Timeline
Thursday8th Jan 2026
News Xbox Has Begun Licensing Old Games For Physical Cartridges, And More Are Coming In 2026
Two have arrived so far, with others already confirmed
To kick off the new year, I recently got into the Evercade ecosystem by purchasing an Evercade Alpha bartop arcade, and although I was aware of Evercade and how the company licenses retro games to re-release on physical cartridges, it hadn't dawned on me that Xbox is now essentially part of it...
Wednesday7th Jan 2026
News New Xbox Hardware Is Reportedly Set To Arrive In 2026
As long as it doesn't get delayed, of course
One of the things that was mentioned in Windows Central's big report / predictions piece on Xbox in 2026 today was that new Xbox hardware is set to arrive at some point this year. No, it's almost certainly not going to be the new Xbox console, but the article mentions how they "suspect" it could be the...
News StarCraft, Wolfenstein 3 & Fallout New Vegas Remake Could All Be In The Works Over At Xbox
With other big games also mentioned
As we shared earlier today in relation to Developer Direct, well-known Xbox reporter Jez Corden has put out a huge report/predictions piece on the future of Xbox in 2026 and beyond — and it namedrops some absolutely massive releases, even if they're still to be confirmed by their respective Microsoft development...
News Xbox Reporter Teases What Might Be Shown At Developer Direct, Including A Potential Surprise
Update: Microsoft confirms three games for the event
Xbox Developer Direct is right around the corner now, having been confirmed by Microsoft last month, and attention is quickly turning to predicting just what might show up at Xbox's annual January s
News Two Major Free-To-Play Games Are Set To Release On Xbox In January 2026
But there's concern around one of them
We've been busy drafting up a list of upcoming free-to-play games on Xbox for 2026 over the past few days, and we noticed two of the most major ones are actually coming out this month — or at least, that's the plan as things stand. The first of these is 2XKO, which is a free-to-play fighting game from Riot...
News The UK Games Industry Had Its Biggest Year Since 2020 Last Year
UK games revenue rose 7.4%
GamesIndustry.Biz has shared some news from the folks over at the Entertainment Retailers Association that suggests 2025 was a pretty big year for gaming in the UK. The ERA gathered data from multiple sources to show that UK customers spent £5.4 billion on gaming in 2025, which is up 7.4% on the year before. "This is the...
News New Guitar Hero-Style Game Announced For Xbox Alongside 'Telecaster Edition' Controller
"Players can shred guitar, sing vocals, and build their own note charts..."
It's been a very long time since a brand-new Guitar Hero-style game released on Xbox, with the last one being Guitar Hero Live in 2015 (unless you count Fortnite Festival in 2023), but another one has now been announced for Xbox! This game is called Sound System, and it's...
News Final Fantasy 7 Remake Is Available To Preload On Xbox, And It's Massive
The Xbox release is right around the corner
Square Enix is kicking off the year in a big way with the release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake on Xbox, and following last month's demo drop, the epic JRPG is now available to preload on Series X|S consoles. Launching January 22nd, this is a pretty early preload all-things considered, but we'll take it given...
News Four Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass Premium (January 7)
Four more titles make the jump from Ultimate
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass roundup! Today's all about Microsoft's mid-tier service in the form of XGP Premium; where four games move over from the Ultimate library today, including some heavy hitters. Here's all four games available with Xbox Game Pass Premium today (January 7):
Tuesday6th Jan 2026
News Today Marks 25 Years Since Bill Gates & The Rock Unveiled The OG Xbox
How time flies
We're going to have a lot of anniversaries to celebrate over the next 12 months as the original Xbox approaches its 25th birthday, and one of those is the famous unveiling of the console by Bill Gates and Dwayne Johnson at CES 2001. This was undoubtedly a historic moment for Xbox and Microsoft — one that went over extremely well...
Exclusive Xbox 360 Fan Talks To Us About Completing Their Collection After 20 Years
"My mission is to get achievements in every single game..."
A few days ago, a Redditor known as uncleseeth went viral after sharing a look at their completed collection of North American Xbox 360 titles, and we decided to reach out to them to find out more about how it came to be. Here's a look at that viral Reddit post:
News Resident Evil Requiem Ray Tracing Trailer Hints At Open City Environment
Coming to an Xbox near you next month
Nvidia has just dropped a new trailer for Resident Evil Requiem showcasing the game's PC ray tracing features, and it contains a fresh look at a very interesting environment tucked within the new RE title. Of course, we've chucked this new trailer for Requiem up above, which contains glimpses of the recently...
News These 11 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass, Including Two Major Additions (January 6-22)
Your first official XGP roundup of 2026!
Microsoft has today revealed its first official roundup of Xbox Game Pass titles for January 2026, with 11 games joining the service from January 6-22, including two major additions in Star Wars Outlaws and Resident Evil Village! A couple of games have already arrived on Xbox Game Pass this morning in the...
News Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Gets Free Demo On Xbox This Week
And your progress carries over to the full game
Last September, Square Enix announced Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined for Xbox Series X|S — and while the full release launches in just a few weeks' time, the team has now revealed a free demo for the title coming this week. Yep, the Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Demo lands tomorrow, January 7th, and any...
PSA Choo-Choo Charles Costs Less Than A Cup Of Coffee On Xbox This Week
90% off!
As the Xbox Countdown Sale wraps up this week, a small batch of new deals has gone live on the Microsoft Store today — and while there's not much to write home about, we have noticed that terror-inducing horror hit Choo-Choo Charles is available for a ridiculously low price on Xbox right now. Live now and available for the next week or...
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (January 6)
Two surprise additions to kick off 2026!
Welcome to your first Game Pass update for 2026! Today, we have two surprise additions to the library, including Little Nightmares: Enhanced Edition which delivers a new ray-traced version of Tarsier's classic to Xbox Series X|S and PC. Here's some more detail on that, alongside your other Xbox Ga
Monday5th Jan 2026
News Clair Obscur Dev Wants To 'Trust Our Instincts' With Follow-Up To 2025's GOTY
"We've always let our North Star be our own personal taste"
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 swept up at The Game Awards last month including winning the coveted Game of the Year award, and while that undoubtedly adds some pressure to the team's follow-up, developer Sandfall Interactive is wary of straying too far from what made 2025's GOTY such a hit...
News Former Elder Scrolls Online Boss Says Xbox Cancellation Drove Him To Leave Bethesda
Project Blackbird was a new IP at the studio
Back in July, when Microsoft cancelled a bunch of projects amidst a huge shakeup for its Xbox division, The Elder Scrolls Online boss Matt Firor left the company — and now, roughly six months later, the former ZeniMax leader has gone into a bit more detail about why he chose to leave amidst this...
News Hi-Fi RUSH Physical Editions Will Be Available To Pre-Order For Xbox Later This Month
From Limited Run Games!
Limited Run Games has been heading up production on a physical release of Hi-Fi RUSH for years now, and finally, the publisher has announced exactly when pre-orders will open up for its three editions of the 2023 Tango Gameworks title. Pre-orders for the standard 'Rhythm' edition, the mid-range 'Smidge' edition and the...
News 8BitDo Unveils New 'Pro-Level' Xbox Wireless Controller Built For 'Serious Players'
"Pro feel, your way."
The folks over at 8BitDo have unveiled their latest Xbox controller today in the form of the 8BitDo Ultimate 3E Controller for Xbox, and it's specifically advertised as being a "pro-level" controller that's built for "serious players". In the press release, it says it's been "designed by pros" but will be "defined by you"...
Guide Xbox Adds More Perks For Game Pass Members (January 2026)
A new year of XGP Perks begins
The Xbox Game Pass Perks program is continuing to add a bunch of freebies for Game Pass members throughout January 2026, including for the likes of Splitgate: Arena Reloaded, Fallout 76 and various other games. We expect many more to come over the next few weeks, and we'll update this guide when we spot them.
Talking Point What Have You Bought In The Xbox Countdown Sale This Year?
The promo ends in just a few days' time!
One of the biggest Xbox sales of the promotion calendar is about to wrap up this week with the conclusion of the Xbox Countdown Sale 2025, and we want to know what you've picked up during this particular edition of the Microsoft end-of-year promo. With lots of our gaming being done through Xbox Game Pass...
News Xbox Console Sales 'The Worst On Record' In 2025 As Microsoft Shifts Focus (UK)
"Sales of Xbox consoles were down 39%"
Over the last year or so, it's not been particularly positive news when it comes to Xbox console sales, with Microsoft continuing to focus its efforts on PC and ROG Xbox Ally in recent months. That trend has been felt here in the UK, where Xbox Series X|S sales are down almost 40% in 2025; leading to "the worst...
News Resident Evil 4 Remake Cut Level Surfaces Online, Three Years After Launch
'Chapter 0' was axed by Capcom
A cancelled Capcom level from the team's 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 has surfaced online in recent days, showcasing an incomplete 'Chapter 0' from the acclaimed title that was ultimately removed from the final product. You can see evidence of this cancelled mission in the YouTube video up above, where channel...
Sunday4th Jan 2026
News Three Casual Xbox Games Arrived For 'Free' Over Christmas, Easy Achievements On Offer
Perfect for cheevo hunters
One of the things we low-key hate about the Xbox Store is that some games will be advertised with a release date ahead of time, and others will just randomly appear on there without warning — no marketing whatsoever! That was seemingly the case with three new "free" games that popped up over Christmas in Puzzle Galaxy...
Saturday3rd Jan 2026
Talking Point What Are Your New Year's Resolutions For Gaming In 2026?
Anything you're hoping to achieve this year?
As a new year rolls around, now's the time to start setting some New Year's Resolutions — goals that we strive to achieve (but often struggle to keep up) over the next 12 months. And of course, we can have those for gaming as well! There are plenty of common ones, like trying to complete a certain...
Feature These Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (January 5-9)
The first batch of the year
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for January 5-9! It's still very early days for new releases this month, but we've got a handful of indie titles coming our way, along with hopefully some Game Pass titles that are yet to be revealed. Here's what's coming to Xbox next week: New Xbox Releases (January 5-9): I Am...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 3-4)
The first weekend of 2026!
Welcome to the first weekend of the year! Hopefully you've had time to play some games over the past few days, and there's still a bit longer to go until the work / school grind kicks back in on January 5th (at least for some people). Team Xbox has clearly been taking the week off, so we haven't got any new Xbox Game Pass...
Xbox console exclusive games you can enjoy in 2026
What are the best Xbox exclusives you can play in 2026? The Xbox ecosystem has been home to some truly stellar Xbox exclusives over the years, top-notch titles that you'll only find on Microsoft's family of consoles and PC. What's more, the vast majority of these titles are now available via Xbox...
Friday2nd Jan 2026
News Tributes Pour In For Xbox Veteran Albert Penello, Who Has Sadly Passed Away
"Devastated by the loss of my close friend"
We're saddened to share that Xbox veteran Albert Penello, who worked on Team Xbox from 2000 until 2018, has reportedly passed away from cancer. Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra shared the news on social media a few hours ago, as seen below: "I found out today that Albert Penello passed away from...
News ASUS Sparks Fears Of Potential Price Increase For The ROG Xbox Ally
Another casualty of the rising RAM costs?
We've had an absolute blast with the ROG Xbox Ally since it released a few months ago, but there's no doubt it's an expensive handheld, and there's a chance it could be getting even more expensive in the near future. This is according to a statement from ASUS that was shared by Digitimes and
News Two Xbox Game Pass Titles Lead The Way In Eurogamer's Best Games Of 2025
Another win for Game Pass
We've seen Xbox Game Pass title Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 racking up so many Game of the Year awards over the past few weeks (including here at Pure Xbox), but that's not the case everywhere, including at Eurogamer. In fact, Eurogamer's massive list of the top 50 best games of 2025 features Expedition 33 in second place,...
Feature Xbox Developer Direct Has Always Had A Surprise, But What About January 2026's Showcase?
Could we get another shadow drop?
We're pretty hyped for the return of the Xbox Developer Direct showcase at some point later this January (a date hasn't been announced yet), as it's one of our favourite events of the year — and this is a particularly special year! As part of Xbox's 25th anniversary celebrations, we're getting Halo: Campaign...
Talking Point How Much Would You Be Willing To Spend On The Next Xbox Console?
What's your limit?
There's every chance 2026 could be the year that a new Xbox console is announced. It's been rumoured before that Xbox might be targeting a 2027 launch (although recent rumours have suggested it could be delayed), and with the 25th anniversary of Xbox landing this November, it makes sense to have a big unveiling on that date -...
News Three Xbox Games Are Shutting Down Their Servers In January 2026
The closures we know about so far
A new year unfortunately brings 12 more months of server closures throughout the gaming industry, and as we look ahead to the rest of January 2026, there are three games confirmed to be shutting their servers on Xbox so far. The most notable of the three is undoubtedly BioWare and EA's Anthem, which was delisted on...
News Halo Infinite Is Giving Away Seven Free Items To Celebrate The Start Of 2026
Available to every single player
This year not only marks the 25th anniversary of Xbox, but the 25th anniversary of Halo as well. To celebrate, Halo Infinite has received a special 25th Anniversary bundle of content that's free for all players, and it's available now! As long as you log into Halo Infinite between now and December 31st of 2026,...
News Five Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Early January 2026
Our first departures of the year
Microsoft has quietly revealed the first batch of five games leaving Xbox Game Pass in early January 2026, with all of these being highlighted as "leaving soon" on the official Xbox mobile app. There are quite a few notable departures here, including Game Pass mainstays Road 96 and The Ascent, along with 2024's big...
Thursday1st Jan 2026
Feature Five Reasons Why 2026 Is One Of The Most Important Years In Xbox History
Get set for a busy 12 months
Ah, January 1st. A clean slate! A chance for everyone to start afresh and see where the next 12 months takes them. That's particularly important in the case of Xbox, as following an up-and-down 2025 which featured plenty of highs and plenty of lows, we're now entering a milestone year that promises historic moments...
Feature Xbox Release Dates In 2026: A List Of New Games Coming Out This Year
Your month-by-month guide to all Xbox releases
Looking for a list of all the games coming to Xbox in 2026? You're in the right place! Below, we've provided a month-by-month guide to all the Xbox releases that have been announced for 2026 so far - with many more to come of course! Don't forget that we've provided separate guides for every Xbox Game...
Feature A Year Later, Microsoft Remains Highly Committed To Its 'This Is An Xbox' Campaign
Getting the message out there
It was all the way back in November of 2024 that Microsoft first introduced us to the idea of "This is an Xbox" — an ambitious marketing campaign that spelled out the company's intentions for the brand in the years to come. In reality, we'd known for ages that Xbox was going down this path, putting a greater focus on...
Welcome to the 25th year of Xbox
Happy New Year! 2026 has officially begun, which means we're now entering the 25th year of Xbox's existence, set to be filled with all kinds of celebrations over the next twelve months. This could end up being one of the biggest years of all time for the brand, with Fable, Halo: Combat Evolved, Gears of War: E-Day,...
Wednesday31st Dec 2025
News Sword And Fairy 4 Remake Likely Coming To Xbox, But The Studio's Still Waiting On Dev Kits
"We joined ID@Xbox early this year..."
Earlier this week, Sword and Fairy 4 Remake received a ton of attention when a new trailer revealed that it was the spitting image of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and there's inevitibly now a lot of hype surrounding its release. The game was only announced for "PC and consoles" when the trailer arrived, but...
Feature The Top 10 Xbox Game Pass Titles Of 2025, As Determined By Your Votes
You voted, we've got the results!
A few days ago, we asked you to vote on your favourite Xbox Game Pass titles of 2025, made up of a list of 74 games plus an "other" category where you could tell us about any additional games you wanted to vote for. The response was significant, with almost 3,000 votes in all, so we thought we'd give you the...
News 50+ Games Added To Xbox 'Stream Your Own Game' To Finish Off 2025
It's been a ridiculously busy year for the program
It's been a while since we last talked about Xbox's Stream Your Own Game program here at Pure Xbox, but rest assured that it continues to grow at a rapid rate, with over 50 games added in the past month alone! Xbox doesn't do a good job at highlighting the latest additions to the program, but...
News Xbox Gives 'Huge Shoutout' To Obsidian For Their Multiple First-Party Releases In 2025
"They really locked in"
As we come to the end of what's been a busy year for Xbox first-party releases, one company in particular is getting special praise for their output in 2025, having released three separate (and major!) games over the past 12 months. That company is Obsidian, which gave us Avowed back in February, Grounded 2 back in July, and...
Guide Xbox Game Pass In 2026: The Full List Of Everything Announced So Far
The complete list of all games
Xbox Game Pass is already starting to fill up for 2026, and if you're looking for a list of everything coming to Game Pass in 2026, you've come to the right place! Below, we've picked out the complete list of games announced for Xbox Game Pass in 2026 so far, and we'll keep updating this as more are announced...
Tuesday30th Dec 2025
News Xbox 360 User Shows What'll Happen When It Reaches Date Limit On December 31st, 2025
The final date you can set the console clock to
Did you know that you can't manually set the Xbox 360's console clock to anything later than December 31st, 2025? That technically means we're all doomed when 2026 rolls around then, right? It's the Y2K situation all over again! We've come across numerous concerned Xbox 360 owners as a result of this...
News Stalker 2 Team Shares 'Atmospheric Teaser' Ahead Of Major Unreal Engine Upgrade In 2026
"Something to look forward to"
It's been a busy year for the team at GSC Game World, with Stalker 2 not only receiving a whole bunch of updates and patches over the past twelve months, but also getting released on PS5 in November. Looking ahead to 2026, they've just shared a special New Year's Message hinting at what's to come, including a "major...
Talking Point If You Were Releasing A Game, Which Month Of The Year Would You Pick?
It's a tough one for Xbox to answer in 2026!
We've already talked quite a lot recently about Xbox's stacked first-party lineup for 2026 and how they'll need to work around the release of GTA 6 in November along the way, and we've seen plenty of discussion from the Pure Xbox community about which months you'd personally choose to release a game in...
News The First Gaming Showcase Of 2026 Has Been Revealed, And It's As Soon As Next Week
Say hello to the New Game+ Showcase
We're assuming January 2026 will turn out to be quite busy for gaming showcases, with the Xbox Developer Direct showcase set to be the main event over the coming weeks, but we've also got a new show happening next week. This is known as the "New Game Plus" showcase, which is said to be bringing 45 games our way...
