party
News Ubisoft Still Looking For Buyers Amidst Assassins Creed Shadows Delay
"We have taken decisive steps to reshape the Group"
Yesterday, Assassin's Creed Shadows was delayed again to March 2025, and it's unlikely that this ongoing uncertainty around Ubisoft is helping development matters. In a new
News Elden Ring Nightreign Sign-Ups Begin For Free Xbox Network Test
We've got dates and times as well!
The highly-anticipated Elden Ring Nightreign doesn't actually have a release date yet for any platform (aside from a generic 2025 window), but it's about to get a free network test very soon, and that includes on Xbox Series X|S! Sign-ups for this beta / network test have officially begun today on the Elden Ring...
Thursday9th Jan 2025
Feature 15 Of The Biggest Open-World Games Coming To Xbox In 2025
GTA 6, Fable and SO much more!
We've got a whole bunch of great open-world Xbox games heading our way in 2025, to the point where this list was very difficult to narrow down! Still, we've got to put a limit on it somewhere, so we've decided to highlight 15 of the very best open-world titles set to arrive on Xbox Series X and Series S (and in some...
News Xbox Developer Direct Returns This Month To Highlight Four 2025 Titles
Including one surprise!
Microsoft has announced the next Xbox Developer Direct event, this time showcasing four upcoming titles that are aiming to launch in 2025. These games are Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, DOOM: The Dark Ages, South of Midnight and one currently redacted surprise. The livestream kicks off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT
Soapbox Xbox Should Start Embracing Its Past A Whole Lot More
We have history together, MS
It's no secret, Xbox is changing. After a wild 2024 that firmly pushed Xbox towards full multiplatform territory, we're all slowly getting used to Microsoft's new vision for the brand. In theory, I don't take too much issue with change — it's inevitable some day, in some form — but one thing I'd love to see more...
News Award-Winning $3.99 Game 'The Exit 8' Has Just Shadow Dropped On Xbox
Going underground
It's a quiet time right now for new releases on Xbox, but we're still getting a few here and there - and something that's caught our eye today is a shadow drop for the award-winning walking simulator known as The Exit 8. This title first arrived on PC back in 2023, and has since come to a variety of other platforms, receiving a...
Feature Speculating On Xbox's 'Surprise Brand-New Game' To Be Shown At Dev Direct
A little more speculation please
Well, Microsoft's 2025 Xbox Developer Direct announcement is here, with the company planning to detail four upcoming titles set to grace Xbox Series X|S this year. However, while we know what three of those games will be, Microsoft is being very secretive about its fourth title; the event will see Xbox "visit a...
News Assassin's Creed Shadows Delayed Again, This Time To March 2025
"A few additional weeks are needed"
Assassin's Creed Shadows was supposed to be launching on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in just over a month's time, but unfortunately that's no longer the case as it's just been delayed to March 20, 2025. Ubisoft says "a few additional weeks are needed" to implement the "valuable feedback" that the Assassin's...
News Special Edition OG Xbox 'S' Controller Unveiled By Accessory Maker Hyperkin
"A perfect blend of nostalgia & innovation"
Exactly a year ago, accessory maker Hyperkin announced its modernised take on the OG Xbox 'S Controller', and today the company has unveiled a special edition of this Xbox 'DuchesS' remake. Dubbed the Special Edition Greenhaven DuchesS, this new Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S controller harkens back to the...
News Cancelled Transformers Game Footage Leaks, And It Actually Looks Pretty Good
Transformers: Deactivate
Yesterday, Gears Tactics studio Splash Damage delivered the unfortunate news that its in-development Transformers game has now been cancelled - and in the wake of that cancellation, a chunk of Transformers: Reactivate gameplay footage has now leaked online. Posted out to social media late last night, more than
News Multiple Xbox Games Nominated For 14th Annual New York Game Awards
Indiana Jones is in the running for 'Game of the Year'
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was one of Xbox's biggest game releases last year and it's now been nominated for the New York Awards' 14th annual 'Game of the Year' award. It will be going up against Balatro, Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth,
Wednesday8th Jan 2025
News Four Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass Standard (January 8)
New titles hitting the library
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we have a batch of fresh titles heading to the Game Pass Standard library; Microsoft's middle-tier of XGP that was first introduced last year. All of these games are already included in the main Game Pass Ultimate library, so if you're subscribed that that tier, you...
News Game Pass Titles 'Lose Around 80%' Of Sales On Xbox, Claims Reporter
"That’s the figure that gets thrown around"
A new Q&A has dropped today from former GamesIndustry.biz reporter Chris Dring, and it sheds some perhaps unfortunate light on Xbox Game Pass and how much it can hurt game sales. Although each game's specific number can vary, and this is just "anecdotal" information that's been passed around, Dring...
Talking Point Xbox Fans Divided Over Changes To 'Rewards' System
"They finally got rid of the daily achievement"
Earlier this week, we shared the news that Xbox Game Pass Quests would be getting a major overhaul to kick off 2025 (in some regions), and that overhaul has now taken place - marking significant changes to how the program works. As you can see in the image above, one of the biggest changes is that...
Feature Xbox Predictions: What We Expect To See From Microsoft In 2025
An interesting year ahead
A new year in gaming is upon us, which means plenty of Xbox reveals to get excited about, games to dig into, and knowing Microsoft - industry-shaking announcements to bare witness to in 2025. With a busy 2024 now behind us, then, we're looking ahead to the next 12 months in the world of Xbox. What will the team deliver on...
News Ubisoft Showcases Overhauled Assassin's Creed Shadows Gameplay Ahead Of Xbox Release
"We're excited to provide more information on parkour"
Following its delay late last year, Assassin's Creed Shadows has become one of the biggest games to be releasing next month, despite what's turning out to be a pretty stacked February in the gaming biz. It's probably a good thing, then, that Ubisoft is making some big changes to gameplay in...
News Xbox Wants To Bring A Console Experience To PC Handhelds In 2025
"We’ll have a lot more to share later this year"
In December, it was announced that Xbox's "VP of next generation" Jason Ronald would be appearing on a PC handheld panel at CES 2025, and that's what happened last night - although nothing major was revealed for Xbox specifically. In fact, the interesting bit for Xbox fans came after the event, as...
News Physical Game Sales 'Collapsed' In The UK Last Year, Says New Report
"The games market is expected to improve in 2025"
In what sure feels like another dagger to the heart of physical game fans, the UK market seems to have had a pretty rough year when it comes to physical game sales. According to Chris Dring over at VGC, demand for discs and cartridges "collapsed" in 2024 - with physical game sales dropping by a...
News Halo Veteran's New Studio Backed By NetEase Halts Work On Current Title
"Team members will be exploring new opportunities"
It's been a tough period for many game companies and it seems it might have got the better of the new team Jar of Sparks. This developer was formed by the ex-Microsoft, Xbox and Halo veteran Jerry Hook after he exited 343 Industries in 2022. Now, in an update on LinkedIn, he has announced the team...
Soapbox I Can't Wait To See What Xbox Does With Activision This Year
And Blizzard for that matter
I think I'm still getting nightmares about that whole Activision Blizzard saga in 2023. Don't get me wrong, it was great for engagement here at Pure Xbox and was somewhat fun to discuss with everyone at the time, but it dragged on forever and undoubtedly caused controversy even within the Xbox fan community itself, which...
News Mouse: P.I. For Hire Dev Claims Upcoming Shooter 'Is Not Just A Fancy Art Project'
Runs deeper than Cuphead comparisons
Ever since we first saw Mouse: P.I. For Hire in action (when it was simply known as 'Mouse'), we've been super interested in what developer Fumi Games is cooking up - and a new social media post from the team aims to inform us that its upcoming FPS isn't all about the game's iconic visual style. Inspired by...
Tuesday7th Jan 2025
News These Six Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (January 8-14)
Microsoft's first roundup of the year!
Microsoft has returned with the very first Xbox Game Pass roundup of 2025, revealing a few more titles heading to Game Pass in January including the likes of Diablo (for PC) and EA Sports UFC 5 for Game Pass Ultimate members. As you can see below, four of these are focused around
News New Nvidia Ray Tracing Footage Gives Us A Fresh Glimpse Of DOOM: The Dark Ages
Blink and you'll miss it
As parts of its efforts to impress at the CES 2025 tech convention, Nvidia has shown off its latest ray tracing improvements with DLSS 4 - and the short teaser up above gives us a fresh glimpse at Xbox's DOOM: The Dark Ages. Admittedly, this is a very short clip of the upcoming id Software title, but to be quite honest, we...
News MGS3 Remake Dev Rumoured To Be Working On Oblivion Remastered In Unreal Engine 5
LinkedIn profile drops new hints
A new discovery on job-seeking platform LinkedIn has lent even more weight to existing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remaster rumours. This time around, an art director at support studio Virtuos has updated their profile to say that they're working on "an unannounced UE5 PS5/XSX/PC remake", which is suspected to be...
News Xbox Exec Appears At AMD's CES Keynote, Shares Black Ops 6 News
Matt Booty: FSR 4 is coming "later this year"
It's a new year for Xbox and as part of its campaign going beyond consoles, it seems we may see Microsoft gaming executives pop up at more tech events in general. With this in mind, CES '25 is currently underway, and apart from Jason Ronald appearing at the "future of gaming handhelds" panel, Microsoft's...
News Indie Dev Questions Whether Xbox One Is Worth Developing For In 2025
It's sparked an interesting discussion
We're now entering the twelfth year of the Xbox One's existence, and Microsoft's last-gen console continues to receive loads of new games on a monthly basis - an incredible feat for what eventually turned out to be an incredible system! But at what point do you stop? That's the question that indie developer...
News Call Of Duty's Crazy Development Budgets Revealed In New Report
Xbox will be spending a pretty penny
As game development budgets continue to rise, it's perhaps no surprise that churning out a big AAA shooter every year is a pricey endeavour. For well over a decade, Activision's Call of Duty has been the biggest AAA shooter of them all - and a new report details some of the eyewatering budgets that have gone into...
News Road 96's Grand Adventure Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 7)
The journey of a lifetime
Our second Xbox Game Pass drop of 2025 is now available, with Digixart's story-driven adventure Road 96 now available on Microsoft's subscription service. When this one first came to Xbox a few years back, we reviewed it and fell in love with the experience. It's got tons of character, unique and attractive visuals, and a...
Monday6th Jan 2025
Guide Microsoft Rewards & Xbox: How To Make 10,000 Points Per-Month
How to get Microsoft Rewards points fast
We know how amazing Microsoft Rewards is, but did you know that if you live in a certain region and you have access to all the MS Rewards benefits on offer, you can make around 10,000 Microsoft Rewards points per-month? That's the equivalent of almost £10 / $10 worth of free Xbox credit every single month!...
Rumour Microsoft's Next-Gen Console Dubbed 'Xbox Prime' Is Possibly Coming In 2026
Salt trucks at the ready
As Xbox Series X and S move past the four-year mark, we're starting to hear more and more about Microsoft's next generation console plans - both officially and coming from fresh reports and rumours. Well, today a new rumour is doing the rounds that gives us a possible next-gen Xbox codename and even a projected release...
News Xbox Series X|S Sales Estimates Show Consoles Lagging Far Behind Last-Gen
Just over 30 million units sold so far
Website VGChartz has provided its latest sales estimates for current-gen gaming consoles, and the roundup provides a fresh look at how Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S systems were getting on at the tail end of 2024. During the month of November last year, the data suggests that Series X and S shifted 767,118...
Feature 10 Free-To-Play Games To Look Forward To On Xbox In 2025
Including some MAJOR new releases!
We've got hundreds and hundreds of new releases coming to Xbox in 2025, and inevitably there will be plenty of free-to-play releases amongst them! In fact, we already know about quite a few, including some major upcoming titles such as EA's Skate reboot and the massively popular action-RPG Path of Exile 2 later in...
News Xbox Game Pass Quests Are Getting A Big Overhaul For 2025
Including new ways to earn Microsoft Rewards points
A new year brings new improvements to the Microsoft Rewards program, and specifically for Xbox Game Pass Quests! Xbox is announcing an overhaul today for Quests that should ultimately result in players earning more points this year. Firstly, there are a bunch of new Xbox Game Pass Quests being...
News Forza Horizon 3 Features Go Offline As Fans Question Potential Xbox Server Closure In 2025
Update: Playground Games has "rebooted" the servers!
In recent days, we've seen reports from Xbox fans that 2016's Forza Horizon 3 is having server issues - with some folks even claiming that the game is completely unplayable online for them right now. As a result, we had a look at the game to see what's what, and our findings have been mixed when...
News Microsoft Is Expanding Xbox Cloud Gaming To LG Smart TVs In 2025
Coming later this year
Having first launched on Samsung TVs back in 2022, Microsoft is bringing its Xbox Cloud Gaming service to yet more television sets in 2025. This time around, Xbox is partnering up with LG to start streaming games on another batch of Smart TV devices later this year. We're not sure which specific TVs will be supported just...
Talking Point It's Now Been 24 Years Since Bill Gates & The Rock Unveiled The Xbox
We could all smell what they were cookin'
Xbox fans around the world... it's officially been 24 years to the day since The Rock joined Bill Gates in unveiling the original Xbox! Yep, this big old chunky plastic box has been in our hearts and minds for almost a quarter of a century at this point, so we thought now's a good time to look back at the...
Saturday4th Jan 2025
News Here's What Might Be Leaving Xbox Game Pass In February 2025
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in February 2025? Well, Microsoft hasn't confirmed anything just yet, but based on some games that were added to the service this time last year, we can at least make a few predictions ahead of time. We know that a lot of Xbox users want more advance notice of games leaving Xbox Game Pass, but...
Feature These Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (January 6-10)
Including another Game Pass title!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for January 6-10! Once again, things are looking very quiet next week, but we do have a few intriguing new releases - along with the Xbox Game Pass return of our beloved Road 96! Here's what's coming to Xbox next week: New Xbox Releases (January 6-10):
Poll Which 'Xbox' Devices Will You Spend The Most Time With In 2025?
Is console still the #1 for you?
2025 marks the first full year of Microsoft's "This is an Xbox" campaign, in which the company attempts to convince the world that the term "Xbox" doesn't just refer to consoles anymore - it refers to anything that can play Xbox games! These days, that encompasses a wide range of devices. PC and mobile are the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 4-5)
The first weekend of 2025!
A new year begins, and this marks our first weekend of it! Xbox is remaining quiet at the moment (we're expecting things to kick off again next week), but don't forget to check out Carrion - it got added to Xbox Game Pass on Thursday! Here's what we're playing this weekend: Fraser Gilbert, Editor: I could get used to...
Friday3rd Jan 2025
News Xbox's First Major Sale Of 2025 Begins, 300+ Games Reduced In All
It's called the "Last Chance" sale
The Xbox Countdown Sale from late last year has now officially ended, so that means it's time for our first major Xbox sale of 2025! This arrives in the form of a "Last Chance Sale", which includes around 300 games that have been reduced until January 13th, and there's also an add-on focused "Beyond Countdown Sale"...
News Ubisoft Has Some Crazy 'Just For You' Deals Right Now On Xbox
Up to 90% off!
Xbox's first round of sales for 2025 has just kicked off, with a bunch of promotions now running for games, DLC add-ons and more. However, the Microsoft Store is again hosting some amazing 'Just For You' deals right now as well - with Ubisoft delivering some massive discounts this time around. Across a couple of our accounts here at...
News Lots Of Xbox Games Are Reduced By 90-95% In January's 'Last Chance' Sale
The bargains have begun for 2025!
Looking for some cheap games in the first major Xbox sale of the year? Fortunately, the Last Chance Sale includes a whole bunch of titles that have been discounted by 90% or more, bringing them down to extremely low prices! Some of the highlights are Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Back 4 Blood, Mad Max, Border
News Suddenly Getting Banned From Microsoft Rewards? You're Not Alone
Update: Microsoft says the issue is being fixed
A significant number of Xbox users engage with Microsoft Rewards these days, as it's an amazing way to rack up free credit for your Xbox account by playing games and completing basic tasks on a monthly basis. So, we're willing to bet a few Pure Xbox users have run into an issue where their Microsoft...
News Friday The 13th Game Now Officially Offline A Year After Xbox Store Delisting
Dancing on its grave
In an era where server closures and storefront shutdowns seem to be all too common, another Xbox multiplayer title has bitten the dust this week. A year to the day since publisher Gun Media pulled the game from all major digital storefronts, Friday the 13th: The Game went offline for good recently ahead of the new year. Yep,...
News GTA 6 'Likely' To Make More Than $1 Billion Before It Launches In 2025, Say Analysts
Extremely strong pre-order game
Well, we're officially into 2025 now - which means it's GTA 6 launch year... if all goes to plan over at Rockstar. Yep, for now the game is simply slated to release sometime this year, and analysts have begun predicting just how lucrative a launch this could be for publisher Take-Two. In an overview of GTA 6's...
News Kojima's Xbox Game 'OD' Suffered Strike-Related Setbacks In 2024
But progress was made earlier in the year
In a New Year's update posted by Hideo Kojima himself, the legendary game maker has provided various updates on his studio's in-development projects - some positive and some not so much. In terms of Kojima Productions' Xbox game OD, while progress was made throughout 2024, it sounds like the title suffered...
News Call Of Duty's Unique 'Squid Game' Event Looks Well Worth Checking Out On Xbox Game Pass
With a chance to get free rewards!
These days, crossovers with other IP are pretty much the norm in online gaming, but this weekend's Call of Duty x Squid Game event actually looks worth paying attention to on Xbox Game Pass. This big Black Ops 6 & Warzone get-together, which starts today (January 3rd), contains some unique-looking game modes...
Thursday2nd Jan 2025
News Six Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass In Early January 2025
Including a fantastic FPS
Microsoft has now revealed the first batch of games leaving Xbox Game Pass in the middle of January, and we have six titles in total exiting the service in a few weeks. The two biggest leavers here are probably Capcom's Exoprimal and online shooter Insurgency: Sandstorm; the latter of which will be a big miss considering...
News Two More Xbox Game Pass Additions Seemingly Leaked For January 2025
From a reliable insider
As we enter into the new year, we've got lots of Xbox Game Pass updates coming our way right now - and a new rumour from reliable insider eXtas1s suggests January's Game Pass lineup is about to get even better. According to the well-known leaker, Blizzard's first Diablo game is set to come to PC Game Pass this month,
News Xbox Fans Think Back To Halo Infinite Feature Finally Made Famous In 2024
"Halo Infinite did this first but nobody cared"
Prior to the launch of Halo Infinite in 2021, Xbox fans were very excited for a new era of Halo multiplayer, especially when it contained consumer-friendly features like free-to-play online access and battle pass progression that never expired. Over the course of the game's life cycle, Halo Infinite...
News Black Myth: Wukong's Xbox Saga Just Got A Whole Lot More Confusing
The game's director has weighed in
We've been waiting and waiting on Black Myth: Wukong to launch for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S ever since it was delayed indefinitely back in June, and as we arrive in 2025, there's still no date for its release as of yet. The reason it's become a saga is because nobody's really addressed it so far (until now)...
News Microsoft Rejected Halo & DOOM Crossover For 'Secret Level' Episode, Say Creators
"I spent a whole weekend crafting this impassioned letter..."
If you haven't come across it yet, a new adult-animated series called Secret Level arrived on Amazon Prime in early December, and it seems to have been a big hit so far - to the point where it's been greenlit for Season 2! All of the episodes in Secret Level are based around video games,...
Talking Point Is 2025 The Year We See Everwild On Xbox?
A rare appearance
Here at Pure Xbox HQ, we've begun theorising on what games might show up at a potential Xbox Developer Direct later this month. We know that the showcase hasn't even been formally announced yet - but it's still fun to speculate on what could make an appearance if Xbox continues its recent trend of January showcases
News Hi-Fi RUSH Dev Posts New Year Message As Studio Is 'Reborn' Outside Of Xbox
"We're excited to continue crafting games"
Last year proved to be a bit of a wild time for Japanese studio Tango Gameworks. The team was riding high after 2023's Hi-Fi RUSH, before then-owner Microsoft decided to close the studio during a heavy round layoffs in 2024. In the end though, things are working out for the team - as evidenced by its new...
News 'Carrion' Is Your First Xbox Game Pass Addition Of 2025
Available in the library right now!
Xbox has delivered its first Xbox Game Pass addition of the year in the form of "reverse horror game" Carrion, which is now available in the library. The title returns to Game Pass after previously being available back in 2020, 2021 and the first half of 2022. We have a few more games already confirmed for the...
Wednesday1st Jan 2025
Feature 30 Xbox Series X|S Games To Look Forward To In 2025
Hey, backlog, suck on this
Good day to you, future citizen, and welcome to 2025! 2024 was a very, very good year for games, and although Xbox's first-party output dried up at times and perhaps lacked a certain spark overall (at least in this writer's opinion), the likes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, CoD: Black Ops 6, Age of Mythology:...
Pick One Which Xbox First-Party Game Are You Most Excited To Play This Year?
An exciting year ahead!
As we mentioned in our Xbox Developer Direct article a few weeks back, Xbox has a pretty stacked games lineup heading into 2025, with multiple first-party titles already scheduled to release this year. The question is, which of these games are you most excited about at this stage? Right now at least, only one of these has a...
Let's hope for a great 2025 in the world of Xbox
Happy New Year! 2025 has officially begun, which means we're entering a year filled with plenty more Xbox goodness, including the releases of Fable, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Avowed and even a little game known as Grand Theft Auto 6! It'll also be interesting to see how the Xbox brand evolves over the...
Talking Point What Are Your New Year's Gaming Resolutions?
Anything in mind for the next 12 months?
With a brand-new year ahead of us, this is always the time when people begin to make their resolutions for the 12 months ahead, most of which they inevitably never stick to. Still, it's nice to have some goals in mind for the future! When it comes to gaming, there are all kinds of resolutions that you might...
