Timeline
Friday10th Oct 2025
Guide Xbox Adds More Perks For Game Pass Members (October 2025)
The latest freebies for XGP subscribers
The Xbox Game Pass Perks program is continuing to add a bunch of freebies for Game Pass members throughout October 2025, including for the likes of Call of Duty: Warzone, Throne And Liberty and a whole lot more. As a result of the recent overhau
News ROG Xbox Ally X Spotted At Best Buy, TIME Calls It One Of The 'Best Inventions Of 2025'
We're less than a week away!
We're now less than a week away from the release of the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X! With such little time left to go until the launch, it's no surprise that the handheld has started to crop up in more and more places. Over on the Xbox Ally Reddit, multiple people have pointed out that Best Buy is openly stocking...
News Xbox's The Outer Worlds 2 Is Now Available To Preload, More Than 2 Weeks Before Launch
Better clear some storage space
Excited for The Outer Worlds 2 from Xbox Game Studios developer Obsidian Entertainment? Well, we're less than three weeks out from launch - and the game has now gone gold, with pre-loading available on Xbox Game Pass as we speak.
Thursday9th Oct 2025
News Yooka-Replayee Is Out Today On Xbox, And Here's A Look At The Reviews For It
The free demo is still available as well
Today's the day for Yooka-Replayee! This is the "definitive remastered and enhanced version" of 2017's Yooka-Laylee that we mentioned a little while ago, and it's now available to buy on the Xbox Store for £24.99 / $29.99. This version includes a graphics overhaul, new presentation elements, new story...
Deals Xbox Seasonal Savings Sale Now Live, 400+ Games Included
Another massive new sale featuring AAA titles
It's hard to even keep up with all the sales on the Xbox Store at the moment! Lots more have gone live this week, including an EA Publisher sale and a Publisher Spotlight Sale, but the highlight today is a new Seasonal Savings sale. We're seeing some major games in this Seasonal Savings sale, including...
News Call Of Duty Is Finally Removing Skill-Based Matchmaking In Black Ops 7
Disbanding lobbies are also going away!
Ever since the big Modern Warfare reboot in 2019, the whole matchmaking system in Call of Duty changed; to one that tries to match players up of a similar skill level above all other metrics. It's a system that should work in theory, but in practice has led to a feeling of being punished for playing well - and...
News Xbox 'Magnus' Leak Suggests Next Console Will Be Powerful, Expensive & Maybe A Hybrid Device
"It will be the largest APU used in a gaming console in history"
You may have heard a bit of chatter about something called the Xbox "Magnus" in recent weeks, and this stems from YouTube channel Moore's Law Is Dead which claims that Magnus is the name of the AMD APU (processor) that will be used in the next Xbox console. The channel has taken...
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Battlefield 6
EA's new shooter launches tomorrow!
After four years of waiting, Battlefield is back, with the upcoming Battlefield 6 about to drop on Xbox consoles this Friday. Naturally, then, we've got some early reviews trickling in for this one - which we're going to round up down below for you to take a look at. Now, we are working on our own Battlefield 6...
News Indiana Jones And The Great Circle Anniversary Update Brings New Game+ To Xbox
Available today!
To celebrate the studio's 15th anniversary, MachineGames has announced a major update for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - one that brings the much-requested New Game+ to Xbox's 2024 adventure. Available today and free for all Indiana Jones players, the anniversary patch is briefly showcased up above. The team's three major...
News AMD's Partnership On PS6 Will Benefit 'Every Gaming Platform', Says General Manager
Sony's next console releases "in a few years' time"
Sony and AMD have shared a new video today discussing "the Future of Play" for the two companies, and while the video naturally focuses on PlayStation and building towards the PS6, these tech advancements being made will benefit developers on "every gaming platform" according to the AMD...
News Former ZeniMax Devs Who Were Fired By Xbox Create New Company Called Sackbird Studios
They're not even trying to be subtle...
Back in July — when we first started hearing about mass layoffs and project cancellations at Xbox — we learnt that ZeniMax Online Studios' new game, Project Blackbird, was one of those cancellations. With it came several job losses, and now a few of those veterans who formerly headed up the Bethesda team...
News Battlefield 6 Dev Explains Why It Isn't Following Black Ops 7 With Xbox One Version
BF6 is ditching last-gen, for good reason
Two titans of the FPS genre are about to release on Xbox in the form of Battlefield 6 and Black Ops 7, but whilst BF6 drops last-gen support this time around, BO7 is still giving us an Xbox One version here in 2025 - and the teams both have their reasons as to why. Recently, Call of Duty developer Treyarch...
News Classic MMORPG 'Wizard101' Leaves Early Access And Releases For Free On Xbox
Update: "Xbox Game Preview has officially come to a close!"
If you were big into your MMORPGs back in the 2000s, you probably came across a game called Wizard101 - a turn-based deckbuilding title that still lives on today, and it's just released on Xbox consoles for the very first time. As mentioned elsewhere on Pure Xbox, Wizard101 is one of a few...
News UK Retailer Tests Oblivion Remastered To See If It Plays Off The Disc (Xbox & PS5)
The answer's a bit different in both cases
Back in July, it was confirmed by UK retailer The Game Collection that Oblivion Remastered would be getting a physical edition for Xbox Series X (and PS5), but they weren't able to confirm whether the game would ship on-disc or not. Well, they've just received stock at their warehouse of both the Xbox and...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (October 9-12)
Your latest batch of free trials
Xbox Free Play Days has landed! We've got a good batch of games playable on the service this week, alongside that huge Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 trial that goes live today as well. You can play the whole COD campaign with that one, and it's available to all Xbox players! <related ids="192306"> Without further...
News Two Classic PC RPGs Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 9)
Already on console, now on PC
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass roundup! Today, the PC library is growing with the addition of two classic RPGs, but don't worry console players - these are actually already in the console XGP library! <related ids="183385"> Here's some more information on those two new additions to PC Game Pass:
Wednesday8th Oct 2025
Talking Point After Becoming A Surprise Hit On Netflix, Could The Halo TV Series Return?
It's been climbing up the charts
Back in February, we mentioned that the cancelled Halo TV series had shown up on Netflix in the UK and certain other regions, and it's been expanding to a lot more regions in the months since - becoming a surprise hit in the process! In the United States this week, the Halo TV show has been sitting in fourth...
Guide Battlefield 6: Release Date, Release Times & Season 1 Content For Xbox Series X|S
Everything you need to know
There's a lot of excitement around Battlefield 6 right now as EA and BF Studios prepare to drop their first mainline release in four years - so we're going to get you up to speed with everything you need to know for the upcoming launch. From the release date to its exact release times and how much space the game will...
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Little Nightmares 3
Coming to Xbox this week!
Little Nightmares 3 has crept under the radar a little bit in the run up to launch, but it's actually coming to Xbox consoles this week - and ahead of its imminent release, the reviews have just gone live for Bandai Namco's new horror adventure. It's actually The Dark Pictures dev Supermassive Games handling this one as...
News Xbox Rolls Out Age Verification (UK) And Game Hub Improvements In New Insider Update
"Xbox Insiders can expect something new"
The Xbox Insider program is always rolling out new features and experiences for its members, and the latest update for the Alpha Skip-Ahead Ring mentions a couple of key ones - age verification in the UK and Game Hub improvements. Age Verification w
News Supermarket Simulator Is Shadow Dropping Today On Xbox Game Pass (October 8)
Surprise!
Anyone up for an Xbox Game Pass shadow drop today?! Well, as was accidentally hinted a few weeks ago, Supermarket Simulator is making its Xbox debut today - and it's part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass at the same time. This title has been a huge success over on
News These 12 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (October 8-21)
Your first wave of October additions
Microsoft has today unveiled its latest roundup of new Xbox Game Pass titles, a week on from overhauling the service with an Ultimate price bump and two refreshed tiers in Essential and Premium. Before we get into the full list of titles coming to XGP over the next few weeks, we want to remind folks to be aware...
News Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Team Unveils New Content For 'Major' Upcoming Xbox Update
As a thank you for passing five million sales worldwide
There are many people who will have Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on their list for Game of the Year in 2025, and it's about to get even better thanks to an upcoming "major" update that's set to go live in the near future. This has been teased by the development team as part of some "thank you"...
News Xbox Journalist Disputes Rumour About AMD Requiring 10M Units For First-Party Handheld
"This isn't even slightly true btw"
Earlier this week, you may have seen a rumour doing the rounds that Xbox's dedicated first-party handheld (not the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally) was cancelled early in development due to AMD wanting a commitment of 10 million units to justify making a custom SoC (system on a chip) for the device. This came from a source...
News Xbox's Playground Games Grew Substantially In 2024 To Prepare For Fable & Forza Horizon 6
70+ new employees
Xbox developer Playground Games has a big year on its hands in 2026 — with both Fable and Forza Horizon 6 due to release — and it seems the British studio has been growing substantially to prepare for these two huge releases. The team's financial statements for 2024 have just been released publicly, and they confirm that the...
News The Full Black Ops 6 Campaign Will Be Entirely Free For A Week, Starting This Thursday
Taking Battlefield 6 head on?
The Call of Duty team has detailed its latest free trial ahead of the series' yearly Halloween update, and for the first time in franchise history, the entire Black Ops 6 campaign will be free-to-play for a week on Xbox. Yep, starting October 9th and running through October 16th, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is hosting...
News ROG Xbox Ally X Continues To Sell Out, While Standard Version Remains More Readily Available
It seems most people are interested in the X
With just over a week to go until the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds make their way into the hands of the public, it seems there's one device in particular that's attracting the lion's share of the attention right now. That device is the ROG Xbox Ally X, which is the more premium (and...
News Ninja Gaiden 4 Is Now Available To Preload On Xbox Game Pass
And it's a reasonable download size!
We've got a big month ahead of us when it comes to Xbox published titles, and ahead of its Game Pass launch later in the month, Ninja Gaiden 4 is now ready to preload on Xbox Series X|S. We're looking at a modest 37GB install for this one on console, with the PC version coming in slightly higher at just north of...
Tuesday7th Oct 2025
Pick One Which Is Your Favourite Double Fine Game On Xbox?
Keeper comes next
With Xbox exclusive Keeper launching next week — and a distinct lack of marketing for it, to be honest — we wanted to go back and talk about Double Fine's Xbox history in today's 'Pick One' feature! This famous development house, led by visionary Tim Schafer, has produced some absolute classics over the years - and most of...
News Vampire Survivors Is Adding Online Co-Op To The Xbox Game Pass Hit This Autumn
"yeah it's autumn right now shh"
How do you make Vampire Survivors even better?! You add online co-op to it! That's what's officially happening at some point this Autumn, with the development team confirming it'll be one of the (seemingly five) big new features added as part of update 1.14. There's no release date yet, but they've acknowledged...
News Seven Games Tested On ROG Xbox Ally X In 45 Minutes Of Impressive Pre-Release Footage
This thing is looking good
With the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X launching next week (!), it's no surprise that we're starting to see some early footage of the Ally X out in the wild, and that means we can start seeing how powerful this thing really is! The video you see below is courtesy of YouTuber Dans ta grosse poche, who received their...
News Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Introduces 'The Minecraft Festival' On Xbox This Week
"Minecraft is joining the race"
Back in the summer, we covered Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds and its Minecraft crossover when SEGA announced an official release date for its new kart racer - and today, the team has revealed exactly when you can partake in this big MC event on Xbox.
News PowerWash Simulator 2 Gets Official Release Date, Coming To Game Pass This Month
Launching in just a few weeks' time!
Back in March, FuturLab announced PowerWash Simulator 2 — a full follow-up to its surprise Xbox hit PowerWash Simulator — and now we have an official release date as the team prepares another day one Game Pass launch. Powe
News New Silent Hill F Xbox Advertisement Makes It Clear You're Only Buying A 'License'
"I haven't seen it advertised like this before"
We've seen a lot of discourse around digital games and whether you truly own them or not over the past few years, and as spotted by one particular Xbox fan, Silent Hill F makes a specific reference to this in its latest Xbox advert. As you can see in the ad, there's a mention underneath the "available...
News Strange Xbox Email Suggests Game Pass Price Increase Doesn't Apply To Certain Members
Update: Microsoft confirms it's legit for some countries
We've obviously all well aware of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass price hike that's rolling out in most regions right now, but certain members are potentially not being affected by it - primarily in Europe, it seems. Today, lots of people have been sharing an apparent new email...
News Activision Lays Into Black Ops 7 Hackers As 97% Of Early Access Beta Cheats Shut Down Instantly
A monumental effort from the COD team
The Black Ops 7 beta is now in full swing as Microsoft opens the doors for anyone and everyone to jump in, and as the tech test moves on from its early access period, Activision has provided a huge update on how it's handled cheaters during the first few days of the beta. The COD anti-cheat team says that...
News Bungie's Delayed Shooter Marathon Re-Emerges With New Xbox Playtest
"This is an important checkpoint for us..."
Back in the summer, Destiny dev Bungie delayed its upcoming extraction shooter Marathon due to mixed feedback from the team's 2025 Alpha test, but that hasn't discouraged them - as a new playtest has now been announced for later this month. Marathon's next tech test goes ahead October 22 through October...
News Metal: Hellsinger Studio Announces Closure After 10 Years In Existence
"All of us have been affected by the layoffs at Funcom"
Remember Metal: Hellsinger? This awesome rhythm-shooter was a day one launch on Xbox Game Pass back in 2022, but unfortunately the studio behind it has announced its closure on social media. The studio is/was known as The Outsiders, and the team has been affected by layoffs at publisher...
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 7)
Your first additions of a busy month!
Welcome to your first Xbox Game Pass update for October 2025! Today, we have two new additions landing on XGP, ahead of what's looking like a stacked month for the service. Here's some more information on today's two new Xbox Game Pass titles, and you can check out what else is coming this month via the link...
Monday6th Oct 2025
Talking Point Would You Still Buy An Elite Series 3 Controller For Xbox Series X|S?
Or is it too late?
Last week, Xbox President Sarah Bond was asked about the Elite Series 3 controller and whether we can expect to see another iteration of the device - to which she teased that "more information should come out in the future". It wasn't a definitive answer but it certainly hinted that we could see another Xbox Elite controller at...
News Battlefield 6's Xbox File Size Is Much Smaller On Series S Than Series X
Thanks to 'modular' install packs
AAA games can take up lots of storage space these days, especially big shooters that contain lots of different maps and modes, but we're glad to say that the upcoming Battlefield 6 seems to have been pretty well optimised for Xbox Series X and S consoles. With the preload going live in the last few days, we've...
News 1997's Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror Is Getting 'Reforged' For Xbox In 2026
"A faithful reimagining of the second game"
It was just over 12 months ago that Broken Sword - Shadow of the Templars: Reforged was released for Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, so it makes sense that the second game is also getting the treatment very soon! This one is officially called Broken Sword - The Smoking Mirror: Reforged, and...
News Microsoft Rewards Team Insists October Gift Card Sale Hasn't Been Forgotten About
"We've seen your questions"
Back in the middle of September, there was a lot of excitement amongst Microsoft Rewards users after a Gift Card Sale was announced for October... but then nothing ended up happening once October rolled around. Worse still, the advert for the sale suddenly disappeared, leading to a belief that Microsoft might have...
News Fable's Peter Molyneux Describes Xbox Boss As 'One Of The Best People I've Worked With'
As part of a new interview with Edge Magazine
Long before Xbox boss Phil Spencer actually became the head of the brand in 2014, he was playing an important role in shaping its future back in the early days - and Fable creator Peter Molyneux has shared some kind new words about his experience with the now-Microsoft Gaming CEO. Molyneux has been...
News Xbox Report Details Cancelled 'Uncharted Rival' Once Being Made By Gears Of War Dev
Gears 4 was made instead
More than a decade ago now, The Coalition was known as 'Black Tusk Studios'; developing an original IP for Microsoft and Xbox. Some of you may remember the game's teaser trailer from E3 2013 that depicted a spy thriller of some sort, but the game never came to be. Well, a new report from DidYouKnowGaming goes into the...
News Xbox Rewards Adds More Weekly Point Buffs For Game Pass Ultimate Members
While nerfing them for other tiers
Last week, we reported on how Xbox Rewards was buffing its points in some cases and nerfing them in others, and it turned out to be part of the Xbox Game Pass overhaul that was announced on October 1st. Today, however, Xbox and Microsoft Rewards members are waking up to find that their weekly tasks have also been...
News Control Ultimate Edition Gets Big Xbox Series X|S Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
120FPS support! HDR! Bonus Kojima mission!
Control Ultimate Edition has just received a major update on Xbox Series X|S, adding in a bunch of current-gen tech features alongside the once-PS4 exclusive mission 'Dr. Yoshimi Tokui’s Guided Imagery Experience'; featuring Hideo Kojima. You may remember that this patch actually went live on PC back in...
News It Looks Like The Silent Hill 2 Remake Is About To Go Fully Multiplatform
PS5 exclusivity ends this week
Since the Silent Hill 2 remake graced PC and PS5 platforms last year, we've been eager to see if the Konami & Bloober Team collaboration would eventually come to Xbox - and just as the game is about to hit its one-year anniversary, we have some evidence to suggest that an Xbox port is near. As shared by Rebs Gaming,...
News New COD Sales 'Estimate' Helps Explain Xbox's Price Hike For Day One Game Pass Releases
GP Ultimate & PCGP have since received price increases
Last year marked the first Call of Duty game to be released day one on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass in the form of Black Ops 6, but a new report from Bloomberg suggests that it didn't perform as well as hoped. The report mentions that, according to a former employee of Xbox,...
News Xbox Issues Statement Denying Rumour That Next-Gen Console Could Be Cancelled
"We are actively investing in our future first-party consoles..."
Over the weekend, you may have seen that a rumour was doing the rounds suggesting Xbox's hardware plans were "up in the air" and that "the future of Xbox is software publishing" - something Microsoft has responded to in recent hours. The rumour came from a source known as SneakersSO...
