Timeline
TodayThu, 18th Dec 2025
News One Xbox First-Party Game Makes Newzoo's Top-10 'Releases By Revenue' For 2025
Only on PC, though
Data firm Newzoo has shared some detailed facts and figures about the gaming industry throughout 2025 in its new 'year in review', and the company's top-10 revenue lists have some interesting entries on there - including one Xbox first-party effort that Microsoft will no-doubt be pleased about. Before we dive into this, Newzoo's...
News Is 'Xbox Wrapped' Happening For 2025? Fans Clearly Want To See It
Update: Looks like it's a no-go this year
We're getting to that time of the year where people want to look back on their Xbox habits from the past 12 months and see how many games they've played, how many achievements they've unlocked, how many Microsoft Rewards points they've earned and a whole bunch of other statistics from 2025! In fact, we're...
Deals All 90+ Backwards Compatible Games In The Xbox Countdown Sale 2025
Another massive list of original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles
The final major Xbox sale of 2025 has begun today in the form of the Xbox Countdown Sale 2025, and as always that means we've got loads of discounts for original Xbox and Xbox 360 backwards compatible titles in the mix. A lot of the stuff here has been seen in previous backwards compatible...
News The Walking Dead Story DLC Coming To Xbox Game Pass Shooter World War Z Next Month
"A new campaign episode featuring three thrilling stories"
Now this is a crossover we can get behind, folks. The teams at Saber Interactive and AMC have announced that The Walking Dead is coming to World War Z next month; in the form of a brand-new story campaign set in the iconic TWD universe. World War Z x The Walking Dead contains "a new...
Rumour Starfield Set For Eventful Year In 2026, Including Multiple New Releases
Sources divided on whether it'll be a "Cyberpunk 2.0" moment
It's been pretty quiet for Bethesda's Starfield in 2025, but it sounds like 2026 will be a different story for the epic Bethesda RPG, with multiple new releases in the works along with new content that could make a significant impact. The folks over at Windows Central are reporting that,...
News Xbox's Blizzard Team Is Preparing For Its 'Biggest Year Yet' In 2026
What could we see?
We already know that Xbox Game Studios has a pretty big year planned in 2026 with the likes of Fable, Forza Horizon 6, Gears of War: E-Day and Halo: Campaign Evolved set to land next year, and now the folks over at Blizzard Entertainment sound like they're getting in on the Xbox anniversary party as well. Speaking with
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (December 18-21)
More free trials for Xbox players
Welcome to your latest Xbox Free Play Days lineup! Microsoft has today revealed the full list of games available with the program for the coming weekend - including some Call of Duty and Fallout trials which we've covered elsewhere this week at Pure Xbox: Here's the full FPD lineup this week: Ark: Survival...
News Xbox Countdown Sale 2025 Now Live, 2000+ Games Discounted
The final major Xbox sale of the year!
It's time for the Xbox Countdown Sale 2025! This is the last major Xbox sale of the year and it features well over 1,000 games in all, including a big bunch of great releases from the past 12 months. Down below, we've highlighted just some of the most notable deals in the Xbox Countdown Sale 2025. To find the...
YesterdayWed, 17th Dec 2025
Feature 15 First-Party Games Released On Xbox In 2025, But Which Was Your Favourite?
There's a lot to choose from!
When the voting began for the Pure Xbox Game of the Year 2025 a few days ago, we mentioned how Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 would likely run away with it — and spoiler alert, it's probably going to win. Look beyond that game though, and a whole bunch of first-party titles are likely to finish in the top 10. While the...
News Dying Light: The Beast Adds Nightmare Difficulty & 'New Survival Mechanics' On Xbox Series X|S
Here are all the patch 1.5 details
Developer Techland has given us a bunch of information on its latest Dying Light: The Beast update today, as patch 1.5 goes live for players on Xbox Series X and S. The headlining feature here is the new Nightmare Mode, which adds "a new difficulty level for Dying Light: The Beast - designed for seasoned players...
News 40+ Games Were Added To Xbox Play Anywhere In November 2025
Silent Hill 2 the headline addition
As part of the Xbox December 2025 Update, Microsoft has highlighted more than 40 Xbox Play Anywhere titles added to the program last month, including major games such as Silent Hill 2, Football Manager 26, Dave the Diver and more! Many of the
News Here's What The Divinity: Original Sin 2 Upgrade Looks Like On Xbox Series X|S
Following its shadow drop earlier this week
Earlier this week, the folks at Larian Studios quietly dropped a free Xbox Series X and Series S upgrade for Divinity: Original Sin 2, but gave us no details whatsoever on what had been added to this new version. We're still somewhat in the dark about the upgrade as things stand, but new footage reveals...
News Black Ops 7 Was The Best-Selling Game In November, But Battlefield 6 Remains Top For 2025 (US)
Circana has all the details
We've heard a lot about how Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7 have been performing in the sales department already, and now Circana has some fresh data on how both titan FPS titles have been getting on commercially in the US. First off, despite Black Ops 7 dropping off
News 2025 GOTY Contender 'Dispatch' Just Got Revealed For Switch, But What About Xbox?
Update: Switch has an official release date, no sign of Xbox
If you've been craving a new Telltale Games-style narrative adventure on Xbox, you've probably had Dispatch in your sights for a while - a new PC and PS5 title that's become a Game of the Year contender since its release in October. Today, it's surprisingly been revealed for Nintendo...
News Bethesda Drops Two Fallout Free Trials Alongside New Xbox Dynamic Background
Try Fallout 76 and Fallout 1st for free!
It's all kicking off the in the world of Fallout as Season 2 of the TV show rolls out on Amazon Prime - but don't worry, the gaming side of the equation isn't getting left behind as Bethesda rolls out a range of new perks for Xbox players. First off, two free trials are now live for the next week or so; one...
News One Of My Favourite Xbox Releases Of 2024 Has Just Received A New 'Black Razor' Edition
Any excuse to highlight this great game again
Back in March, I mentioned how I'd changed my Game of the Year for 2024 to Balatro thanks to Xbox Game Pass, and I still stand by that decision — it's such an outstanding game, and one I've now bought for multiple platforms. Before then though, I'd settled on the little-known Aaero 2 as being my 2024...
News Xbox Highlights Four Retro Classics Coming Soon To Game Pass
Big player milestone also announced
As part of the Xbox December Update, Microsoft has announced the next four titles coming to Xbox Retro Classics; the retro gaming collection that's been available to Game Pass subscribers since May 2025. Three of those titles are included in the image up above, and thankfully, Microsoft has also listed all four...
News Square Enix Reinforces 'Close Partnership' With Xbox As FF7 Remake Director Visits Microsoft HQ
"This collaboration helps bring iconic games to even more players"
There was a time a few years ago when it seemed like Square Enix had totally fallen out with Xbox, choosing to skip the platform with a whole bunch of new releases including the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series. Xbox boss Phil Spencer and his team put in the work to repair that...
News Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 Free Trial Now Live On Xbox One & Series X|S
Here's how to get in
Xbox's Activision team has dropped its first free trial period for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, now live on all platforms including Xbox One and Series X|S. This first-ever free access period for this year's COD includes "a selection of Multiplayer and Zombies content including the fan-favourite 'Nuketown 2025'". Here's Xbox's...
News Three Elder Scrolls 6 Developers Share How The Game Is Progressing At Bethesda
"We’re going to take our time and as long as it needs"
How is development going on The Elder Scrolls 6? It's a question we're inevitibly going to hear many times over the next few years, and it's one that Game Informer recently asked three developers at Bethesda. Specifically, the outlet questioned director and executive producer Todd Howard,...
News Seven Mega Man Games Are Heading To Xbox In The New 'Star Force Legacy Collection'
Update: Now with a March 2026 release date!
Unless we're going crazy and missed it, there was no sign of the Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection in today's Nintendo Direct - Capcom simply announced it while the show was going on. Strange! Anyway, this is a collection of seven games from the Mega Man Star Force series, with these being card-based...
Tuesday16th Dec 2025
News Forza Motorsport Won't Get Any Major Updates In 2026, But Support Will Continue
"We hope you continue racing with us in 2026"
As another year of Forza Motorsport comes to a close, the team at Turn 10 has shared what's next for the game in 2026, which includes various bits of support and fresh content but nothing in terms of major updates. In a blog post on the official Forza website, it's mentioned how the game will receive...
Roundup The First Reviews Have Arrived For Fallout Season 2
What do the critics think?
Today's the day for Fallout Season 2 on Amazon Prime! Although the official release date was set as December 17th for the first episode of the season, this was switched earlier this week to December 16th - with the release time being 6pm PT / 9pm ET in the US. You can see confirmation of this down below: With just...
News Former Arkane Austin Director Was 'Shocked' That Xbox Closed The Studio After Redfall
"It is what it is."
In a new interview with former Arkane Austin lead Harvey Smith, the legendary game designer talks about his "shock" in learning that the team behind Dishonored and Prey was being closed down by Microsoft following the poor launch of co-op shooter Redfall. Speaking on an episode of the My Perfect Console podcast (via K
News Final Fantasy 7 Remake Comparison Shows Difference Between Xbox Series X And Series S
Here's how both Xbox versions stack up
Today has marked the release of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade demo for Xbox, and therefore we can finally see how the game stacks up on both the Series X and Series S! As always, this early footage is coming from the YouTube channel Fuzion Xbox Testing, which has shown off both versions complete with...
News Two New Features Highlighted In The Xbox December 2025 Update
One mobile focused, one PC focused
Xbox is back again with its "December Update" of new features, and it's actually quite a small roundup this time around, highlighted by two new arrivals along with the usual set of new Play Anywhere, Stream Your Own Game (etc.) titles. The big feature is something we've already covered here at Pure Xbox, and...
News Terminator: Survivors Is Now Single-Player Only & Has Ditched Its 2025 Early Access Release
We have an update from the Nacon Milan team
During Nacon Connect 2024 yesterday, the company formally unveiled Terminator: Survivors, a new open-world survival game based on the famous film franchise. The team has locked in a PC Early Access launch date, with console versions arriving later on, including Xbox. That Steam Early Access release lands...
Rumour COD 2027 Will Be A New Sub-Series With 'Completely New Characters' On Xbox
A direct response to Black Ops 6 & 7?
Last week, Xbox's Call of Duty team put out a statement announcing that there'll be no more "back-to-back" Modern Warfare or Black Ops games in the series following poor sales for
News OG Xbox Fan Spends Over A Year Making A 'Complete List' Of 630 Unreleased Games
Seriously impressive work!
We saw some absolutely amazing games releasing on the original Xbox over 20 years ago, but there were hundreds more that could have released for the system but never saw the light of day at the time. Many of these have sprung up over the years in individual articles, developer discussions, YouTube investigations and...
News Hyper Realistic Shooter Unrecord Will Now 'Accelerate Development' With Tencent
"We’re confident this collaboration will help us"
Remember back in 2023 when Drama Studios' FPS Unrecord went viral for basically looking like real life? Well, news on the game has been pretty scarce since - but today, we're hearing that mega-publisher Tencent has stepped in to help fund and release the full product. Yep, coming by way of
News Wreckreation Dev Launches Patreon Campaign To Keep Development Going
"We have four tiers to choose from, with various rewards for each"
Earlier this year, we highlighted the then-upcoming launch of Wreckreation - an open world driving and building game made by Three Fields Entertainment, which itself is made up of various former Burnout and Need for Speed developers. Unfortunately, the release seems to have gone...
News Microsoft Forces Removal Of Halo Multiplayer Mod In Counter-Strike 2
"It was fun while it lasted"
It's not often we see Microsoft taking action against mods for all sorts of popular games, but clearly the company feels a new Counter-Strike 2 mod overstepped the line, issuing a DMCA notice against something called "Project Misriah". The focus behind this mod was to bring a Halo 3-like experience to CS2's multiplayer,...
News Dead Island 3 Is Officially In Development, Studio Provides Release Window Target
"The primary focus is now Dead Island 3"
Developer Dambuster Studios has released its most recent financial statements online, and the documents confirm that Dead Island 3 is now in development - with the team currently targeting a Q1/Q2 2028 release window for its Dead Island 2 sequel. The team teased a ne
News IGN Highlights These Five Games As The Best Xbox Titles Of 2025
"There was no shortage of great games to celebrate"
The folks over at IGN have now crowned their best Xbox game of the year, picking from a list of fantastic titles that are said to represent "the five best games that landed on Xbox in 2025". It comes as no surprise that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes the win here, while everything else isn't...
News Xbox Game Pass Mega-Hit Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Getting A Free Expansion In 2026
Say hello to Sea of Sorrow
After waiting years and years for Hollow Knight: Silksong to finally grace Xbox, developer Team Cherry has announced a free expansion for 2026, dubbed 'Sea of Sorrow'. In typically cryptic fashion, you can get a tiny glimpse of Sea of Sorrow in the trailer up above, ahead of its planned release next year. We'll also chuck...
PSA Silent Hill 2 Is Still Heavily Discounted On Xbox Through The New Year
Christmas gift to yourself?
Towards the end of November, Silent Hill 2 finally started rolling out on Xbox Series X|S after a year's PS5 console exclusivity, with a 50% launch discount. This was a pretty generous release offer from Konami, and we weren't sure when it was going to expire - but the Xbox Store is now showing that fans will at least be...
News Square Enix Drops Free Final Fantasy 7 Remake Demo On Xbox Series X|S
Available now!
After confirming a January 2026 release date back at TGS in September, Square Enix has just dropped a free demo for Final Fantasy 7 Remake on Xbox Series X|S; available now for all players! The Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade Demo clocks in at roughly 20GB on Xbox Series X and S, and contains "the entire first chapter - the mako...
Monday15th Dec 2025
News Bungie's Marathon To Release In March 2026, Pricing And More Details Revealed
There's a new 22-minute documentary as well
Bungie is back today with its latest update on survival extraction FPS Marathon, which now has a release window of March 2026 and has been re-confirmed to release on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in addition to PS5 and PC. You can get a fresh look at the game in the 22-minute documentary above, and it...
News Xbox Announces Start Date And First Five Deals For The Countdown Sale 2025
Over 1,000 games set to be included
We've still got one more massive Xbox sale to come before the end of 2025! Microsoft has confirmed today that the Xbox Countdown Sale 2025 will officially start on Thursday, December 18th, and it'll include over 1,000 games in all. The company has also revealed the first five deals for the Countdown Sale,...
News The Official Trophy For The 2025 Xbox Bowl Is Quite Something
All the players are getting ROG Xbox Ally systems as well
Back at the start of December, it was announced that Xbox and ESPN were joining forces to host the "Xbox Bowl" college football game between Missouri State and Arkansas State, and that game actually takes place this Thursday. Ahead of kickoff, we're now getting a look at what the actual Xbox...
News Skyrim On Switch 2 Suffers 'Kinect-Level Input Lag', Says Digital Foundry
Only 30FPS, too
Last week, we brought you the news that Xbox & Bethesda's latest Switch 2 game was indeed Skyrim (surprise!), with the team shadow-dropping the port on Nintendo's new system with no prior announcement. You'd think a game that has its roots in the Xbox 360 era would run rather well on a 2025 system, but Digital Foundry's early...
News Metacritic Reveals The 10 Worst-Rated Video Games Of 2025
We think #1 is harsh!
It's that time of year again where we not only celebrate the best games of the year, but also look at the worst games of the year — and the latter is exactly what Metacritic has been highlighting over the past couple of days. In their list of the 10 worst games from across the industry, they've picked out the lowest-scoring...
News Stalker 2 Gets Free 'Stories Untold' Update Following Recent Xbox Game Pass Departure
"Completely free for all owners of the game"
Stalker 2 has just arrived on PS5 following around a year of console exclusivity on Xbox, and with its new multiplatform nature, developer GSC Game World has even more updates planned for the open world survival shooter. Arriving December 16th "completely free for all owners of the game", Stalker 2:...
News Divinity: Original Sin 2 Receives Surprise Free Upgrade For Xbox Series X|S
"Now available on the latest generation of consoles!"
Surprise! Larian Studios has announced that the Xbox One game Divinity: Original Sin 2 has received a free upgrade for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and it's available as of today. The team says you can access the free upgrade by searching for the "DOS:2 Upgrade Pack" on the Xbox Store, but...
Talking Point What Do You Hope To See From 'Control Resonant' On Xbox?
Remedy back to doing what it does best
One of the most exciting announcements to come out of The Game Awards this year was the reveal of Control Resonant; the next single-player offering from Remedy Entertainment.
Random Xbox Fan 'Bummed' After Winning 'Grand Prize' But Forgetting To Check Their Email
They missed out on a special King of the Hill controller
Every now and again, we've reported on situations here at Pure Xbox where people have missed out on claiming prizes for various reasons. Last year, for example, someone missed out on a custom Barbie Xbox Series S: And then two years ago, someone won Game Pass for life but ended up...
News Xbox Game Pass Premium Is Free For 14 Days With New Discord Quest
As long as you're not subscribed already
We've already highlighted how Xbox Game Pass has introduced a $1 offer for the holidays across all tiers of the service, but Discord is also providing a special promotion that allows you to get 14 days of Xbox Game Pass Premium for free! If you log into your Discord account (you'll need one already - it...
News The Much-Hyped Action-RPG 'Phantom Blade Zero' Officially Has One Year Of PS5 Exclusivity
Confirmed in latest trailer
Upcoming action-RPG Phantom Blade Zero has quite a bit of hype behind it, especially now that it has attached a September 2026 release date to proceedings. However, that date is just for PS5 and PC - and it now appears there's a one-year exclusivity window in place with Sony and PlayStation. Yep, despite
News Xbox's DOOM: The Dark Ages Wins Digital Foundry's 'Graphics Of The Year' Award
December XGP title Routine also gets a mention
Over the weekend, our Pure Xbox community GOTY article went up, discussing the biggest and best games of the year from a wholistic perspective. However, if it's just graphics we're talking about, the Digital Foundry team is best positioned to give us a verdict — and this weekend, the outlet has handed...
News Katamari Creator Returns To Japan And Considers His Future Following Poor Sales For 'To A T'
"If I feel that I don't belong in the games industry, I'll have to look elsewhere."
Keita Takahashi is a legend of the gaming industry, having created the Katamari franchise that began with Katamari Damacy on the PS2 back in 2004, and it's a series that still continues to achieve success to this day. His latest title that was released earlier this...
