Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In July 2025
All the confirmed reveals so far
News Two Major Xbox Games Are Being Delisted In August 2025
Both going fully offline in 2026
News Four Games Are Available This Week With Xbox Game Pass (July 22-24)
Update: We've got a surprise fourth addition!
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (July 1)
Alongside a third title getting free Game Pass perks!
News Battlefield 6 Price & Release Date Leak Ahead Of 2025 Xbox Launch
It could be coming sooner than you think!
News - July, 2025
Thursday31st Jul 2025
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (July 31 - August 3)
Included with Xbox Game Pass
Welcome to your latest Free Play Days promo on Xbox! This weekend, we've got four games in the lineup, including three titles that just released earlier on in 2025 - with the pictured Dynasty Warriors: Origins being one of those titles. Here's the full Free Play Days lineup this week: The Ascent Dynasty Warriors:...
Talking Point It's Been A Year Since Microsoft Closed The Xbox 360 Store
Goodnight sweet prince
Can you believe that it's been more than a year since Microsoft shut down the old Xbox 360 store? Well, you better believe it! Yep, Team Green closed the curtains on the Xbox 360 storefront on July 29th, 2024; just over a year ago now as we look back here in 2025. We must admit, we do miss the 360 days quite a lot. OK, the...
Roundup Here's What The Previews Say About Xbox Horror Title Cronos: The New Dawn
Update: Now dated for September 2025!
Bloober Team is riding a high right now off the back of its recent Silent Hill 2 remake, and despite that one not landing on Xbox yet, its next title is locked and loaded for the Microsoft platform. Yep, Cronos: The New Dawn will launch on Xbox Series X|S, and a fres
News 'Xbox PC' Gets Renamed Again As Microsoft Tries To Figure Out The Perfect Branding
They've made a slight adjustment
A couple of months ago, we mentioned how Xbox seemingly had a new name for its PC platform in the form of "Xbox PC", using this term as part of its marketing material for various games, but now it's seemingly been adjusted again. As pointed out by The Verge's Tom Warren, new promotional slides for both Grounded 2...
News Xbox Game Pass Annual Revenue Nears $5 Billion For First Time, Says Microsoft CEO
Satya Nadella points out the positives
Last week, we highlighted how Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had been discussing the recent job layoffs at Xbox, stating how they'd been "weighing heavily on me" and that he expressed his "sincere gratitude to those who have left". That's not to say Xbox hasn't enjoyed any success recently though, and in a...
News Multiple Games Announced For Xbox Following July 2025's Nintendo Direct
Including a new Monster Hunter game!
As highlighted by our sister site Nintendo Life, we were treated to a special "Partner Direct" showcase from Nintendo earlier today featuring lots of third-party announcements, and plenty of those games are coming to Xbox as well! This includes a long-awaited release date for horror title Cronos: The New Dawn,...
News Battlefield 6 Gets Official Xbox Release Date, Open Beta Begins In August
"Experience definitive all-out warfare with Battlefield 6"
EA has pulled back the curtain on the multiplayer side of Battlefield 6 today, confirming that the game will release for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on October 10th, 2025, while also mentioning that we'll be able to play it very soon! You can get a taste of what to expect in the...
News Square Enix Announces Two Brand-New RPGs For Xbox Series X|S
Including a new Octopath Traveler!
Nintendo finished off their July 2025 Direct today with the announcement of two brand-new RPGs from Square Enix, and they've both since been confirmed to be coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S as well! The first was a true surprise - a game called "The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales" that's being...
News Hideo Kojima Says We're Either Going To Love Or Hate His Xbox-Published Game 'OD'
We still don't really know what it is
Hideo Kojima has never really revealed much about what to expect from his upcoming Xbox Game Studios project known as "OD", but he did touch on it a bit in a recent interview with SSense about his career and Death Stranding 2. At the end of the interview, he expressed that people are either going to love or...
News Baldur's Gate 3's Latest Update Targets Various Xbox-Specific Issues
"Fixes for some game crashes that had been plaguing us"
We don't tend to cover Baldur's Gate 3 updates all that much anymore here at Pure Xbox, but this latest hotfix is probably worth a mention - if for no other reason than it specifically targets Xbox consoles with a few of its fixes. The Xbox version has suffered a bit in the past, especially...
News PvZ: Replanted Is A 'Definitive Remaster' Of The Xbox 360 Original, Releasing This October
"We’re going back to where it all began"
Just under a week ago, it was leaked that Plants Vs. Zombies: Replanted would be coming to Xbox on October 23rd, 2025, and that's exactly what's been announced today as part of the July 2025 Nintendo Direct showcase. The game, as mentioned in an
News Xbox Is Predicting A Revenue Decline For The Start Of Fiscal Year 2026
Setting expectations for Q1
Despite some positive news for the company's most recent financial quarter — including content & services growth and record Game Pass revenues — the outlook isn't so hot for next quarter. As part of this update on how Microsoft and Xbox are doing financially, the team has predicted a revenue decline for Q1 of its...
News Monster Hunter Stories Is Finally Making Its Debut On Xbox In 2026
The third game has just been announced
Good news, Monster Hunter fans! Capcom has announced today as part of the July 2025 Nintendo Direct that Monster Hunter Stories 3 will be coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S when it launches at some point next year. Today's showcase was kicked off with the reveal trailer for the game, which carries a...
Wednesday30th Jul 2025
Feature All New Xbox Games Coming Out In August 2025
Release dates for every August Xbox launch
Welcome to our roundup of all new Xbox games coming out in August 2025! Below, we've listed every Xbox game with an August 2025 release date, including all confirmed Xbox Game Pass titles for August 2025 so far. If you're interested in what other new Xbox games are scheduled for the rest of the year, we've...
News ENDS Is A London-Based GTA-Style RPG, And It's Planned For Xbox
Here's a look at the game's first devlog
Back in 2023, a game called ENDS racked up plenty of attention on Kickstarter after raising over £10,000 to help bring the indie project to life, receiving a concept trailer at the same time that managed to attract over 100,000 views. This week, it's returned with its first devlog, giving us insight into...
News Xbox Fans Seem To Adore 'Blacktail', And It's Down To Just $7.49 For The Next Week
Forge the legend of Baba Yaga and live out its origins
A few years ago, we highlighted a game called Blacktail that had launched to very little fanfare in December of 2022, but those who had played it seemed to be reviewing it well - it was getting lots of five-star ratings on the Xbox Store. Three years later, nobody r
Roundup Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Is Launching On Xbox To Very Impressive Reviews
Another low-key GOTY contender?
We're not done for major new Xbox releases in July just yet! Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound is finishing things off this Thursday with its release for multiple platforms including Xbox Series X and S, and it's getting superb reviews so far. For those who haven't been keeping track, this is a side-scrolling 2D game that's...
News PlayStation's Q2 2025 Sales Charts Are In, And Xbox Is Dominating The List (US)
Six of the top 10 are Xbox games
Much has been said about Microsoft's pivot to put Xbox games on PS5 in recent months, but the numbers don't lie, and the team continues to shift copies on the Sony platform. This week, Circana has put out fresh data that gathers up the top 10 best-selling games on PlayStation (physical and digital) for Q2 2025 - and...
News Expedition 33 Update 1.4.0 Now Live On Xbox, Here Are The Patch Notes
Including "one of our most requested QoL additions"
One of 2025's best games across any platform is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and it's just received a new update with a few cool features - with a highlight being described as "one of our most requested Quality of Life additions". That addition is the "Battle Retry Prompt", which allows you to...
News Xbox QuakeCon 2025 Sale Now Live, Including DOOM: The Dark Ages & Indiana Jones DLC
Some great offers here!
Earlier today, we reminded you fine folks that Xbox's big summer sale is about to wrap up in a few days here - but just as that promotion begins to fade out, a major Bethesda sale is now live to celebrate QuakeCon 2025. <related ids="185819"> A bunch of these titles are on Xbox Game Pass of course, but crucially,...
News Microsoft Highlights First-Party & Xbox Game Pass Success In FY25 Q4 Earnings Report
Content & Services revenue is up, hardware revenue is down
Microsoft has revealed its earning report for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, and it's a familiar story for anyone who's been following these reports in recent times - Xbox content and services revenue is up, but hardware revenue is down. Specifically, the company mentions its 13% increase...
Reminder The Xbox Summer Sale 2025 Ends This Week
This is your last chance!
It's almost time for Xbox's big Ultimate Game Sale for Summer 2025 to wrap up, with the current list of deals expected to expire late on Friday, August 1st (that's just two days away!). So, we're here to remind you that whatever you've had your eye on over the last week or two is probably worth picking up now. Of course,...
News EA Insists No Price Increases Are Planned As Battlefield 6 Nears Xbox Launch
BF6 Should remain a $70 game
In a new EA earnings call covering Q1 of the current fiscal year (via VGC), CEO Andrew Wilson has addressed questions about game pricing, and whether the company plans to bump up prices anytime soon. Thankfully, Wilson says there are no such plans "at this stage", as it prepares to launch Battlefield 6 on Xbox pla
Tuesday29th Jul 2025
Roundup New Lord Of The Rings Game Launches On Xbox To Mixed Reviews
Tales of the Shire is out today
A brand-new LOTR title is out today in the form of Tales of the Shire: A Lord of The Rings Game, and reviews are just starting to land for this 'hobbit life sim' on Xbox. So far, impressions are quite varied - but unfortunately, the overall consensus is veering to the lower end of the review scale here. Still, it's...
News Xbox Introduces Controversial Age Verification Process In The UK
Age verification needed for certain features
Those who reside in the UK may have seen lots of attention being put on new online age verification rules recently - some amusing, some not-so-much. Well, Microsoft has now detailed how it will implement its own age verification process across Xbox devices in the region. Starting now, Xbox users have...
News ROG Xbox Ally Pre-Orders Will Reportedly Go Live Next Month Ahead Of 2025 Launch
All eyes on Gamescom
It's looking like August will be when we find out lots more information on the ROG Xbox Ally, folks. Yesterday, we found out that the Xbox handheld will be available to the public at Gamescom 2025, and a new report suggests pre-orders will open up next month as well. According to the ever-reliable billbil-kun over at
News Call Of Duty's File Size Is Getting Reduced As Xbox Prepares To Launch Black Ops 7
MW2 and MW3 content is moving
Anyone who plays modern Call of Duty will know that file sizes can get ridiculous these days, but thankfully, the upcoming release of Black Ops 7 is prompting the Activision team to remove some older content from the main COD launcher. Later today, the recent iterations of Modern Warfare 2 and Modern Warfare 3 will...
News Grounded 2 Early Access Impressions Are In Ahead Of Xbox Game Pass Launch
Xbox's latest release is almost here
Microsoft's newest first-party title Grounded 2 launches in Xbox Game Preview in just a few hours here - and ahead of that imminent Game Pass release, a bunch of early impressions and reviews have started to hit the web. If you're yet to be totally convinced by Grounded 2, these write-ups might just change that...
News Slime Rancher 2 Releases This September, Three Years After Early Access Game Pass Launch
1.0 is right around the corner
The team at Monomi Park has today announced the full 1.0 release date for Slime Rancher 2, almost three years on from its initial early access launch. The final version of Slime Rancher 2 hits Xbox Series X|S on September 23rd, 2025, with a physical edition also confirmed. Sadly, the game's 1.0 release doesn't appear...
News Two Destiny 2 Add-Ons Get Insane 'Just For You' Discounts On Xbox
Including a major expansion!
With Xbox's big summer sale still ongoing for the rest of this week, the team's usual selection of Tuesday deals is pretty slim - but we have spotted a couple of fantastic 'Just For You' offers if you're into your Destiny 2. <related ids="185499"> Presumably on the back of Bungie's big free access period that...
Monday28th Jul 2025
Guide Grounded 2 Release Date, Release Times & Early Access Details On Xbox Game Pass
Everything you need to know
Microsoft's next first-party release is upon us in the form of Grounded 2 from Obsidian Entertainment, with the upcoming sequel launching into Xbox Game Preview this week. So, we're here with everything you need to know about the game's launch - including its exact release date and launch timings, what to expect from...
News Xbox Announces Gamescom Livestream Schedule For August 2025
Get a detailed look at upcoming Xbox games
Xbox has today detailed its plans for Gamescom 2025 - next month's mammoth gaming convention taking place in Cologne, Germany. The big news is that Microsoft is hosting two livestreams straight from the Xbox booth, featuring detailed looks at upcoming first and third-party releases. Some of the games...
Report Two Of Xbox's Upcoming First-Party Titles Are In Development For PS5
And they could be coming on day one
Microsoft's multiplatform plan is now in full swing, with two more of its big games making their way to PS5 next month in the form of Hellblade 2 and Gears of War: Reloaded. While those two titles are both locked in for August 2025, we're now hearing that another pair of Xbox games are being developed for PS5 as...
News Here's What's Included In The Xbox July 2025 Update
Some big updates for PC & Xbox Cloud Gaming
The Xbox July 2025 update has begun rolling out to all users on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC and beyond this week, introducing a bunch of updates that are pretty significant across console and PC in particular. Here's a short overview of the Xbox July 2025 update, with more details available...
Talking Point So, What Other PS5 Games Do You Want To See Come To Xbox?
Sony is looking at more Xbox ports after HD2
Over the weekend, a new Sony job listing that mentioned bringing more PS5 games to other platforms — including Xbox — spread like wildfire. At the time, we were away from our desks, briskly unaware of all the meltdowns and speculation that of course followed. The TL;DR of this news is that basically,...
News Two Games Are Available This Week With Xbox Game Pass (July 29 - August 1)
Including a new Xbox first-party title
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! At the time of posting, two titles are scheduled to join the Game Pass library this week - including day one first-party release Grounded 2. So, we're going to give you a quick summary of these two new Game Pass drops down below, along with a couple of trailers so...
PSA Expect To See Lots Of ROG Xbox Ally Impressions Next Month
Hollow Knight: Silksong too!
It's safe to say that here at Pure Xbox, we've been pretty high on the ROG Xbox Ally since it was unveiled at the Xbox Games Showcase last month. Plenty of questions about the nature of the device still remain though - some of which are likely to be answered in less than a month at Gamescom 2025. Yep, as part of today's...
Talking Point Are You Still Hyped For Hollow Knight: Silksong On Xbox Game Pass?
It's going to be playable at Gamescom 2025!
Well, there we have it. After what feels like an age of delays and subsequent teases, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally re-emerging next month. Yep, Team Cherry is bringing its much-anticipated Hollow Knight follow-up to Xbox's Gamescom booth in August - including a showcase during one of Microsoft's...
Saturday26th Jul 2025
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In August 2025
All the confirmed reveals so far
Looking for a complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in August 2025? It can be pretty difficult to keep track of all the comings and goings in the world of Xbox Game Pass every month, so we've put together this handy guide to provide an overview of what's coming to Xbox Game Pass in August 2025. Here's a...
Feature These 10+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (July 28-August 1)
Including two new Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for July 28-August 1! Things are quietening down a bit in terms of major new releases, but we've still got the likes of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game on the way, while Xbox Game Pass is treating us to
Poll What Are Your First Impressions Of Wuchang: Fallen Feathers On Xbox Game Pass?
Are you getting on with the brand-new soulslike?
Undoubtedly, the Xbox Game Pass release getting the most attention last week was Wuchang: Fallen Feathers - with the brand-new soulslike already off to a blinder on Steam. Despite some early performance issues the title has been very popular, and with
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 26-27)
Free fallin'
Say hello to the final weekend of July! The slower summer months are now drying up, which means a busy month on Xbox (and Game Pass) is upon us. But for now, we're talking about what we're playing this weekend - and Microsoft's subscription service has delivered another set of solid options this week. Here's what we're playing this...
Friday25th Jul 2025
News Two Major Xbox Games Are Being Delisted In August 2025
Both going fully offline in 2026
Earlier this month, we brought news of a few server shutdowns on Xbox in July & August, whilst also briefly mentioning that EA's Anthem is set to be removed from storefronts next month as well - before going offline in 2026. Now, another big Xbox title is also being delisted in August and taken offline next year,...
Report Reliable Leaker Details Two Unannounced Xbox Games Coming This Fall
Excited for either of these?
Hot on the heels of their recent Battlefield 6 report, reliable leaker billbil-kun over at Dealabs is back with information on two unannounced titles coming to Xbox this fall. <related ids="185578"> The first and arguably most interesting of these titles is Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted. A remaster of the...
News Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Gets First Update On Xbox Game Pass, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Update 1.3 now live
Despite Wuchang: Fallen Feathers getting decent reviews and some incredible Steam player numbers already, the game hasn't been without its issues at launch. PC players in particular aren't happy with the game's day one performance - and in response, the developer has put out its first patch for the
News Microsoft CEO Comments On Recent Xbox Layoffs, Doubles Down On AI
"These decisions are among the most difficult"
Now that the dust has somewhat settled on the masses of job losses that recently occurred over at Xbox, and as the company moves towards a new fiscal year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has put out a fresh statement on moving forward. The Microsoft boss starts out by mentioning the company's recent...
News Two Xbox First-Party Games Now Shipping On Disc In 2025, Says Retailer
Another great Microsoft reversal
Shortly after Microsoft lifted the lid on Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2 during its 2025 Xbox Games Showcase, it was revealed that both of these games would get code-in-a-box physical releases - but the team has now reversed that decision and the two games will ship on-disc here in 2025. Hurrah! News of this...
News Frostpunk 2 Xbox Release Date Revealed, Coming To Game Pass This September
We finally have a date!
Frostpunk 2 made a very good impression when it launched on PC Game Pass last September, and now the team at 11 Bit Studios has announced that the console version is due to arrive pretty much exactly a year later - including on Xbox Game Pass. Yep, the team's atmospheric city builder f
News Assassin's Creed Shadows DLC Lands On Xbox In September, Free For Those Who Pre-Ordered
Welcome to Claws of Awaji
In a summer update on all-things Assassin's Creed Shadows, Ubisoft has announced a release date for the game's first major expansion; Claws of Awaji. The premium DLC (free for pre-orders) — which adds a new area and roughly 10-hours of fresh content — launches for Xbox on September 16th - and we have a free update for...
Talking Point What Would You Like To See Ubisoft Do With 'Ghost Recon' On Xbox?
A sequel has been confirmed
For a while now, we've heard rumours about a new mainline Ghost Recon game in the works over at Ubisoft, and this week, our sister site Push Square shared new comments from the company that basically confirmed its existence. So, what direction would you want the team to take with the next Ghost Recon title? <related...
Thursday24th Jul 2025
News Xbox Game Pass Contributed To 'An All-Time High' For Subscription Spending Last Month (US)
"This is an all-time high for a single month"
Circana's Mat Piscatella has shared another interesting update on how the gaming industry performed for the month of June 2025 (in the US), and it's another good bit of news for subscriptions services like Xbox Game Pass. In June, non-mobile video game subscription spending reached an all-time high for...
News Xbox Will Apparently Announce More PS5 & Switch 2 Ports 'In The Coming Weeks'
Starfield? Halo? What next!
We're all well aware at this point that Microsoft is willing to take its full slate of games to other platforms, including PS5, and a fresh comment from The Game Business writer Chris Dring suggests that more announcements could be imminent. In a post that breaks down the current state of the US games market with...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (July 24-27)
Included with Xbox Game Pass
Xbox's Free Play Days promotion is now live for the final weekend of July 2025, and we have five games in total to play over the next few days. There's no 'big game' to headline this week's selection, but there's some good variety nonetheless, and it's always nice to have a good few games to choose from. Anyway, here's...
Talking Point Would Halo Infinite Have Been A Bigger Success Using Unreal Engine 5?
A new report says Epic's engine was considered
Last year, Xbox made the announcement that it was rebranding 343 Industries to Halo Studios, in an attempt to reboot its most famous series and give the developer a new lease of life. With that reboot comes a switch to Unreal Engine 5, but should that move have come sooner? Would Halo Infinite have been...
News Sony Invests $460 Million In Bandai Namco, But Xbox Fans Shouldn't Be Worried
Transmedia opportunities are the priority
PlayStation owner Sony has today announced that it's made a significant investment in Dark Souls publisher Bandai Namco; pumping more than $460 million into the business. In return, the Japanese console maker now owns 2.5% of Bandai Namco shares, as the two companies form a "strategic business alliance"...
News Xbox Game Pass RPG Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Is Off To An Incredible Start On PC
But fans aren't happy about performance
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers has gone live on Xbox Game Pass today, after a broad range of review scores for the action-RPG hit the web earlier this week. While we've not seen any metrics on how the Xbox version is performing thus far, the game is proving incredibly popular on Steam already - ev
News Battlefield 6 Looks Very 'Modern Warfare', Multiplayer Reveal Coming This Month
Battlefield is back
Well, there we have it. EA has finally showcased some Battlefield 6 goodness after months of teasing and internal testing - and as you'd probably expect, it has a very 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare' look to it at this early stage. We must add that the team's debut trailer does say that this is "game engine footage" and "not...
News Xbox Celebrates Grounded 2 Launch With Bonkers '10-Foot Ant' Giveaway
You've got to be in it to win it
Obsidian's Grounded 2 Early Access launch is upon us, with the team's co-op backyard experience hitting Xbox Game Pass next week - and Team Green has just the accessory to get you settled in with the upcoming sequel. Basically, you can now enter to win a "Wild 10-foot Red Ant Plush" to ride while you master the...
Wednesday23rd Jul 2025
News Battlefield 6 Price & Release Date Leak Ahead Of 2025 Xbox Launch
It could be coming sooner than you think!
Yesterday, EA revealed Battlefield 6 as it begins the hype cycle for its next big online FPS, and now the reliable folks over at Dealabs
News Bethesda Has 'Exciting Things Planned' For Starfield As Beta Update Goes Live
More updates are coming
Bethesda has again pledged support for further Starfield updates as the Xbox team continues to work on its space-faring RPG. A new Steam Beta update has just gone live on PC, with "exciting things planned" for future additions to the game after this minor update comes and goes. We'll chuck the team's PC update notes down...
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Say About Wuchang: Fallen Feathers On Xbox Game Pass
Hitting the library this week!
We have a major Xbox Game Pass release landing this week in the form of day one soulslike Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, and ahead of its upcoming launch, some early reviews have dropped for this upcoming XGP adventure. So, we're going to round these up down below, so you can get a flavour of what to expect from this new...
Feature Xbox Game Studios: All Microsoft First-Party Developers & What They're Working On
Including Bethesda & Activision Blizzard
At this stage, Microsoft has lots of in-house development studios making Xbox games, including all those teams across Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. So, as we begin another year of Xbox, we thought we'd gather up every Microsoft first-party developer and what they're working on right...
News Xbox's Next First-Party Title Gets 'Story Trailer' Ahead Of Game Pass Release This Month
Staying grounded
It's been a busy year so far for Xbox first-party, but despite us being in the slower summer months here, the team isn't stopping there. Nope, the productive folks over at Obsidian are about to drop another big release this month in the form of Grounded 2 - with the game's early access story trailer now live. You can check out this...
News Rematch Gets First Major Update On Xbox Game Pass, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Version 1.200.100 available today
Brand-new footie game Rematch recently brought its "highly addictive" experience to Xbox Game Pass on day one, and since then, developer SloClap has been working to improve things even further. The fruits of that post-launch labour are now available, as the team shares its first update since the game's release...
News Microsoft Reverts Price Increase For The Outer Worlds 2, Will Launch For $70 On Xbox
"In line with current market conditions"
Not so long ago now, Microsoft announced sweeping price increases for some of its Xbox products, including plans to release future AAA games at $80. In turn, October's The Outer Worlds 2 was set to be the company's first $80 release, but those plans have now changed. In a statement provided to
News Forza Horizon 5 Is Seemingly The Best-Selling New PS5 Game Of 2025 So Far
Very impressive results
Earlier this month, we brought news that Forza Horizon 5 was about to surpass three million sales on PS5, and now it's done just that - seemingly becoming the best-selling new PS5 game of 2025 in the process. These figures are again coming from Alinea Analytics, who've provided an update for us on how FH5 is doing
Tuesday22nd Jul 2025
News Seven New Games Added To Retro Classics On Xbox Game Pass
All of July's additions so far
Last month, we highlighted how five new games had been added to Xbox Retro Classics in June 2025, and now we've got another seven games that have been added to Retro Classics in July - with still another week of the month to go! Xbox hasn't been advertising these publicly, but they're displayed as part of the "New...
Deals Xbox Summer Sale Gets Even Bigger With 100+ New Discounts
As part of the weekly Tuesday refresh
Haven't found anything in the Xbox Summer Sale 2025 that's interested you yet? It might be worth taking a look through today's new Xbox discounts, then, which total just over 150 in all. These are part of the usual Tuesday refresh on the Xbox Store, with the main discounts all being exclusive to Xbox Game Pass...
News Wildgate Brings Its Fast-Paced PVP Shooter To Xbox Series X|S Today
"Blends tactical ship-to-ship combat with fast-paced first-person action"
Wildgate is making its debut across multiple platforms including Xbox today, and it takes the form of a PvP multiplayer shooter featuring a mix of ship-to-ship combat and fast-paced first-person action. In the game, it's your job to build a thriving spaceship with a team of...
Talking Point A Month Later, What Do You Think Of The New Xbox Game Hubs?
A good addition? Annoying? Let us know!
Back in mid-June, Xbox finally unveiled its new Game Hubs on the wider public after a period of Insider testing, and immediately we started to see social media posts and Pure Xbox comments asking how to turn the feature off. In fact, the reception here at Pure Xbox was largely negative, with a whopping 61% of...
News 'Battlefield 6' Confirmed As The Next Mainline Entry, Reveal Coming This Week
Prepare for war
EA has officially titled the next Battlefield game, and its full reveal is right around the corner. Yep, the mega-publisher is keeping things simple this time with 'Battlefield 6' - the upcoming mainline entry in DICE's popular military shooter. This one has been going through rounds of private testing for some time now
News Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival Announced For Xbox, And It's 'Closer Than You'd Think'
A new single-player survival horror action game
We've got a brand-new survival horror game that's just been announced today in the form of Clive Barker's Hellraiser: Revival, which is officially coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S (but there's no release date just yet). This game is said to "take first-person action horror survival to the...
Talking Point Looking Back, How Useful Has Smart Delivery Been To You On Xbox?
The free conversion service from Xbox One to Series X|S
Nobody really talks about Xbox Smart Delivery anymore, and that kinda makes sense! It's the name for a service that supports free upgrades from Xbox One titles to their Xbox Series X|S versions, with hundreds getting the treatment over the years. Now that we're five years into the current...
News Nacon Commits To Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown With Extensive Year 2 Roadmap
Graphics overhaul coming this year
We're fast approaching a year since Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown hit Xbox on some unsteady ground, with server problems and performance issues plaguing the open-world racer at launch. The team at Nacon has worked to improve the game in key areas
News Hellblade 2's 60FPS Mode Required Lots Of Work, New Breakdown Explains
"We made a series of optimizations"
Ahead of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced arriving on Xbox Game Pass next month, developer Ninja Theory has gone into a bit more detail on how it's managed to get the game running at 60FPS on Xbox Series X - which sounds like no small feat for a game of this nature. We'll drop the team's video explainer on this...
News Award-Winning PlayStation Exclusive 'Viewfinder' Jumps To Xbox In August
"An award-winning first-person puzzle game"
Viewfinder, the award-winning puzzle game currently out on PlayStation & PC, is making its way to Xbox & Nintendo Switch next month as the game strips itself of any Sony console exclusivity. Publisher Thunderful and developer Sad Owl Studios have announced the news alongside a new accolades...
News Splitgate 2 Is Going 'Back To Beta' Amidst Job Losses And Server Closure For Splitgate 1
"We bit off more than we could chew"
The team behind Splitgate 2 has announced major plans for the game today, admitting that the recent launch hasn't gone as hoped. As a result, they'll be going "back to beta" with plans to rebuild major parts of the experience. In a statement on Twitter, it was explained that the team "bit off more than we could...
News Supermassive Delays Directive 8020's Halloween 2025 Release, Layoffs Confirmed
Now coming in 2026
Supermassive Games, the team behind Bandai Namco's Dark Pictures horror series, has delayed its upcoming title Directive 8020 out of this October. The studio's next spooky cinematic experience will now land in "the first half of 2026", as it lays off 36 staff members in the process. This unfortunate news comes accompanied by a...
Monday21st Jul 2025
News Four Games Are Available This Week With Xbox Game Pass (July 22-24)
Update: We've got a surprise fourth addition!
Welcome to your latest roundup for Xbox Game Pass! This week, we have three new additions coming to the XGP library, including day one soulslike Wuchang: Fallen Feathers. As usual, then, we're going to round up all three of these new titles to give you a flavour of what's new to Game Pass this week...
News No Rest For The Wicked May Skip Xbox 'For The Time Being' Due To 'Current Market Conditions'
Update: CEO says the game will be on Xbox eventually
The latest game from the team behind the amazing Ori series - Moon Studios - is currently available in early access on PC in the form of No Rest for the Wicked, and the hope is that we'll be playing it on Xbox eventually as well. At launch on console though, it sounds like No Rest for the Wicked...
News Microsoft Is Adding A 'Play History' Tab To The Xbox Dashboard
Unifying Xbox, PC and Cloud gaming
Microsoft has today announced an intriguing update for Xbox players, in another move towards unifying its gaming experience across console, PC and cloud. Rolling out now for Xbox Insiders, a new 'Play History' tab is being introduced on console and PC that makes it easier to browse your recently played games -...
News Indiana Jones Team Confirms Multiple Games In Development, 'Excited' For Its Future
"With exciting new projects in development..."
During the Xbox Game Showcase this year, Indiana Jones dev MachineGames confirmed that its The Order of Giants DLC is coming out in September - and it sounds like the studio has some other big projects in the pipeline as well. The Xbox first-party team has just released its newest financials,...
PSA Movies Anywhere Allows You To 'Sync' Your Xbox Purchases With Other Film Providers
But only in the US
Last week, Microsoft announced that its 'Movies & TV' service would be coming to an end across Xbox and other platforms, with the company immediately removing the ability to buy film and television content on the Microsoft Store. The fortunate part is that your existing purchases are safe (at least for now), still accessible...
News Xbox Game Pass Is Getting Another 'Day One' Shadow Drop Today (July 21)
Descenders Next has arrived!
A few months ago, we mentioned how Descenders Next had suffered a last-minute delay ahead of its planned Xbox Game Pass release, and now it's suddenly returned as a shadow drop - meaning it's officially out today! The publishers say they were inspired by Oblivion Remastered's recent shadow drop to make this July 21st...
Guide Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Release Date, Release Times & Preload Details On Xbox Game Pass
This week's big XGP release
Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is about to bring its soulslike action to Xbox Game Pass, in turn being the biggest XGP release of the coming week! So, we've gathered up everything you need to know about this upcoming action-RPG, including exactly when you can dive into the experience on Xbox Game Pass. Everything from the...
Talking Point Five Years On, How Much Longer Can Xbox & EA Play's Partnership Last?
It's been a long-term deal as promised
Back in 2020, around the launch of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, Microsoft made a big move by integrating EA Play into the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and (eventually) PC Game Pass memberships, and we questioned at the time whether it'd be a short-term thing to sell consoles, or a long-term deal that could...
"This is a far-reaching issue, and we are working on it"
Something called the "Stop Killing Games" petition has been racking up a ton of interest over the past few weeks and months, even passing the one million signatures mark back in early July - and now Ubisoft has commented on it too. At a recent annual meeting (thanks Game File and
News Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora Is Getting A Third-Person Mode On Xbox
Coming in an update later this year
Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment have announced a new update for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and it contains a much-welcome third-person mode for the game on Xbox Series X|S. Unfortunately, fans will have to wait until December 5th to go hands-on with this update, which also contains New Game+ and more fresh...
News Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road Brings Its Football RPG To Xbox This November
Update: It's been delayed to later in the year
Open wide for some soccer! Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is officially coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S when it releases on August 21st, 2025. It marks the first time the series has ever appeared on Xbox consoles. For those who aren't familiar, Inazuma Eleven is a "character collection and...
News Xbox Game Pass Hit 'Sifu' Has Been A Big Success, But It Isn't Guaranteed A Sequel
Developer says it needs a rest
Have you played Sifu on Xbox Game Pass yet? It's an awesome Kung Fu brawler from indie developer Sloclap, and it originally launched to fantastic reviews as a PC and PlayStation exclusive, racking up millions of sales along the way. That doesn't mean it'll definitely get a sequel though. Sloclap just launched another...
Roundup Here's What The Previews Are Saying About Dying Light: The Beast
Releasing for Xbox in a month
We've got a new Dying Light game coming to Xbox in a month! Dying Light: The Beast officially releases for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on August 22nd, and a bunch of hands-on previews have been going live on the web today. And just to spoil it a bit for you - the critics seem very impressed with this one so far!...
Saturday19th Jul 2025
News 50+ Games Are Reduced By 90-95% In This Year's Xbox Summer Sale
HUGE discounts for great games!
Looking for some cheap Xbox games during the Xbox Summer Sale 2025? We've got well over 1000 titles discounted as part of the big Summer Sale this year (otherwise known as the Ultimate Game Sale), and over 50 over those have dropped by 90% or even as much as 95% for the next two weeks. In fact, there are so many...
Feature These 10+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (July 21-25)
Including three Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for July 21-25! We've got some big releases on the way including Killing Floor 3 over the next few days, as well three new Xbox Game Pass titles highlighted by Wuchang: Fallen Feathers! Here's what's coming to Xbox next week: New Xbox Releases (July 21-25):
Talking Point As A Game Pass Subscriber, Do You Still Spend Money In Xbox Sales?
Or do you tend to wait for XGP?
With Xbox's big summer sale now out in full force, we've been having a good browse of the Microsoft Store in recent days, picking out some pretty great bargains that we're tempted to grab. There are loads of titles at their lowest-ever prices, alongside a big
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 19-20)
Are you becoming RoboCop?
Welcome to another weekend of gaming! This week on Xbox has definitely been headlined by the addition of RoboCop: Rogue City to the Game Pass library - we'd imagine plenty of you who've managed to resist the game's various discounts in recent weeks will be jumping into that one! Here's what we're playing over the next few...
Friday18th Jul 2025
News Microsoft Movies & TV Is Officially Ending, Which Will Have A Big Impact On Xbox
It's the end of an era!
For well over a decade now, Microsoft has used its "Movies & TV" (otherwise known as "Films & TV") service to allow Xbox and PC users to rent or buy films - but suddenly, that's all come to a screeching halt today. The company has confirmed that it will no longer be providing this service on PC or Xbox, although...
Poll What Are Your First Impressions Of RoboCop On Xbox Game Pass?
Enjoying it so far?
One of the biggest Xbox Game Pass releases of July 2025 so far has officially landed in the form of RoboCop: Rogue City, with 2023's shooter finally making its way to the service on the same day its "standalone extension" was released. It's still early days and you may not have played much yet, but we're keen to see what you...
News 25 Of The Best Xbox Play Anywhere Games In The Summer Sale 2025
Buy it on Xbox, get the PC version for free
You've probably heard about Xbox Play Anywhere being a big focus in 2025 - it's the name for the program where you buy a game on console and get it free on PC - and there are loads of titles that support this in the Xbox Summer Sale. In fact, there are so many that there's no way we can list them all...
News Void Crew Brings Its Chaotic Co-Op Roguelite To Xbox This September
Following a "Very Positive" run on Steam
Focus Entertainment (the publisher behind the likes of Space Marine 2 and A Plague Tale) has announced that Void Crew will be coming to Xbox Series X and S this September - a chaotic co-op roguelite for up to six players. This game first started life on PC last year where it has a "Very Positive" rating on...
News Elden Ring Dev's Next Xbox Game Reportedly At 'Advanced Stage' And Could Release In 2026
Codename FMC sounds pretty far along
Elden Ring dev FromSoftware has been pretty busy as of late with the likes of Elden Ring: Nightreign and the Switch 2 exclusive The Duskbloods in development - but it sounds like the Japanese studio has another major Xbox game coming sooner than you might think.
News Indie RPG 'Back To The Dawn' Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (July 18)
Another day one arrival
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, intriguing indie RPG Back to the Dawn joins the library, after gaining almost 5,000 reviews on Steam amounting to a 'Very Positive' rating overall. We're intrigued to see how the console audience finds this one, then, with the game now live on the service. Here's a bit...
Random This Incredible 'Skewer' Kill Shows How Impressive Halo Infinite's Physics Are
You can actually do this?!
It may have been almost four years since we first got our hands on Halo Infinite, but it's still a technically impressive video game, particularly in multiplayer where a shedload of chaos ensues at stable frame rates in every single game on Xbox Series X. Every now and then though, you see something that still genuinely...
Rumour Xbox Has Locked In A November Release Date For Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7
Shock?
The word on the street is that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will launch this November. Shocked? Nah, probably not, but considering last year's entry arrived in October, it's looking like Xbox and Activision are taking a few extra weeks to get Black Ops 7 out the door. The official release date is set for November 14th, 2025, according to...
News Ready Or Not & Holdfast: Nations At War Are Dominating The 'Top Paid' Xbox Charts
Sitting amongst the giants of the industry
We've just been having a browse of the "Top Paid" Xbox charts here at Pure Xbox today, and although they've become a little messy in recent months, they clearly indicate that a few games are performing really well in particular right now. In both the UK and the US, EA Sports College Football 26 is sitting...
News Remedy Says 'This Is Just The Start' As FBC: Firebreak Gets Xbox Game Pass Roadmap
"The road ahead for FBC: Firebreak"
Remedy has posted a detailed look at "the road ahead for FBC: Firebreak", as it looks to improve and expand upon the launch experience for its co-op adventure on Xbox Game Pass. The team starts by announcing that following four early patches over the last month or so, its first 'major update' is due out this...
Thursday17th Jul 2025
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (July 17)
Update: A surprise third has arrived on PC!
Welcome to your latest roundup of new Xbox Game Pass additions! Today, Microsoft is adding two more titles to the main Game Pass Ultimate library, including the well-received 2023 shooter RoboCop: Rogue City. Here's some more information on that, alongside today's other new Xbox Game Pass title: My...
Deals All 70+ Backwards Compatible Games In The Xbox Summer Sale 2025
Original Xbox and Xbox 360 classics
The Xbox Summer Sale 2025 has now officially begun (otherwise known as the Ultimate Game Sale), and as usual for a big sale like this, we've got almost 100 games from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 eras that have been discounted! So, in the table below, we've picked out every single backwards compatible deal...
News Delta Force Beta Goes Live In Select Regions Ahead Of Free-To-Play Xbox Release
US players included
Last month, we found out that free-to-play shooter Delta Force will land on Xbox Series X|S this August, and now folks in certain regions can test the game out via Microsoft's Xbox Insider hub. Yep, the Delta Force Beta is now live on the Xbox Insider app, playable until July 20th at 6pm PT / 9pm ET. For now, only players in the...
News PC Game Pass Members Are Being Treated To A Surprise New Release Today (July 17)
It's called "He is Coming"
Well, well, well! Even though Microsoft announced a full batch of Xbox Game Pass titles this week, another one has squeezed into the lineup without warning! It's a PC Game Pass title, and it's a brand-new release called "He is Coming". He is Coming has arrived on PC Game Pass in "Game Preview" form, which essentially...
Feature These 20+ Xbox Games Are At Their 'Lowest Price Ever' In The 2025 Summer Sale
Some big games at their lowest-ever prices
Xbox's big Summer Sale for 2025 is now properly underway, and while we've put out our usual roundup of some of the biggest and best deals this promotion has to offer, we've done a little more digging to find that loads of these games are actually at their lowest-ever price on Xbox! <related...
News John Wick Hex Discounted To Just $2 Ahead Of Xbox Store Delisting
Last chance to grab it!
It's never fun to hear about games being delisted, and this latest example doesn't give us much time to prepare for it either - it's been announced that the 2020 indie game John Wick Hex will be delisted across all platforms on July 17th. A publisher statement doesn't go into much detail about this, simply explaining that...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (July 17-20)
Included with Xbox Game Pass
Free Play Days is here on Xbox once again, and today's selection is headlined by Ubisoft's pirate adventure Skull & Bones. The 2024 title is joined by four other games to round out Microsoft's full FPD offering this week. Here's everything you can play with Xbox Free Play Days this weekend: Atomicrops Blades of...
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business
The new "standalone extension" to the OG game
As we've already mentioned on Pure Xbox today, RoboCop: Rogue City is now officially available on Xbox Game Pass - but there's also another brand-new RoboCop game that's launched on the Xbox Store over the past few hours. That game is RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business, which serves as a...
News Three Major Xbox Releases Were In The 'Top Cross-Platform Downloads' Last Week
According to Alinea Analytics
The good folks over at Alinea Analytics have shared their best estimates for the top cross-platform downloads of last week (meaning Xbox, PlayStation and Steam), and it makes for pretty interesting reading. It turns out the top spot went to EA Sports College Football 26, but only because its 10-hour EA Play trial was...
News Xbox Console Exclusive 'ExoMecha' Finally Has A New Release Window
Along with a Kickstarter campaign and pricing details
It's been years since we last talked about ExoMecha here at Pure Xbox, during which time it was supposed to be getting ready for release, but ended up being delayed to 2022. Flash forward to 2025, and it's still not out yet. The developer is clearly still very passionate about this project...
News Xbox's Contraband Still In The Works As Job Listing Reveals New Details
Will we see it soon?
Prior to the 2025 Xbox Games Showcase, we pondered the thought of Avalanche Studios' Contraband showing up again after a four-year hiatus - and while that didn't turn out to be the case, the project does seem alive and well within Microsoft's games pipeline. As spotted by Tech4Gamers, the Swedish developer has posted a new
News Oblivion Remastered Dev Hit With Layoffs As Company 'Restructures' In 2025
Asia the most affected region
Sorry to be the bearer of yet more bad news, but it's come out today that Oblivion Remastered developer Virtuos has been hit by some pretty strong layoffs - as employees across Asia and Europe are affected. Following reports earlier in the day, Eurogamer managed to get an official response from the studio, which...
Wednesday16th Jul 2025
Opinion Xbox Series X Still Hasn't Been Fully Utilised Yet, But 2026 Could Be The Year
So many proper 'next-gen' games coming
It's weird to make such a statement, but, I genuinely don't believe Xbox Series X has been properly taken advantage of almost five years into its lifecycle, and I'm surely not alone in that feeling. In recent years, we have finally started to see the cross-gen period fizzle out — which is good news for...
Thursday17th Jul 2025
News Xbox Summer Sale 2025 Now Live, 1000+ Games Discounted
The Ultimate Game Sale has arrived!
It's time for the Xbox Ultimate Game Sale 2025! This year's Xbox Summer Sale includes a list of over 1000 discounted games, many of which are major AAA titles (including plenty of recent releases), so there's a lot to choose from. Below, we've included just some of the major highlights from the Xbox Summer Sale...
Wednesday16th Jul 2025
Rumour Xbox Is Working On Next-Gen Cloud Gaming, Including PC-Based Streaming
"Here's what we expect to see"
Despite questions about Xbox's next-gen hardware plans, one thing that's for sure is the team's continued focus on cloud gaming, which is quickly becoming a core feature of the ecosystem. This week, Microsoft began rolling out the 'Stream Your Own Game' cloud service to PC, and it sounds like the Windows platform could...
News Oblivion Remastered Update 1.2 Adds New Difficulty Options, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Update: Out today on Xbox
Bethesda has today unveiled its latest patch for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, with new difficulty options a key area of tuning for the development team this time around. Oblivion Remastered Update 1.2 is rolling out now for Steam Beta users, with the Xbox patch to follow shortly. Here's the team's quick note...
News Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition Is Out Now On Xbox, Early Reviews Are Quite 'Mixed'
Some love it, some not so much
The first big Xbox release of this week was Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition - a fresh take on the classic Obsidian RPG from 2006 - and the reviews are a bit all over the place as things stand. The game currently has a decent Metacritic average of 76 based on 4 reviews for the PC version,...
News EA Sports FC 26 Launches For Xbox In September, Includes 10-Hour Game Pass Trial
A new season begins
We've got a date for one of the biggest Xbox launches on the calendar! EA Sports FC 26 will officially release for Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S this September, and you can watch the reveal trailer up above. EA is putting a big focus on prioritising player feedback this year, advertising gameplay features such as...
News Xbox Adds 30+ Games To 'Stream Your Own Game' Library, Including Some Big Titles
They're going pretty crazy with this!
Sorry if we're being a bit overkill with Xbox 'Stream Your Own Game' news at the moment, but following its latest announcement yesterday, we had a look to see if any new games had been added - and found over 30 titles in all. These have been added since our last update about 17 games "coming soon" to Stream...
News Avowed Update 1.5 Now Live, Obsidian Confirms Major Fall 2025 Patch Still On Track
Avowed's Summer 2025 update is here
Obsidian has just dropped the second major update of its 2025 roadmap for Avowed, featuring improvements to crafting, new abilities and weapons, changes to NPC behaviour and more. Avowed Update 1.5 is now live on Xbox & PC, and we'll chuck the team's full patch notes down below. However, before we get onto...
News Two Surprise Indies Are Launching On Xbox (Via Game Pass) This Week
Both with fantastic reviews as well!
Microsoft treated us to our latest batch of upcoming Xbox Game Pass titles yesterday, and two of the games in the list had never received release dates for Xbox until this week - both of them highly-regarded indie titles. The first is called My Friendly Neighborhood, which is a survival horror adventure set...
News Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.3 Adds VRR, New Quests & More On Xbox This Week
Here's what's coming in the new update
Cyberpunk 2077 isn't going anywhere just yet, and the team over at CD Projekt RED has today detailed the game's 2.3 update - featuring new vehicles & associated quests, a new auto-drive system, VRR support on current-gen consoles and more. The new update, which is out tomorrow (July 17), also packs in new...
Talking Point The Xbox Summer Sale 2025 Is Upon Us, So What Are You Hoping To See?
Last chance to give us your wishlists
Right, it's finally almost time for the big Xbox Summer Sale! At some point over the next few hours (or potentially days), we're anticipating the sale will begin - set to bring us hundreds and potentially over 1000 discounts on the Xbox Store. Looking back to 2024, there were 800+ deals in the "Ultimate Game...
News Who Needs GTA 6?! Bus Simulator 27 Has Just Been Announced For Xbox Series X|S
With an Unreal Engine 5 glow-up!
Bus Simulator is back! It's just been announced today that Bus Simulator 27 will be coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S at some point in the future, and it's being powered by Unreal Engine 5 for the very first time. The screenshots of the open world (as seen below) look seriously beautiful, with the open world...
"The game industry is in a weird spot right now."
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 was five years in the making, and we felt it lived up to expectations despite not being quite as good as Pro Skater 1+2 - which seems a great achievement considering it didn't spend that long in development. Recently, someone on the game's official Reddit page suggested...
Tuesday15th Jul 2025
News Ready Or Not Comparison Shows Difference Between Xbox Series X And Series S
Here's how both Xbox versions stack up
Ready Or Not has now officially become available for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S over the past few hours, and therefore we're starting to get some footage of both versions - and it makes for a pretty interesting comparison. Below, you can see both the Series X and Series S variants of Ready or Not courtesy...
Guide Ready Or Not: How To Turn On Crossplay Between Xbox, PS5 & PC
Squad up across platforms
So, you've just picked up Ready Or Not for Xbox Series X|S (or PS5) and you're wondering how to activate crossplay? It's actually pretty simple, but there are a couple of things you need to do as crossplay is actually turned off by default. Firstly, load up the game so you're at the main menu where it says "new game",...
News Xbox Quietly Discounts 100+ Games Ahead Of The Massive Summer Sale
They'll be lost in the shuffle soon
We're eagerly waiting the start of the Xbox Summer Sale following its "Teaser" sale that's ongoing for Xbox Game Pass members right now - we're expecting hundreds more deals to be added when it goes live for everyone. Microsoft hasn't said when the full Xbox Summer Sale will begin, but we're assuming it'll be...
News Rare Comments On Everwild Cancellation For First Time Since Xbox Layoffs
"It's impossible for something like this not to ripple through the studio"
As you're probably well aware at this point, there were a whole bunch of Xbox layoffs earlier this month across multiple studios and divisions, and Rare's Everwild project was cancelled entirely as part of the cuts. Everyone's been remaining pretty quiet about this at...
News Starfield DLC Reportedly Still In The Works Alongside The Elder Scrolls 6
An update on Bethesda from Jez Corden
One notable absence from this year's Xbox Games Showcase was Bethesda's Starfield, despite an update from the team back in March stating that "a lot of exciting things are planned for the game this year". While those things clearly weren't ready to be shown off this summer, it's claimed that Bethesda Game...
News These Eight Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (July 17-August 1)
Your latest batch of new titles
Microsoft has revealed a new batch of Xbox Game Pass titles for the second half of July 2025, which includes a few previously-confirmed titles such as Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, as well as some surprises like RoboCop: Rogue City! Don't forget about High
News Three Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Late July 2025
The latest batch of departures
Microsoft has revealed a relatively short list of three games leaving Xbox Game Pass at the end of July, including Capcom's action-strategy title Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. All three of these games will depart right at the end of the month on July 31st, around which time we'll hear about our first set of...
News Xbox Brings 'Stream Your Own Game' To PC App For The First Time
Live today for Xbox Insiders
Xbox has been building out its "Stream Your Own Game" feature with loads of new additions over the past few weeks and months, and now it's expanding once again - this time in the form of dedicated integration for the Xbox PC app. As of today, Xbox Insiders in the PC Gaming Preview can use the app to stream over 250...
Poll Which Of Xbox's Fall 2025 Games Are You Most Excited About?
Come take your pick!
With June's Xbox Games Showcase event we learnt a lot about Microsoft's release calendar for the rest of 2025 — as you'd expect for a big summer livestream — and the rest of the year is set to bring some big games from the team. Three of those big games land within two weeks of each other in October, which is shaping up to...
News High On Life Returns To Xbox Game Pass Today, And Now Is The Perfect Time To Play It
The sequel is just around the corner
We're not sure where the time went, but it's now been three years since High On Life debuted on Xbox Game Pass to a divisive reception and huge success - and it's returning to the service today for Ultimate, PC and Standard members. If you haven't had a chance to play High on Life before, now is the perfect time...
Report Activision Blizzard's King Team Sees Axed Job Roles 'Replaced' By AI
200 jobs have been cut at the studio
We apologise in advance for bringing another AI story to you today, but a fresh report from MobileGamer suggests that Activision Blizzard's King team is a part of the Microsoft Gaming business seeing human job roles shift to AI. It had previously been reported by the likes of Bloomberg that
News Xbox's Full Black Ops 7 Reveal 'Kicks Off' Gamescom 2025 In August
"Kicks off Gamescom in a massive way"
Following its prestige slot as the show closer for Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase last month, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will officially blow the doors off Gamescom 2025 in August. Opening Night Live host Geoff Keighley has announced the news on
Monday14th Jul 2025
Roundup Here's What The 'Ready Or Not' Reviews Are Saying Ahead Of Its Xbox Release
Are you ready?
Ready Or Not brings its authentic SWAT-based shooting to consoles this week, including an Xbox release, which we've been keen to keep up with here at Pure Xbox. <related ids="185119"> Unfortunately, we haven't had the time to put together a full review for Ready or Not here on the site, but a good few outlets are now sharing...
News Xbox Hardware Isn't Dead But 'Big Changes' Are Coming, Says Digital Foundry
"No, Xbox hardware isn't dead."
In recent weeks, and in the wake of the ROG Xbox Ally, there's been lots of speculation about the future of Xbox hardware and where Microsoft is taking things - and over the past few days, the folks over at Digital Foundry have had their say on proceedings. The DF team believes that Xbox is still taking hardware...
News ASUS Seems To Have Accidentally Leaked The ROG Xbox Ally Prices (In Europe)
Is this our first official confirmation?
Microsoft has yet to announce anything official about the ROG Xbox Ally prices, but we've had reports about what both versions of the handheld might cost - and now the creators seem to have leaked the prices for parts of Europe. This was spotted by outlet 3DJuegos recently, taking a screengrab of a Google...
News Xbox Fan Shares Fresh Dashboard Concept That Cleans Up The Home Screen
We want it!!
Every now and then, certain corners of the Xbox community decide to have a go at redesigning the console dashboard in an attempt to clean things up a little bit - and a fresh version posted over at Reddit is looking pretty darn sweet if we may say so ourselves. User JoeRasp96 has shared a selection of screens from their new 'Xbox...
News Phasmophobia Is Getting A Complete Overhaul On Xbox In 2026
Welcome to 'Horror 2.0'
Late last year, after multiple lengthy delays, spooky ghost-hunting hit Phasmophobia finally came to consoles - selling three million copies in the process. Since then, developer Kinetic Games has updated the game on Xbox, but not in the same way as it has planned for 2026. The team is plotting a complete overhaul next year...
Reminder Xbox Game Pass Is Losing Six Games On Tuesday (July 15)
Final warning!
Things are seemingly about to get quite busy with Xbox Game Pass this week - Microsoft is set to make an announcement about the next batch of games for July 2025 very soon - so we thought we'd take this chance to issue a reminder about what's leaving the service on Tuesday. As we mentioned earlier in the month, six games are leaving...
News Xbox Is Using The Most Ridiculous AI Image To Advertise New Jobs
"You posted an image where almost everything is wrong"
In the wake of the Xbox layoffs, we highlighted earlier this month how an Xbox producer had come under fire for suggesting AI could help with people losing their jobs, and unfortunately the trend continues! This latest example is actually even crazier. One of the members of the Xbox Graphics...
News Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream Brings Its Stealth Adventure To Xbox This Week
"Experience an isometric, narrative-driven stealth game"
Over the weekend, we included Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream in our roundup of games "coming to Xbox next week", and we thought we'd highlight it in a bit more depth today - especially considering it's out in less than 24 hours' time! If you haven't come across it, Eriksholm: The Stolen Dream is...
News Need For Speed Supposedly 'Shelved' As EA-Backed Fan Site Winds Down
No need
Earlier in the year, we brought news that Need for Speed was officially 'on ice' as Unbound developer Criterion moved over to work on Battlefield 6 - and the fresh discovery of an NFS fan site being closed down points towards a longer hiatus for EA's premiere racing seri
News THPS 3+4 Has Some Amazing Mods If You're Playing On PC
If only they'd make their way to console too
It's still very early days for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, but if you're interested in taking the Steam or PC Game Pass version to the next level, you'll be glad to hear a bunch of mods are available for free right now! These are over on NexusMods, where you'll find a bunch of custom characters such as...
Saturday12th Jul 2025
Feature These 10+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (July 14-18)
Including a couple of big new FPS titles
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for July 14-18! We've got a few big games on the way, including two major FPS titles in Ready Or Not and RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business, while High On Life returns to
News Two Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In August 2025 So Far
An early look at next month
As we always do around this time of the month, we're taking a look today at what's ahead for August 2025's Xbox Game Pass selection, with two titles having been confirmed for the library next month so far. As it stands, two Xbox first-party releases are the only games we know about for now - including the...
Talking Point Are You Excited For Double Fine's Follow-Up To Psychonauts 2?
Will it be a keeper?
During Microsoft's Xbox Games Showcase last month, we thought one first-party game in particular flew under the radar a little bit - that being Double Fine's Keeper. Yep, the studio that brought us
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 12-13)
Getting your skate on?
Welcome to another weekend! It's been a busy week on Xbox, with the Activision team launching its latest effort in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4. We'd imagine a fair few of you are trying that one out on your Xbox consoles this weekend! Here's what we're playing over the next few days: Ben Kerry, Staff Writer: Tony Hawk's Pro...
Friday11th Jul 2025
News Xbox Takes Action After WipeOut For PS1 Gets Ported To Series X|S
A Digital Foundry analysis has finished it off
Yesterday, the folks at Digital Foundry decided to take a look at a game called "Anti-Gravity Racing WipEout" on the Xbox Store, which is actually just a port of both WipEout 1 and WipEout 3 for the PS1 - and it's now been removed. In their analysis, Digital Foundry highlighted why they didn't suggest...
News Some Xbox Game Pass Titles Are Now Playable Natively On Steam Deck
Battle.net integration is proving very useful
One of the big features Steam Deck owners have been requesting for years now is native Xbox Game Pass support, but it's something that's never been added to Steam - and the Xbox PC app isn't officially supported on there either. That's not to say you're totally out of luck though. One option is to...
Talking Point After Almost Two Years, How Do You Feel About Xbox's Starfield In 2025?
Where does the Bethesda RPG rank for you?
Almost two years ago now, most of us in the Xbox community were eagerly awaiting the next big RPG from Bethesda Game Studios - yep, Starfield was upon us, with its September 2023 release date fast approaching at the time. Since then, the hype has somewhat died down for this big Xbox release, so we want to...
Guide Ready Or Not Release Date, Release Times & Everything You Need To Know On Xbox
Releasing on console next week!
Looking for some intense tactical FPS action on Xbox? You've come to the right place with Ready Or Not; an upcoming co-op shooter not for the faint hearted. VOID Interactive's console debut officially launches next week, including an Xbox Series X|S release of course. So, we've gathered up everything you need to know...
News Forza Horizon 5 Set To Overtake 2024's Game Of The Year With Over 3 Million Sales On PS5
"Forza has set the tone for Xbox’s continued strategy"
We all know at this point that Forza Horizon 5 has been a huge success for Xbox on PS5, but this perhaps puts it into perspective a little more - the sales for that game on Sony's console have almost overtaken the 2024 Game of the Year. That game was Astro Bot, at least according to The Game...
Rumour Halo 1 Remake/Remaster Started Development In 2023, May Not Include Multiplayer
Expected to be released next year
Back in the summer of 2024, it was reported by The Verge's Tom Warren that Halo Studios was working on "some kind of remaster" for Halo: Combat Evolved that may also be coming to PlayStation at launch. We haven't really heard much since then, although Xbox boss Phil Spencer appeared to tease a Halo project for 2026...
News Shadow Labyrinth Brings Its Pac-Man Metroidvania To Xbox Next Week
"A genre-twisting alternate take on the iconic PAC-MAN"
We wouldn't blame you for having overlooked this one, but it should probably be on your radar! Shadow Labyrinth is coming to Xbox next week, and it's a metroidvania Pac-Man game that's been getting plenty of praise ahead of release. It's not actually advertised as a metroidvania though, being...
News Helldivers 2 Prepares For Xbox Release With New Content Drop This Month
Control Group Warbond will be there for us in August
We still can't quite believe that Helldivers 2 is coming to Xbox in a few weeks, but it is! Sony's shooter is just around the corner, and it's getting new content ahead of time called "Control Group Warbond" - which is out on July 17th. As far as we know, this is basically a premium Battle Pass...
News Final Fantasy Dev Suggests PS5 Exclusives Are A Thing Of The Past For The Series
"We will strive for multi-platform release"
We finally got the amazing news we'd been waiting for earlier this year - Final Fantasy 16 was not only shadow dropping for Xbox on the same day it was announced, but Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade was confirmed at the same time. It's been mentioned by Square Enix that the company wants to take a more
News 8BitDo's Official New Xbox Mobile Controller Includes Hall Effect Sticks & Triggers
"Officially licensed by Xbox"
In the market for a new Xbox mobile controller? 8BitDo has introduced its new "Xbox Edition" of the already existing "Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller" this week, providing a bunch of cool features for a very reasonable price. Perhaps the highlight here are the Hall Effect sticks and triggers, while it also boasts a...
Thursday10th Jul 2025
News In Case You Forgot, There's A New RoboCop Game Releasing On Xbox Next Week
The previous one is in the Summer Sale too!
Can we be honest and admit that we'd totally forgotten RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business was right around the corner?! Yes, this follow-up to 2023's RoboCop: Rogue City releases for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on July 17th, 2025, and it's very decently priced if you're interested in grabbing it...
News Xbox Fan 'Shocked' That Latest First-Party Release Ships Completely On Disc
No download required!
In recent months, there's been a bit of controversy surrounding physical Xbox releases and the amount of data stored on-disc, with both Indiana Jones and DOOM: The Dark Ages requiring big downloads before being able to play. However, the company's latest first-par
News Xbox Glitch Sees Players Being Asked To Update All Of Their Games
It's happened to quite a few people
If you've turned on your Xbox console today and found that tens, if not hundreds of games need to be updated, you're not alone! We've seen a wave of reports about this over the past few hours, but the good news is that it's just a glitch. Lots of people have been taking to social media to report this issue, many...
News Rare Is Completely Re-Evaluating Its Development Process After Everwild Cancellation
Sea of Thieves Community Direct tells all
Today, Sea Of Thieves developer Rare has hosted its first-ever 'Community Direct' livestream, addressing past game updates and what plans the studio has for the future of the title. While specific new updates weren't really discussed in detail, the team talked about its development process from a high level,...
News Call Of Duty: WW2 Is Missing From PC Game Pass, And There's A Good Reason For It
Activision's on the case
As you may recall, the final addition to June 2025 Xbox Game Pass lineup was Call of Duty: WW2, and although the game is live and playable on the console version of the service right now, the PC Game Pass edition is missing entirely. It's been that way for a few days as well, with Activision issuing a statement back on July...
Review Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 (Xbox) - Another Great THPS Game, Despite The Odd Bail
The five-year wait was worth it
Back in 2020 when Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 first arrived, I gave it a "Great" 8/10 in our Pure Xbox review - highlighting it as a superb return to form, but with a few issues around its career mode, multiplayer and customisation. However, with five years' worth of playtime under my belt, I'd actually give it a 9/10...
News 'Hotel Barcelona' Is A Bonkers Horror Game Led By Two Famous Japanese Creators
Update: Now set for September 2025
Xbox's Tokyo Game Show 2023 broadcast has now wrapped up, and one of the livestream's closing reveals was that bonkers horror title Hotel Barcelona is officially coming to Xbox next year. First announced years ago but now properly unveiled, Hotel Barcelona contains "2.5D slasher film parodic action", and it's...
News Marvel's Blade Seemingly Entered Full Production At Xbox In Late 2024
It could be a good few years until we see it
At The Game Awards 2023, Xbox announced that Bethesda studio Arkane was making a Marvel's Blade game, and in the time since we've seen very little on the project - aside from some early concept art shared shortly after the show. It should be no surprise, then, to learn that the game has seemingly only...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (July 10-13)
Including the latest MLB!
Xbox Free Play Days has just landed, and this week's selection is headlined by MLB The Show 25; Sony's latest MLB title that launched back in March. We've also got three other games included this week, so there's plenty to check out over the next few days! Here's the full Free Play Days selection this weekend:...
News Microsoft Spends Up To $50m On Xbox Game Pass Partnerships, Says Former Manager
"Deals ranging from $50k to over $50m"
Microsoft's own first-party titles are a big draw with Xbox Game Pass — particularly these days with this many studios under its belt — but that's not to say that big partnerships with third party teams aren't also needed. In fact, some of these partnerships are pretty darn huge, with deals going all the...
News EA Japan GM Comments On Xbox Layoffs, Says Long-In-Development Games 'Deserve To Ship'
"Hype with no follow through burns trust"
In the wake of the major Xbox layoffs that took place last week, we've seen lots of people sharing their thoughts on the situation - and one of those is the EA Japan GM Shaun Noguchi, who had a few things to say on social media recently (as reported by IGN
News Subnautica 2 Delayed To 2026, But Former Exec Claims It's 'Ready For Early Access'
It's still set for Xbox Game Pass on day one
Subnautica 2 has been one of our most highly-anticipated Xbox Game Pass releases of 2025 for quite some time now, but unfortunately that date's been pushed back to 2026 - despite a claim that it's ready to go for early access. Publisher Krafton has confirmed the delay, stating that it owes players...
Wednesday9th Jul 2025
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In July 2025
All the confirmed reveals so far
Looking for a complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in July 2025? It can be pretty difficult to keep track of all the comings and goings in the world of Xbox Game Pass every month, so we've put together this handy guide to provide an overview of what's coming to Xbox Game Pass in July 2025. Here's a full...
News All Of Destiny 2's Expansions Are Free On Xbox For The Next Few Weeks
A very generous offer from Bungie!
Destiny 2's base game went free-to-play a number of years ago now, but at this stage, much of the game can only be experienced through Bungie's ever-growing expansion list - which is obviously additional paid content. Well, as of now and until Tuesday, July 22, all of those premium expansions have been made...
Xbox's biggest May success was as a publisher
Some of the sales estimates for May 2025 are coming out today courtesy of Circana (NPD), and it sounds like it was a bit of a mixed bag for Xbox during that month - at least in the United States which this information is based on. Firstly, there's a mention that video game subscription spending reached...
Talking Point It's Been Two Years Since A Defining Moment In The History Of Xbox
The day the ActiBlizz takeover was essentially secured
Two years ago, we were spending so much time covering the Activision Blizzard acquisition here at Pure Xbox. It felt like something new was happening every day with it, especially when it started to be opposed from various angles. The FTC was the big one. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission...
News All 10+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (July 8-15)
Kicking off the Summer Sale selection
There was a time when we used to highlight the backwards compatible games in every Xbox sale, but we've since limited it to just the major ones. However, even though the Xbox Summer Sale is technically still a week away, the "teaser" version of the Summer Sale actually began for Xbox Game Pass members on...
News Former Exec Says He's 'Not Sure Xbox Would Be Around' If Microsoft Didn't Fix 360 RROD Issue
"This was, for us, a defining moment"
Former Microsoft exec Peter Moore has been getting all nostalgic again recently in his new chat with outlet The Game Business; touching on the Xbox 360 era when Moore helped lead the team. While we've heard some of this chatter before, he did make
News Here's What The Reviews Say About Today's New Xbox Game Pass Title (July 9)
Now live in the library
Our second Xbox Game Pass addition of the week is now live in the library, with cosy management sim Minami Lane now playable for subscribers. This one has been out on other platforms for a while now, and we have a small selection of reviews from the game's initial 2024 launch to take a look at. We're going to gather up those...
News NBA 2K26 Releases For Xbox This September, Cover Stars Revealed
Pre-orders begin today, including for early access
A new NBA 2K is on the way! It's been announced that NBA 2K26 will release for Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on September 5th, 2025 - with a week's early access for some versions of the game too. Details on the game are pretty limited at the moment, but 2K is highlighting new ProPLAY...
News Here's An Extended Look At Mafia: The Old Country Ahead Of Next Month's Xbox Release
Coming to Xbox in less than a months' time!
A few months ago, 2K and developer Hangar 13 finally unveiled Mafia: The Old Country footage in what's turning out to be a pretty short preview cycle for the game - and now courtesy of IGN, we have a deeper, almost 10-minute look at gameplay from the team's upcoming Mafia prequel. So, we've thrown that...
News The Alters Passes 280K Sales Following Xbox Game Pass Launch
"It’s hard to put into words what that means to us"
It's been a few weeks now since sci-survival game The Alters launched on Xbox (as part of Game Pass) along with a couple of other platforms, and the team has now revealed its first milestone in terms of sales and wishlists for the title. As of July 8th, they say The Alters has sold 280,000...
Tuesday8th Jul 2025
Primed and ready
Amazon Prime Day is back once again, with its latest sale now live. The event is running from 8th - 11th July 2025, bringing us lots of tempting Xbox deals and discounts. To save you the hassle of scrolling through page after page of products, we'll be updating this page with all the best Xbox deals throughout both days – make...
News Sci-Fi Horror Game 'Routine' Returns After Three Years, Coming To Xbox Game Pass
It was originally announced back in 2012!
Back in the summer of 2022, we highlighted an upcoming Xbox Game Pass title called Routine here at Pure Xbox - and for the first time in three years, the game's developers have provided a meaningful update on its progress. Taking to Steam, they acknowledged it's been a long time since the previous update,...
Rumour Xbox Has Multiple Fallout Projects In Development, Including 'One You're All Wanting'
Who knows when we'll see them though
We've heard basically nothing about new Fallout projects over the past few years aside from the successful TV series, but it sounds like Xbox and Bethesda are quietly working away on a few things - at least according to a new rumour. In a new episode of the Skill Up podcast, VGC's Jordan Middler subtly mentions...
News Xbox Summer Sale 2025 'Teaser' Now Live, 300+ Games Discounted
Game Pass members get the deals one week early!
It's time to kick-off the Xbox Summer Sale 2025! This year's promotion has begun with one week of exclusivity for Game Pass members, before the sale is blown open to all Xbox players in the near future - seemingly around July 17th. Otherwise known as the Xbox "Ultimate Game Sale" 2025, this teaser...
News Xbox Reporter Addresses Game Pass Confusion, Says It's Still A Profitable Service In 2025
"I need to correct/clarify something"
Over the past few days, we've noticed a lot of people debating whether Xbox Game Pass is both sustainable and profitable for Microsoft, with some suggesting that it can't continue operating like it does today in 2025. Then, earlier this week, The Game Business reporter Chris Dring appeared to claim that Xbox...
News Xbox Design Lab Has Now Been 'Temporarily On Hold' For Six Months
A strange situation
We've seen an increasing number of people asking about the status of Xbox Design Lab over the past few weeks, and that's no surprise considering the service has been mostly unavailable for the past six months. For those who aren't aware, Xbox Design Lab allows you to create your very own custom Xbox controller, but this part of...
Random Xbox Is Giving Away A Highly Valuable Beavis & Butt-Head Controller
"The Great Cornholio has entered the lobby"
Beavis & Butt-Head fans, this one's for you! As shared yesterday on the official Call of Duty Twitter account, Xbox has teamed up with Activision to give away this special custom controller - and it's actually very valuable as well! As detailed in the official rules for this giveaway, the Beavis &...
Talking Point What's Your Favourite Backwards Compatible Xbox Game?
We want some recommendations!
We've obviously talked a lot about backwards compatibility here at Pure Xbox over the years, but we're often asking you which games you'd want to be backwards compatible - rather than the games that already are. And of course, there's already an amazing library of back compat titles for Xbox that are 100% worth playing...
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4
Xbox's latest first-party release
Yesterday, we highlighted all the release dates and release times for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4, mentioning that early access officially begins today (July 8th) - and therefore the reviews have started to land as well! We haven't been able to get our hands on THPS 3+4 yet despite our best efforts, and it seems a...
Monday7th Jul 2025
News Holdfast: Nations At War Brings Its 150-Player Shooter To Xbox This Week
With "Very Positive" reviews on Steam
Over the weekend, we highlighted the 10+ games coming to Xbox next week (which is now this week!), and the main game in the thumbnail was Holdfast: Nations at War - so we thought we'd tell you a bit more about it! Holdfast: Nations at War first debuted on PC a few years ago, and currently has a "Very Positive"...
News How To Download The Free 'College Football 26' Trial With EA Play & Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Today's the day!
Alongside this week's batch of new Xbox Game Pass releases, we've also got a 10-hour free trial for College Football 26 as part of EA Play - which itself is included as part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass tiers. The official release date for the College Football 26 free trial is Monday, July 7th. Early access for...
News Three Games Are Available This Week With Xbox Game Pass (July 8-11)
Including another big first-party release
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today, we're highlighting all three of this week's new XGP additions (because they fall on separate days, so they're easily missed), with these including the return of The Ascent, a brand-new Xbox release in Minami Lane, and a new first-party release in Tony...
News Microsoft Said To Have 'Unrealistic' Expectations For Xbox, But Not Everyone Agrees
"An utterly unrealistic financial requirement"
With last week's Xbox layoffs still fresh in everyone's minds, there's been plenty of debate over the past few days about why they happened and what needs to be done to ensure they're not repeated on such a large scale again. In Windows Central's report about this a few days ago, it was mentioned that...
Guide Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4: Release Date, Release Times, Early Access Details For Xbox & PC
It's almost time for Xbox Game Pass members!
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is officially an Xbox first-party game these days, and the latest entry in the series is arriving on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC and other platforms this week - it's day one on Xbox Game Pass as well! As we're finding with basically all Xbox first-party titles in...
News Is Xbox Game Pass Unsustainable? Arkane Founder Sparks Huge Debate On Social Media
"I don't think GP can co-exist with other models"
Over the weekend, the founder of Arkane Studios (Raphaël Colantonio) attracted a lot of attention on social media for sharing his view of Xbox Game Pass, suggesting that it's "unsustainable" and increasingly damaging the industry. In a series of posts, Colantonio explained that although he...
News Xbox Series S Is More Powerful Than Switch 2, But 60FPS Games Should 'Easily' Port Across
Good news for Xbox's first-party portfolio
Although Microsoft hasn't yet announced any major first-party releases for Nintendo Switch 2, such as the upcoming Gears of War: Reloaded and The Outer Worlds 2, it's surely bound to happen sooner rather than later. There are a lot of back-catalogue games that would be a great fit on the system as well, so...
News New Xbox Game Pass Perk Includes 3 Months Of Paramount Plus (US)
As part of the Walmart+ 90-day trial
We've already highlighted the list of Xbox Game Pass Perks for July 2025 here at Pure Xbox, but one that you might not be aware of is Paramount Plus - and that's because it's actually part of a separate perk for Walmart Plus. If you're located in the US, you should see a 90-day free trial option for Walmart+ in...
News Romero Games 'Trying To Fund' Project After Sudden Loss Of Xbox Support, Says Developer
Update: Studio says it's been contacted by several publishers
Last week, we reported that Romero Games had been caught up in the Xbox layoffs - their new AAA title, helmed by John Romero who created the DOOM franchise, apparently had its funding pulled by Microsoft. Since then, an interview with an anonymous Romero Games staff member has been...
Talking Point To Celebrate Bungie Day, What's Your Favourite Halo Memory Of All Time?
The tradition turns 18 today
Happy Bungie Day everyone! Since July 7th of 2007, Halo and Destiny's original creators have been celebrating Bungie Day on this date - a nod to the company's inexplicable obsession with the number 7. It doesn't mean all that much anymore - although the studio is celebrating Bungie Day again this year - but at one point...
Saturday5th Jul 2025
Feature These 10+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (July 7-11)
Including three more Xbox Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for July 7 - July 11! We've got a few big releases heading our way over the next few days including EA Sports College Football 26 and System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster, while Xbox Game Pass is treating us to three games - highlighted by the Xbox first-party launch...
News Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In August 2025
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in August 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...
Poll Helldivers 2 Isn't On Xbox Game Pass, So Will You Be Buying It?
The first PlayStation published game on Xbox
It's safe to say that things have been a bit frantic in the world of Xbox, but rather strangely, the bright spot amongst a tough week-or-so has come from PlayStation owner Sony. Yep, the Japanese firm recently announced that its popular live service shooter Helldivers 2 is landing on Xbox Series X|S this...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 5-6)
Storming the beaches on Xbox Game Pass?
Welcome to another weekend! With July now in full swing, another six months of gaming has passed us by here in 2025 - with Microsoft having a killer lineup so far this year. The Xbox Game Pass drops haven't slowed down either, with lots of fresh titles to be tackling via the service on Xbox & PC.
Friday4th Jul 2025
News Three Xbox Games Are Shutting Down Their Servers In July & August 2025
The closures we know about so far
Every month, we like to bring you an update on the Xbox games shutting down their servers, but there's not a whole lot going on in both July and August 2025 so far - with just three Xbox games getting the treatment as things stand. That's obviously a good thing though! These are all pretty small titles as well,...
News Xbox Series S Compared To Switch 2 In Hogwarts Legacy Analysis, And The Results Are Surprising
Series S provides a much better experience!
Nintendo Switch 2 is now out in the wild, and after a month or so on the market, the system has seen mixed results with it when it comes to third-party experiences. While developers like Koei Tecmo recently came out and said that the hybrid console is pretty close to Xbox Series S, the results so far haven
News Former Xbox Dev Claims Turn 10's Forza Motorsport Team 'Is No More'
"A very sad day"
As part of Microsoft's sweeping job cuts this week, it's been reported that Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios has lost almost 50% of its staff - and according to a former worker, the losses are even more significant than that. Fred Russell — former content coordinator at Turn 10 — has posted out to
News Perfect Dark Actor Calls On Fans To 'Speak Up' And Help The Game Survive
"Agent Dark doesn’t give up & neither should any of you"
Around this time last year, the actor for Joanna Dark in the Perfect Dark reboot was revealed as Alix Wilton Regan, and she mentioned at the time how she was "crazy excited" to play the role in The Initiative's debut title. Of course, it's now been cancelled this week, and she's returned to...
News Helldivers 2 Developer Shuts Down Xbox Game Pass Rumour
It's "definitely not" happening at launch
With Helldivers 2 getting a surprise announcement for Xbox the other day, there's inevitibly been some speculation about whether it might be coming to Xbox Game Pass as well - but this is "definitely not" happening at launch. The game's community manager shut this down on Discord, responding to someone who...
News SEGA President Excited For Future Of Consoles Despite 'Huge Trend' Of PC & Mobile
"I have a big attachment to the console business"
Earlier this week, before all of the madness surrounding the Xbox layoffs, SEGA president Shuji Utsumi was interviewed as part of an extensive feature over at The Game Business, giving his thoughts on a whole variety of topics. One of the areas he touched on was the future of consoles and how the...
News Just Got Laid Off By AI-Loving Microsoft? Why Not Speak To AI About It, Suggests Xbox Producer
"I know these types of tools engender strong feelings in people"
In a week where Microsoft has gutted 9,000 jobs, closed game studios and cancelled games – all while investing heavily in AI – you woul
Rumour Multiple Studios Interested In Making New Banjo-Kazooie Game
"I heard more recently the pitches are being listened to"
There's been a lot of talk about Banjo-Kazooie without anything actually materialising over the past few years, but a new rumour suggests Xbox and Rare are at least "listening" to pitches about a new title. This comes from Video Games Chronicle's Andy Robinson, who mentioned on a VGC podcast...
Random Over 1M People Have Signed A Petition To 'Stop Killing Games'
A major milestone for the campaign
For a long time now, and particularly in the past few years, we've seen a lot of games shutting their Xbox servers and then becoming unplayable in the process - a scenario that the "Stop Killing Games" campaign is trying to prevent. The campaign is specifically about addressing games that are "completely...
News Helldivers 2 Coming To Xbox Is A 'Sign Of Unity', Says Creative Director
Xbox and PlayStation working together
We've seen a bunch of surprising news coming out of Xbox this week, including that Helldivers 2 will be coming to Series X and Series S in late August - published by none other than PlayStation Publishing LLC. Yes, this is the first "PlayStation Publishing" title to arrive on Xbox (MLB The Show and Death...
News Kojima's Xbox Game 'OD' Hasn't Been Affected By Microsoft Layoffs, Says Report
Hopefully we see it in action soon
Alongside multiple project cancellations from inside Xbox HQ, certain external efforts have also been affected by this week's Microsoft layoffs - including Romero Games and its now-canned AAA FPS. However, t
Thursday3rd Jul 2025
News Helldivers 2 On Xbox: Crossplay Confirmed, But What About Cross-Progression?
It seems less likely
If you haven't caught the news yet, Helldivers 2 is officially releasing on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S this August, and we know a lot of people are wondering whether it'll support crossplay and cross-progression when it arrives. Let's start with the good news! Helldivers 2 is officially getting crossplay on Xbox, meaning...
News Perfect Dark Developer Responds To 'Big Controversy' Over 2024 Gameplay Trailer
"It's annoying me, so I wanted to say something."
Earlier today, we highlighted a claim that the 2024 Perfect Dark gameplay trailer wasn't "indicative" of its overall progress, with a suggestion that it was "basically fake". Now, one of the trailer's developers has responded to this. Taking to social media earlier today, former Perfect Dark level...
News State Of Decay 3 Has Gone Quiet, But Apparently It's Safe At Xbox
At least for now
Following yesterday's news about Xbox layoffs and cancellations for the likes of Everwild and Perfect Dark, there's been concern over State of Decay 3 - a game that's gone quiet since appearing at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024. Nevertheless, it sounds like the game is safe at Xbox Game Studios, at least for no
News Helldivers 2 Is Officially Releasing For Xbox This August
"A new dawn is upon us"
Woah. In an announcement we never thought we'd see, it's been officially confirmed that Helldivers 2 will be coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S this August. Pre-orders are beginning today on the Xbox Store as well. Helldivers 2 has an Xbox release date of August 26th, 2025. The game's Xbox Store page confirms
News EA Is Shutting Down Anthem, And It Won't Be Playable Offline Either
"Anthem was designed to be an online-only title"
EA and BioWare's Anthem has suffered a lot over the past few years, with development officially ending on the title back in 2021, and now it's been announced that the game will be going offline forever on January 12th, 2026. An "Anthem Game Update" on the official EA website confirms this, with the...
News PlayStation Is Publishing Helldivers 2 On Xbox, Signalling A Shift In Strategy From Sony
Will more PlayStation games move over?
We got some big news today in the form of Helldivers 2 making its way over to Xbox; a super well-regarded multiplayer shooter from the folks over at Arrowhead Game Studios. In isolation this is big news, but with extra context this is massive news - as it's the first-ever PlayStation Publishing release to...
News Perfect Dark Gameplay Trailer Wasn't 'Indicative' Of Its Progress, Claims Reporter
Update: PD developer responds
The most surprising news to come out of yesterday's Xbox layoffs was that Perfect Dark was being cancelled and The Initiative (the studio developing it) was being shut down. After all, we finally got a proper look at the title during last year's Xbox Games Showcase, and as mentioned at the time, we thought it looked...
Roundup All The Xbox Reveals From Bandai Namco's Summer Showcase 2025
New looks at various upcoming Xbox games
Amidst all the crazy Xbox news yesterday, Bandai Namco quitely held a special Summer Showcase featuring various upcoming Xbox games, including one that's never been announced before in My Hero Academia: All's Justice. Beyond that, we also got new reveals for the likes of Code Vein 2, The Blood of Dawnwalker...
Report Xbox Execs Were 'Blown Away' By Cancelled ZeniMax Game Earlier This Year
"Employees were stunned to see it get caught up"
Yesterday, one of the games that was reported to be cancelled as part of the Xbox layoffs was an unannounced ZeniMax Online Studios project, and according to a new report, employees were "stunned" to see it get shut down. This is coming from Jason Schreier at Bloomberg, who says the game (codenamed...
News DOOM Co-Creator Has Funding Pulled For AAA Title, Seemingly By Xbox
Another Microsoft casualty
At this point, we know that Microsoft's latest round of layoffs has affected lots of projects at Xbox's internal studios, but the casualties seemingly don't stop there. Romero Games, the studio being helmed by DOOM co-creator John Romero, has just had funding pulled on its next title "along with several other unannounced...
News 'Ultimate Chicken Horse' Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (July 3)
Your latest XGP addition
Welcome to your latest roundup for Xbox Game Pass! Today, we have just the one addition to the library - with quirky party platformer Ultimate Chicken Horse now live for subscribers across Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Here's a quick look at your latest Xbox Game Pass arrival: Ultimate Chicken Horse (Console, PC,...
Wednesday2nd Jul 2025
News Two More Xbox Games Are Being Cancelled, Including Perfect Dark
The Initiative has been shut down as a result
News about the Xbox layoffs continues to trickle in today, and these latest reports have left us pretty speechless - they say that both a new ZeniMax MMORPG and the Perfect Dark reboot (!) have now been cancelled. The ZeniMax game was being made by the Elder Scrolls Online team, and Bloomberg's Jason...
News Xbox's Matt Booty Issues Statement On Layoffs And Game Cancellations
"We did not make these choices lightly"
We've heard about lots of layoffs at Xbox today, which has led to multiple cancelled games highlighted by Perfect Dark and Everwild, and Xbox Game Studios chief Matt Booty has issued an internal statement about this to employees. In his statement, as shared by
News Xbox Layoffs Begin As Phil Spencer Shares Internal Microsoft Gaming Update
"Today we are sharing decisions that will impact colleagues"
Brace yourselves, folks - Microsoft is in the midst of announcing another round of layoffs across multiple Xbox divisions. For now, Activision's King team and some of Bethesda's ZeniMax marketing team are seemingly affected, with Phil Spencer addressing impacted employees in a lengthy...
News Xbox Has Briefly Taken Down A Bunch Of Classic COD Games For 'Maintenance'
Are they being prepped for Game Pass?
We have an intriguing development in the world of Call of Duty today, folks. As part of what appears to be quite a hefty maintenance effort from the Activision team, a big batch of COD titles have gone offline for roughly four hours today - including some Xbox 360 classics like Modern Warfare 2 and the original...
News Xbox's Everwild Gets Cancelled As Layoffs Hit Sea Of Thieves Developer
Update: It's now official
We told you folks to brace yourselves today and that's exactly what's needed. Following news earlier that fresh Microsoft layoffs were starting to hit Xbox teams, it's being reported that Rare is now one of the studios affected - and its Everwild project has seemingly been cancelled as a result. This is coming from outlet
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass Standard (July 2)
A couple of fresh additions
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass roundup! Today, Microsoft's mid-tier XGP service grows in the form of two new additions to Game Pass Standard - both now live in the library. Here's a quick introduction to today's new Game Pass Standard titles: Legend of Mana (Game Pass Standard):
News Phil Spencer Isn't Retiring Anytime Soon, Says Xbox In Response To Rumour
Xbox's head of communications chimes in
As if today hasn't been enough of a whirlwind for us at PX HQ — and everyone else closely following Xbox right now — fresh rumours are doing the rounds that long time boss Phil Spencer may step down from his role in the near future. Call of Duty insider TheGhostOfHope has gone public with this, claiming...
News Forza Motorsport Team Reportedly Loses 'Nearly 50% Of Staff' In Xbox Job Cuts
Brutal losses for Turn 10
Microsoft's current round of layoffs is starting to feel particularly brutal, with Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios reportedly losing almost 50% of its entire staff as part of these ongoing Xbox job cuts. This latest news is coming from
News After Half A Year, These Are The 10 Highest-Rated Xbox Games Of 2025
A busy six months for new Xbox releases!
Well, we're officially six months down, so it's time for another look at the Metacritic rankings for 2025! It's been a very busy year for new Xbox releases, and even if 2025 were to end today, we'd be pretty happy with this top 10 lineup. Unsurprisingly, the likes of Split Fiction and Clair Obscur:...
Report Multiple Industry Veterans To Leave Xbox Studios Amidst Layoffs
Including big departures at Rare and ZeniMax Online Studios
The bad news about today's Xbox layoffs isn't over just yet, as some major names at multiple Xbox studios are said to be leaving their positions - either coincidentally or as a result of what we've been hearing all afternoon. Firstly, Zenimax Online Studios president Matt Frior is...
News Xbox Next-Gen Console Plans 'Not Impacted' By Microsoft Layoffs
"Xbox hardware has largely avoided the cuts"
As news about today's Xbox layoffs continues to trickle in, we're hearing about potentially large-scale job losses and cancelled games - but apparently, one area that won't be affected to any major degree is Xbox's next-gen console plans. Windows Central s
News Microsoft Is Seemingly Cutting Back On Its Quality Assurance Efforts With Xbox
"The Xbox user research team has been hit hard"
As we're sure you're all aware by now, Microsoft has been cutting staff like nobody's business this week, and their efforts are in-part due to 'streamlining' the business - or as Xbox exec Matt Booty says: "to adjust priorities and focus resources". Well, it seems as though these adjustments will be...
Guide Xbox Game Pass Perks: Everything You Can Claim In July 2025
Including an exclusive discount on Xbox controllers!
The Xbox Game Pass Perks program is continuing to add a bunch of freebies for Game Pass Ultimate members throughout July 2025, including for the likes of Mecha BREAK, Splitgate 2, Super Animal Royale and much more! There are two particular highlights in our opinion though - the first is an...
Roundup Here's What The First Reviews Are Saying About Mecha BREAK On Xbox & PC
It's launched as a free-to-play release today
Today's the day for Mecha BREAK, which is a new free-to-play title launching exclusively on Xbox and PC, and the beta ended up proving extremely popular ahead of release - so we're assuming the same will happen post-release. That said, Mecha BREAK has launched to "mixed" reviews over on Steam in th
News Remedy 'Hoped' For A Better FBC: Firebreak Launch, But Game Pass Is Helping
It has "new players coming in every day on console"
Remedy's Control spin-off FBC: Firebreak launched on Xbox Game Pass last month to a somewhat muted reception, and now the team has admitted that it had "hoped for a better launch" with its multiplayer title. In a new interview with GameSpot, Remedy's Thomas P
Pick One What Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Release In June 2025?
Call of Duty? Crash Bandicoot? Rematch? Tell us!
June 2025's Xbox Game Pass additions are officially behind us now, and it was a pretty stacked month for day one releases in the end, along with a couple of big Activision titles that have proved popular over the past few weeks too. We started things off quite slowly - albeit with popular titles such...
Tuesday1st Jul 2025
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (July 1)
Alongside a third title getting free Game Pass perks!
Welcome to your first Xbox Game Pass update for July 2025! Today, we have two major additions to the library, alongside some bonus Xbox Game Pass Perks for brand-new free-to-play title Mecha BREAK. <related ids="184422"> Here's a quick breakdown on what's new to Xbox Game Pass today:
News Six Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early July 2025
This month's first batch of leavers
Microsoft has announced the first batch of games leaving Xbox Game Pass in July 2025 today, with six games set to depart the service on July 15th - all of them across console, PC and the cloud. Here's the full list of games leaving Xbox Game Pass in early July 2025: Date Game Leaving Xbox Game...
Feature Xbox's Hot Streak Continues With Two New First-Party Releases This Month
Microsoft's seriously impressive games pipeline
It's been a busy first half of the year for Microsoft, hasn't it? Truth be told, we can't remember a more stacked first half of a year for Xbox Game Studios titles in ages, with massive launches like Avowed, Oblivion Remastered, DOOM: The Dark Ages and more landing before the midway point of 202
News Lots Of Xbox Games Have Quietly Received New 1000G Achievements
Just like last year
This time last year, we brought you a story about how easy 1000G achievements had been suddenly added to 60+ Xbox games, and the exact same thing has happened again this year - but this time it affects over 100 Xbox games. Credit goes to True Achievements for the discovery on this, and they've also got a big list of the 100+...
Deals Space Marine 2 Drops To 'Lowest Price Ever' For Xbox Game Pass Members
The highlight of this week's new Xbox deals
There's not a whole lot to talk about this week when it comes to new Xbox deals (we're still waiting on that big Xbox Summer Sale to begin), but one deal that we definitely wanted to highlight is for Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2. If you're an Xbox Game Pass member, Space Marine 2 is now at its "lowest...
News These Seven Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (July 2-15)
Your latest roundup of new titles
Microsoft has just revealed the next batch of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass in July, featuring some newly-announced additions alongside its next first-party release in the form of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4. We also saw two new additions to the library today, remember, including the fantastic
News Xbox Retro Classics To Expand With 100+ More Games In 2025 & 2026
"Retro Classics has resonated remarkably well"
The Xbox Retro Classics program has inevitably proved very popular with Xbox Game Pass members since it was introduced back in late May, with the announcement that it's already passed one million active players on the service. Antstream Arcade, which is running the Retro Classics program for Xbox,...
News System Shock 2 Remaster Gets New July Release Date For Xbox
After being delayed a few days ago
We mentioned in our big "coming to Xbox next week" roundup for June 23-28 that System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster was set for an Xbox release on Thursday, June 26th - but unfortunately that's no longer the case. Nightdive Studios, which is the fantastic developer behind the likes of the DOOM and Quake...
News Rockstar's First Red Dead Online Update In Years Channels 'Undead Nightmare' Energy
Is it coming back?!
Three years ago, Rockstar Games basically pulled the plug on Red Dead Online; ending development on major updates for the game to focus on making GTA 6. Well, this week (in typically random Rockstar fashion), the team has added "a new set of four eerie Telegram Missions" for the first time in years that channel serious Undead...
Feature Despite Being Very Familiar, I Can't Wait To Play More Gears Reloaded Later This Year
Gears is back, and it feels oh so good
When the first weekend of Xbox's recent Gears of War: Reloaded beta wrapped up just a few weeks ago, I shared my opinions on the upcoming release; talking about how the game was a great time despite it being "overly familiar" for Xbox players who'd already chainsaw'd their way through Gears: Ultimate Edition...
News 2K Promises To Rival EA's CBB Title, Calls Itself The 'Undisputed Home' Of Basketball Games
May the best team win
Yesterday, it was revealed that EA Sports is working on a college basketball game for some point in the future, although details are extremely thin on the ground right now - it was just a small teaser posted on social media. It's definitely attracted the attention of 2K though, posting their own teaser that "the campus has...
