Timeline
Monday12th Jan 2026
News Ubisoft Seemingly Preparing 'The Division: Definitive Edition' Ahead Of 10-Year Anniversary
Billboard spotted
Last month, Ubisoft dropped a surprise 60FPS patch for 2016's The Division on PS5, with the game already being boosted to 60 frames per second on Xbox years ago thanks to FPS Boost. However, it's looking like the French game maker might have even more plans for its almost decade-old co-op shooter, and these plans could be relevant...
News Forza Horizon 5 Hits Huge Sales Milestone In Its First Year On PS5, According To New Estimates
Absolutely flying
We've consistently heard that Forza Horizon 5 has been selling very well on PS5 since its debut last April, and now the head of Alinea Analytics — one of the firms keeping us updated on those sales — has a new update for us here as we enter 2026. According to
Guide Microsoft Rewards & Xbox: How To Make 10,000 Points Per-Month (2026 Edition)
How to get Microsoft Rewards points fast
We know how amazing Microsoft Rewards is, but did you know that if you live in a certain region and you have access to all the MS Rewards benefits on offer, you can make around 10,000 Microsoft Rewards points per-month? That's the equivalent of almost £10 / $10 worth of free Xbox credit every single month!...
News Xbox's Avowed Gets Permanent Price Drop To Coincide With Upcoming PS5 Release
Now available at $50
Avowed arrived on Xbox and PC almost a year ago now, and to coincide with last week's announcement of a PS5 release, Microsoft has dropped the price of the base game on all platforms — with a plan to launch at the same price on the Sony system next month. Yep, head over to the Microsoft Store or Steam and you can now grab...
News Three Games Are Available This Week With Xbox Game Pass (January 12-15)
Including a massive new addition
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass roundup! We've got three new titles coming to the main PC/Ultimate library this week, including tomorrow's huge addition of Ubisoft open-world affair Star Wars Outlaws. Here's a full overview of what's new on Xbox Game Pass this week (January 12-15): Quarantine Zone: The Last...
Sunday11th Jan 2026
Feature Eight Free-To-Play Games To Look Forward To On Xbox In 2026
Including some pretty massive releases!
Another year has arrived, and that means another year of free-to-play Xbox games is upon us! We're expecting to learn of many new titles over the coming months, and we already know of a few that are planned for 2026. We recently mentioned two of January 2026's free-to-play titles in 2XKO and Highguard, but...
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In January 2026
All the confirmed reveals so far
Looking for a complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in January 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 30+ Games Are Reduced By 90% In The Xbox Game Pass 'Last Chance' Sale
Don't forget about Choo-Choo Charles as well!
Looking for some cheap Xbox games during the Xbox Game Pass Last Chance Sale? This exclusive sale for Game Pass members is packed with fantastic deals, including over 30 games that are reduced by 90%. This means great deals for great games — including some major AAA releases from years past! We've...
Saturday10th Jan 2026
News Xbox Announces Surprise 'Day One' PC Game Pass Addition For Monday, January 12th
Published by Devolver Digital!
Anyone fancy another surprise Game Pass addition? It's been announced this weekend that Quarantine Zone: The Last Check will be joining PC Game Pass on January 12th, which makes it a "day one" release on the service. Developed by Brigada Games and published by indie giant Devolver Digital, Quarantine Zone: The Last...
Feature Is It Worth Buying An Xbox One In 2026?
It might be 12 years old, but it's still alive and kicking!
Although it didn't get much attention at the time, the Xbox One celebrated its twelfth anniversary just a couple of months ago on November 22nd, and it's amazing to say that this once-panned console is still very relevant in 2026! Yes, Microsoft might not be making first-party games for it...
News Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In February 2026
Some early predictions
What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in February 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...
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (January 12-16)
Including a huge Xbox Game Pass addition!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for January 12-16! It's still a quiet time for big new releases at the moment, but we've got plenty of indie goodness on the way, along with new Xbox Game Pass titles including Star Wars Outlaws! Here's what's coming to Xbox next week: New Xbox Releases (January 12-16):
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 10-11)
How's the backlog looking?
Welcome to another weekend! With the new year's hangover now well and truly in the rear-view mirror, we're fully focused on the year ahead — including tackling those gaming backlogs from last year (and about the last five years). So, here's what we're playing this weekend to work through them: Ben Kerry, Staff Writer:...
Friday9th Jan 2026
Poll In Order, Which Games Are You Most Excited For At The Xbox Developer Direct?
Fable? Forza? Beast? How about the surprise?
As we head into the weekend here, there's no doubt that the biggest news of the week from an Xbox perspective has been the Developer Direct date reveal along with three confirmed games, and we want to know what intrigues you most! We think the #1 game for many will be Fable, which obviously was revealed...
News Based On New Players, These Were The Top 5 Xbox Games Of Christmas And New Year
According to Alinea Analytics data
The Christmas and New Year period offers a great chance for many people to spend more time gaming and either check out the Game Pass catalogue, dip into their backlogs or simply buy new games to enjoy over the holidays. So, which Xbox games fared the best over holiday 2025? Alinea Analytics has been looking into...
News Another Source Reveals What They Know About The 'Secret' Xbox Developer Direct Game
They also claim Fable is in development for PS5
Following the announcement of the date and three games for the Xbox Developer Direct yesterday, we inevitibly started hearing about a secret fourth game for the show — and another source has now corroborated this today. The well-known outlet
News Five Xbox Game Pass Titles Get New Reveals At The New Game Plus Showcase 2026
Three from Xbox Game Studios, two from third-party teams
Last night marked the debut of the first-ever New Game Plus Showcase, which lasted for well over three hours in the end, and as already we've already covered elsewhere, there were plenty of Xbox-related trailers at the event. Five Xbox Game Pass were included in the mix, three of which are
News Phil Spencer Reveals 'Xbox 25' Logo And Shares Video Message Ahead Of Developer Direct
Says Xbox will be celebrating "all year long"
With the Xbox Developer Direct showcase around the corner and the 25th year of Xbox finally underway, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has shared a video message to fans over on LinkedIn of all places. In his message, a version of which you can see in the post below, Spencer teased that Xbox will be...
Roundup All The Xbox Trailers From The New Game Plus Showcase 2026
Including multiple Xbox first-party appearances!
Today marked the debut of the first New Game Plus Showcase, and surprisingly it ended up featuring a whole bunch of Xbox games including some first-party titles, so you better believe we're going to round up all the reveals for you! Down below, you'll find all the trailers for the games with Xbox...
News Xbox-Published Game Towerborne Ditches Free-To-Play Model, Launches 'In Full' This February
"You will own the complete experience permanently"
One of the perhaps forgotten Xbox Game Studios releases of 2025 was Towerborne, with Stoic's action-RPG brawler arriving in early access on Series X and S following its 2024 debut on PC, and now it's about to finally get a full launch. It was mentioned a long time ago that the plan for Towerborne...
Thursday8th Jan 2026
News Avowed Releases For PS5 Alongside Free 'Anniversary Update' On Xbox This February
New Game Plus is part of the update
It's been announced today as part of the New Game Plus Showcase that Obsidian's Avowed will officially be heading to PS5 on February 17th, and that'll coincide with a brand-new Anniversary Update for all platforms including Xbox. The update will bring New Game Plus to Avowed, allowing you to carry all your...
News Industry Insider Teases 'Secret' Fourth Game For The Xbox Developer Direct Showcase
But what could it be?
Today's announcement of three games for the Xbox Developer Direct showcase on January 22nd was met with some surprise, as usually these events contain at least four or five games — but there's also always a secret one in the mix. In 2023, it was Hi-Fi RUSH. In 2024, it was Visions of Mana. In 2025, it was Ninja Gaiden 2 B
News South Park Arrives In Fortnite This Friday, Two Months After The Successful Simpsons Season
Update: We've got the full details!
It seems Fortnite has been having a ton of success with crossovers recently, especially when it comes to the big Simpsons one that took place back in November — and now another major cartoon crossover is on the way very soon. The official Fortnite account on social media has teased that South Park will enter...
News Xbox Unveils Its Latest Crossover As Fallout Joins Call Of Duty: Warzone & Black Ops 7
"Vault doors open. Loadouts ready."
Yesterday, a new trailer by the Call of Duty folks revealed that a Fallout crossover was on the way to the series as part of Season 01 Reloaded, and that season officially kicks off today (January 8th) at 9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm GMT. The crossover, which obviously involves two franchises owned by Xbox, will see...
News Fable Developer Hyped To Show 'Much More' Of The Game At January's Xbox Event
"Our first deep dive"
In case you missed it, Microsoft announced the date and three confirmed games for the Xbox Developer Direct 2026 showcase today, and one of them is a game that many thought might get delayed to 2027 in Playground Games' Fable. Its appearance at the event suggests Xbox is still targeting 2026 for Fable, and the developer has...
News Xbox Developer Direct 2026 Showcase Gets Official Date Alongside Three Confirmed Games
Here we go, folks!
It's official! Microsoft has revealed that the date of the Xbox Developer Direct 2026 showcase is January 22nd, and the start time will be 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT on that day. Three games will be included in the Xbox Developer Direct showcase this year (unless any surprises show up, which we assume they might), with the...
News Two New Sales Have Just Gone Live On Xbox, Including A 'Game Pass Last Chance Sale'
Lots of exclusive deals for Game Pass members
Yesterday marked the end of the Xbox Countdown Sale that felt like it had gone on forever, and now Xbox is already back with a couple of new sales that you might be interested in. The first of these is a Game Pass Last Chance Sale, which includes discounts for tons of major games — the catch being...
Report Xbox Working On 'Major Updates' To PC App For Next Console's Dashboard
It's apparently going to utilise the "Full Screen Experience" like the Xbox Ally
One of the things that's been getting a lot of attention out of that massive Windows Central report on Xbox yesterday is that the next Xbox console is going to run "full bore Windows", which is actually something that was
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...
