Tag: Microsoft
News Microsoft Files Patent Which Could Bring Game-Pausing Ads To Xbox
Say it isn't so...
Microsoft has filed a patent focused on injecting in-game ads at predictable times during gameplay. The filing, titled 'Contextually Aware Management of Interactive Software Application Access', describes the process of suspending your game and running "promoted audiovisual content to the user". In laymen's terms, this means ad...
News Unlocking Xbox's New Mythic Achievement Sounds Incredible, And Here's How It Might Work
Answering the big DLC question
Xbox players have yearned for a completion achievement akin to Sony's Platinum Trophy for yonks now. Just a little something extra for hunting down all the challenges tucked away in our games. Not too long ago, Xbox Boss Asha Sharma all but confirmed something was in the works, which seems to have been recently...
News Arkane Studios' Future With Xbox Remains A Total Mystery
Will Marvel's Blade ever see the light of day?
Xbox has revealed its next steps in the company's continued reset, but it's still uncertain what the future holds for Marvel's Blade developer Arkane Studios. In a company-wide message, Xbox CCO Matt Booty detailed the next wave of layoffs, the future of Halo, Forza and Fable, as well as restructuring...
News Xbox Confirms Activision Will Develop The Next Halo Title
Halo Studios suffers layoffs too
Woah! It's been officially confirmed that Activision will be developing the next Halo game. Xbox CCO Matt Booty shared a message titled 'Continuing Our Reset' with employees across various Xbox teams, outlining the next steps for the company's big restructure through 2026. There's a lot going on in the post. Like,...
News Xbox CTO Explains What Caused 'Phantom Achievements' To Appear
Oh my god Scott's back again 🎵
Last week, Achievement Hunters and casuals alike were caught out by odd 'phantom achievement' bugs that affected their 100% completion percentages. Multiple Xbox users reported that previously completed games were now displaying 98% despite having unlocked all available achievements for certain games. Xbox CTO and...
News Xbox's Platinum Trophy Equivalent Appears To Be Called A 'Mythic Achievement'
Who's going for the Mythic?
We may have caught our first real glimpse at Xbox's new 100% completion achievement, and it appears "Mythic" is what they're calling it. This comes from Xbox Insider and overall Achievement Hunter Stallion83, who has a whoppin' total of 3,309,665 gamerscore - sheesh! He posted a screenshot of what looks like an a game...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (September 17-20)
Presenting your latest batch of weekend freebies!
As Thursday returns for another week, so too does your next batch of Xbox Free Play Days titles and it's not bad for two humble games. We’re quite keen on the inclusion of the hardcore FPS Hell Let Loose: Vietnam, which reviewed quite well out the gates. That said, we're mostly excited to just...
Guide Xbox At Tokyo Game Show 2026: Event Date, Start Times & Where To Watch The Showcase
We're getting VERY close now!
It's almost time for the Xbox showcase at the Tokyo Game Show 2026! As usual, Xbox is bringing us this annual event that's likely to feature brand-new announcements along with closer looks at various upcoming games. In this guide, we're going to tell you everything you need to know about the Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2026...
News Xbox Quietly Adds Another Day One Title To October 2026's Game Pass Lineup
Spend time with the old ball and chain
Whilst it's certainly still the middle of September, that's not stopping us from looking forward at what's on the cards for October 2026's Xbox Game Pass lineup. As it stands, next month is absolutely stacked, with the likes of Gears of War: E-Day and Valor Mortis propped up as October's biggest players. We...
News Eight Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Late September 2026
Here's what's leaving soon
Microsoft has revealed the next eight games leaving Xbox Game Pass in late September 2026, with all of these being highlighted as "leaving soon" on the official Xbox Wire website. Typically, we get these announcements a little sooner, but like last time, we've had to wait a little longer to find out what's departing this...
News These 15 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (September 15 - October 6)
Microsoft reveals the latest batch
Microsoft has revealed the second official roundup of Xbox Game Pass titles for September 2026 (and the first two of October!), with 15 games joining various tiers of the service from September 15 - October 6, including the likes of Gears of War: E-Day, Minecraft Dungeons 2, Dune: Awakening and many others. As...
News Seven Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In October 2026 So Far
Looking forward at what's to come
We've made a habit of casting our gaze ahead and sharing with you an early look at what's in store for October 2026's Xbox Game Pass lineup. So far, we know of seven games scheduled to arrive in a few weeks' time. The biggest is without a doubt Gears of War: E-Day, but there's plenty of other juicy additions in...
News Sony Dropped Kojima's 'PHYSINT' Over Budget, Profits & Timed Exclusivity Concerns, Sources Say
Apparently missing deadlines and over budget
It's fair to say we were all a bit surprised by the news that Xbox would be taking over from Sony to publish Hideo Kojima's PHYSINT, dubbed as a spiritual successor to the Metal Gear Solid series. Sony's split from Kojima Productions co
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (September 10-13)
Presenting your latest batch of weekend freebies!
Would you look at that? Thursday, again! That means it's time for your next batch of Xbox Free Play Days titles and it's a doozy this week! Headlining the bunch is Borderlands 4, likely to celebrate the launch of a new vault hunter, Loveless. Not a bad start, huh? Well, if that doesn't tickle your...
Talking Point The Xbox 360 Launched With 12 Gamerpics, Do You Remember Yours?
Gamerpics can tell you a lot about a person
Gamer Pictures have been around for near enough 21 years now, launching alongside the Xbox 360 in 2005. They were the precursor to Avatars when it came to player expression - a neat way to show off who you were and what you liked at a glance. But did you know the Xbox 360 only featured 12 gamerpics at...
News Here's What Might Be Leaving Xbox Game Pass In October 2026
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in October 2026? 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...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (September 3-6)
Presenting September's first batch of weekend freebies!
Well, waddaya know? Thursday. Yep, it's the first one of September, which means your next batch of Xbox Free Play Days titles are out there and ready to be installed! Soaking up the spotlight this weekend is EA SPORTS College Football 27 which we're pretty happy with. But if tossing the...
News 'Your Transparency Is Remarkable' - Xbox Fans Are Loving The New Insight Into Server Outages
Scott Van Vliet explains what happened this week
Yesterday marked another multi-hour server outage for Xbox Live across PC and "other Xbox experiences" (apparently not console in the end though), but it ended up being pretty brief and certainly not anything like the issues we saw back in July that lasted for around 20 hours in all. Nevertheless,...
News 11 Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early September 2026
Here's what's leaving soon
Microsoft has revealed the next 11 games leaving Xbox Game Pass in early September 2026, with all of these being highlighted as "leaving soon" on the official Xbox mobile app. We've been waiting a little longer for Xbox to announce what's departing this month, and boy is it a sizeable list! From the neon streets of...
News These Eight Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass, Including A Call Of Duty (September 1-15)
Microsoft reveals the latest batch
Microsoft has revealed the first official roundup of Xbox Game Pass titles for September 2026, with eight games joining the service from September 1-15, including another Call of Duty title in the form of Black Ops Cold War. Here's the full list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass from September 1-15:...
Pick One What Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Addition In August 2026?
A Plague Tale? Beast of Reincarnation?
As the final day of August falls upon us, it's only natural we cast our gaze to September and the next batch of Xbox Game Pass goodies. But before we do, let's take a moment to look back at what turned out to be a pretty mixed bag in August. Some of the beefier additions include Beast of Reincarnation and...
News Three Xbox Games Are Shutting Down Their Servers In September 2026
The closures we know about so far
A new month is once again upon us, so it's time to look at the upcoming server shutdowns on Xbox in September 2026, and fortunately there aren't too many to discuss this time around. The most notable one here is probably GRID Legends, which is turning off its online features on September 11th. Another sports title...
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In September 2026
All the confirmed reveals so far
Looking for a complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in September 2026? 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 the service over the next few weeks...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (August 27-30)
Presenting your latest batch of weekend freebies!
Thursday has an uncanny habit of creeping up on us, and this one has been a particularly busy Thursday! Xbox is live from Gamescom right now, but we're here to bring you the next batch of Xbox Free Play Days titles. This week, we've got some bangers! Of course, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is...
News Two Games Are Available Today Across Various Tiers Of Xbox Game Pass (August 25)
Must be blood, must be Xbox Game Pass
It's been five whole days since Xbox Game Pass did something, but now I can lay down my poking stick as two games are available across various tiers of the service today, including a day one release. With only a few more games to come this month, today's offering begins with Blood Dungeon, an all-new goofy...
News Xbox CTO Issues Brief Statement On GTA 6 Leaks
"We are working closely with Take-Two and Rockstar Games"
The GTA 6 leak saga continues! As someone known as "Cyberleek" continues to share footage from an old build of GTA 6 online, it seems Take-Two is desperately working to track the person down and put a stop to the spoilers. Both Kotaku and Windows Central are reporting today that Take-T
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (August 20-23)
Presenting your latest batch of weekend freebies!
It's crazy how quick Thursday creeps up, but we're back with your next batch of Xbox Free Play Days titles, and this week's offering is rather juicy. This week we've got three games for you to sink your teeth into. The highlight for us has got to be ICARUS: Console Edition, but in addition to the...
News These 10 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (August 18 - September 1)
Microsoft reveals the latest batch
Microsoft has revealed the second official roundup of Xbox Game Pass titles for August 2026, with 10 games joining the service from August 18 - September 1, including the massive day one addition of Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy. Here's the full list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass from August 18 - September...
News Five Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Late August 2026
Here's what's leaving soon
Microsoft has revealed the next five games leaving Xbox Game Pass in late August 2026, with all of these being highlighted as "leaving soon" on the official Xbox mobile app. There's a couple of really good ones departing this month, such as Another Crab's Treasure and the phenomenal Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. If you've not...
News Xbox Has 'Explored' Using Activision For Future Halo Games, Suggests Rumour
Halo Contractors Involved
It's been a few weeks since Halo: Campaign Evolved launched to a generally positive, but somewhat mixed reception - mostly attributed to its troubled development and lack of multiplayer. Now, the rumour mill has spun up claims that Microsoft is exploring plans to outsource parts of Halo's future development to Activision...
News Four Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In September 2026 So Far
Looking forward at what's to come
We've made a habit of casting our gaze ahead and sharing with you an early look at what's in store for September 2026's Xbox Game Pass lineup. So far, we know of four games scheduled to arrive in a few weeks' time. We've got dates for two pretty beefy additions in Minecraft Dungeons 2 and Dune: Awakening, and it...
News Cancelled First-Party Xbox Title Shows Up In A Random Fishing Game
Talk about hidden Contraband
It's been just over a year since Microsoft scrapped its Xbox exclusive Contraband, teased as an open-world co-op smuggling experience from Avalanche Studios. Until now, all we'd seen was its teaser trailer and a handful of leaked screenshots showing early UI. Now, in one of the most random leaks we've come across, it...
News Xbox Adds Gorgeous New Dynamic Background Ahead Of August 20th Release
It gets prettier the more you look at it
Microsoft's library of dynamic backgrounds on Xbox Series X|S continues to grow this week, with this gorgeous new addition from GSC Game World. The reason is likely to get folks pumped for the upcoming release of Stalker 2's first major DLC expansion, Cost of Hope, launching on Xbox on August 20, 2026. Have...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (August 13-17)
Your latest batch of FPD weekend freebies!
Well, whaddaya' know, it's Thursday again! That means it's time for your next batch of Xbox Free Play Days titles, and this week's offering is sadly a little underwhelming. The headliner here is of course, the Gears of War: E-Day Multiplayer Beta which is set to go live in just a few hours' time. We've...
News Eight Xbox Games Are Getting Delisted In August & September 2026 So Far
Here's what's on the chopping block
It's been a while since we last highlighted a list of delisted games on Xbox, and that's obviously a good thing - it means there haven't been many notable ones in recent weeks, although that's kind of about to change in the near future. August is actually very quiet for upcoming delisted games on Xbox right now,...
News Three Games Are Available Today Across Various Tiers Of Xbox Game Pass (August 11)
Here's a look at what's joining Game Pass today!
We've got another Xbox Game Pass update for you, with three games joining the service today across various tiers. August is looking rather Premium heavy, with all three of today's games releasing in, or shuffling into the mid-tier option. If you think August is coming up a smidge short, I suppose...
News Xbox Rolls Out Mandatory Age Verification To Access 18+ Rated Games In Australia
Age verification needed for both Xbox and Microsoft Stores
The next time you're looking to buy a game on the Xbox Store, you may be prompted to confirm your age. Xbox is now asking users in Australia (and even some in New Zealand) to verify their age before purchasing 18+ rated games, both on console and through the Microsoft Store on PC. Users...
News Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In September 2026
Some early predictions!
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in September 2026? 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...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (August 6-9)
Your latest set of FPD freebies for the weekend
Is it Thursday already?! That means it's time for a new batch of Xbox Free Play Days titles, and this week's selection is a particularly good one, featuring NBA 2K26 and a couple of Ghost Recon games amongst other things. The highlight here for some people will be Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands,...
News Halo Studios Suffers Job Losses Shortly After Campaign Evolved Launch
Update: Xbox source says they're not "layoffs", but "external contractor shifts"
It's been just nine days since the release of Halo: Campaign Evolved (a remake we loved enough to slap a 10/10 on it) and now a few employees at Halo Studios have indicated they've left the company. The revamped campaign appears to be off to a good start, at least on...
News Two Games Are Available Today Across Various Tiers Of Xbox Game Pass (August 6)
Here's a look at what's joining Game Pass today!
We're back with your latest Xbox Game Pass update for August. Two more games join the subscription service today across various tiers, including a bonus third title if you're willing to count a 10-hour trial as an extra game. Truth be told, August is shaping up to be a Premium-heavy month for Game...
News Two More Games Revealed For Xbox Game Pass In September 2026
Have a look at what's to come next month
August may have just begun, but we're taking an early gander at what's ahead for September 2026's Xbox Game Pass lineup. We already knew of two games, Dune: Awakening and Minecraft Dungeons 2, but thanks to a couple of recent announcements, we can now confirm two more games are on the way. First up is...
"We just did it because it's a pretty cool part of the Xbox ecosystem"
I've been pretty vocal here at Pure Xbox about my admiration for the Xbox Play Anywhere program. About the ability to access my Xbox library across console, desktop, and handheld devices, and how it's arguably Microsoft's defining feature right now. It's the reason I stick...
News The Original Xbox Intro Was Rendered In Real-Time, And Here's The Proof
Boundary Break is at it again
Do you remember that funny Halo: Combat Evolved video where, at the end of the campaign, someone managed to break the camera free to reveal Master Chief taking off his helmet, only to be wearing another helmet underneath? I thought it was the coolest thing, pulling the camera off its programmed rails to uncover the...
News These 10 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (August 6-18)
The vast majority being new XGP Premium additions
Microsoft has revealed the next official batch of Xbox Game Pass additions for August 2026, with 10 games joining the service between August 6-18. We've already had a couple of new arrivals this month, with today's launch of Beast of Reincarnation to kick things off. Two of the next ten were...
News Two Games Are Available Today Across Various Tiers Of Xbox Game Pass (August 4)
Gotta play 'em all!
It's a brand new month for Xbox Game Pass and would you look at that? Not one, but two games are available across various tiers of the service today, including a day one release! August kicks off with Beast of Reincarnation, a satisfying action RPG built around thrilling parry-focused combat. It's still crazy to think Game...
News Xbox Adds Dynamic Background & Gamer Pics To Celebrate 25 Years Of Play
Community Celebration!
To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Xbox has unveiled a fancy new batch of gamerpics alongside an all new dynamic background for Xbox Series X|S. Aye aye, to celebrate 25 big years of Xbox, Microsoft has released a community-inspired dynamic background showcasing Xbox's core four franchises in the styling of Klobrille...
News Four Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early August 2026
Here's what's leaving soon
Microsoft has revealed the next four games leaving Xbox Game Pass in early August 2026, with all of these being highlighted as "leaving soon" on the official Xbox mobile app. There's a couple of decent departures in the mix, such as Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand and Aliens: Fireteam Elite, with that latter set to see its...
News Five Xbox Games Are Shutting Down Their Servers In August 2026
The closures we know about so far
If you recall this time last month, you may remember that we did a server shutdown guide for both July and August 2026, as July was actually very quiet for server closures in the end (just Madden NFL 23). Now that we're in August itself, we still wanted to give you a reminder of the games shutting down their...
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In August 2026
All the confirmed reveals so far
Looking for a complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in August 2026? 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 the service over the next few weeks...
