Timeline
Wednesday26th Nov 2025
News Embracer Group Sells Off Two Studios As Its Acquisition Spree Dies Down
Embraced no more
A few years ago, around the same time that Xbox's Activision deal was going through, Embracer Group went on a bit of a spending spree of its own, scooping up loads of studios from Square Enix and more. Major downsizing has happened since though, as Embracer struggled to handle so many different teams - and now two more studios have...
News Three Xbox First-Party Games Make The Cut In AP's Top 10 Releases Of 2025
It's not December yet, but these lists are starting early!
As we approach the end of December, we're getting to that time of year where everyone will start publishing their "Best Of" and "Game of the Year" lists over the coming weeks, and some outlets are even sharing theirs already. Take the Associated Press, for example. The huge global news...
News Is Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered About To Get New DLC? Leaked Achievements Suggest So
Lara Croft challenge runs? Sign us up!
An intriguing leak has cropped up on the Tomb Raider subreddit this week that hints at some major DLC coming to 2024's Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered in the near future. A set of Steam achievements have leaked for the Apsyr collection that are all tagged with the heading 'TRX:CR'. The achievements themselves talk...
News Destiny 3 Is Apparently In 'Extremely Early Development', Should Still Launch On Xbox
Even with Sony as the owner
Destiny leaks account Colony Deaks has today shared information on Destiny 3, which is apparently in "extremely early development" right now over at developer Bungie. The leaker profile, which typically shares datamined Destiny leaks amongst other bits and pieces about the franchise, says that it's been "sitting on the...
News Xbox Play Anywhere Grew Substantially In October, With 60+ Games Added Last Month
Including ARC Raiders, Keeper & more
As part of the Xbox November 2025 Update, Microsoft has highlighted more than 60 Xbox Play Anywhere titles added to the program last month, including major games such as ARC Raiders, Keeper, Little Nightmares 3 and more! Many of thes
News Splitgate 2 Relaunches On Xbox In December Following Bizarre Release Reversal
"Thank you to everyone who participated in the Beta"
It's been a bit of a saga with Splitgate 2, hasn't it? Following the game's full release back in May, developer 1047 Games bizarrely reversed that decision and took the game back into beta just two months later - and well, that's all behind them now as the game plots another 1.0 l
News TimeSplitters Rewind Has Launched For Free On PC, And It's Great On The Xbox Ally
Hopefully playable on the next Xbox console too!
We're big fans of TimeSplitters here at Pure Xbox, and we've enjoyed playing TimeSplitters 2 and 3 via backwards compatibility in recent years, but we've also been craving some kind of brand-new project for over a decade now. TimeSplitters Rewind isn't actually new — it's been in development for...
News Three Yakuza Re-Releases To Be Discounted For Existing Owners On Xbox This December
One of them is a free upgrade!
Back in late September, it was revealed that Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Kiwami 2 would all be getting re-released on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S this December, and now discounts for each title have also been confirmed. For what it's worth, there don't seem to be many major changes compared to the old ones...
Tuesday25th Nov 2025
News Xbox Cloud Gaming Expands To New Regions & Adds 'User-Selected Resolution' Feature
"We continue to expand Xbox Cloud Gaming..."
As part of today's November 2025 Update, Microsoft has announced new features for Xbox Cloud Gaming, including a new 'User-Selected Resolution' option that brings "enhanced stream quality for select titles". Yep, following on from the likes of
News Waiting Patiently For Far Cry 7? Ubisoft Has Just Announced A Far Cry TV Show Instead
"A Far Cry anthology series is coming..."
With the creation of Vantage Studios, we're hoping that a Far Cry 7 reveal is coming sooner rather than later from the new Ubisoft label - but for the time being, the company is seemingly focusing on a new TV show based on the popular FPS series. Announced this week, Ubisoft has revealed that it's...
News Surprise! Young Suns Has Quietly Shadow Dropped Today On Xbox Game Pass
Not previously announced for XGP ahead of time
We thought we had two games coming to Xbox Game Pass today, but it turns out it's actually three! Young Suns has quietly arrived on the service in a "Game Preview" state, meaning that it's an early access title. This is a narrative life sim for 1-4 players in which you take on quests, build and...
News Here's What's Included In The Xbox November 2025 Update
New cloud features, Copilot, full-screen experience & more!
The Xbox November 2025 update is now being highlighted by the folks over at Xbox Wire, and as usual with these updates in recent months, it's not really very console-focused - the updates encompass everything nowadays. With that in mind, we've got some cloud upgrades including the ability...
Feature Six New Improvements Revealed For ROG Xbox Ally, With Lots More To Come In 2026
"This is just the beginning."
Today, we've seen Team Xbox highlighting a major new optimisation feature for the ROG Xbox Ally in the form of "Default Game Profiles", but this is far from the only improvement that's been added to the handheld device(s) recently. In addition to various updates that were implemented last week by ASUS, we've also got...
News Black Ops 7 Season 01 Arrives Next Week, And It'll 'Significantly Improve' Progression
The Battle Pass is getting a big overhaul
Xbox developer Treyarch has fully detailed Black Ops 7 Season 01, and there's a lot of content coming to the game next week. A big batch of multiplayer maps, Zombies survival maps, weapons, operators and more are arriving for the Xbox Game Pass title on December 4th - alongside "significant improvements" to...
News ROG Xbox Ally Adds Console-Like Optimisation Feature For 40+ Games, With More Joining Soon
It's known as "Default Game Profiles"
It's no secret that Microsoft wants the ROG Xbox Ally to feel as comfortable for console users as possible, but that can be difficult when you're wielding a Windows 11 PC in your hands. One of the problems is that games require tinkering in terms of power settings, frame rates, graphics and various other things...
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Project Motor Racing
It's just launched on Xbox and beyond!
Today's the day for Project Motor Racing! This highly-anticipated new sim racer has literally just launched on Xbox (and other platforms), and the first few reviews have started to go live for it as a result. As we've mentioned before, Project Motor Racing features 70 cars and 27 track layouts as part of its...
News Xbox Begins Rolling Out New Game Save Indicator For ROG Ally & PC
"Xbox PC save sync status is live."
These days, with Xbox pushing such a big "Play Anywhere" focus and encouraging you to enjoy your games across multiple devices, it's more crucial than ever for the brand to enhance its cloud save system for console and PC games. With that in mind, some ROG Xbox Ally and PC owners have discovered today that a new...
Talking Point What Do You Think Of Silent Hill 2 On Xbox So Far?
Worth the wait?
Right at the tail end of last week (and bizarrely not within November's Xbox Partner Preview event), Konami and Bloober Team finally revealed Silent Hill 2 for Xbox. In fact, the game shadow dropped on Series X and S on the very same day, with a generous 50% launch discount to boot. So, with this one being live and playable on the...
News Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Is Free For A Week On Xbox, Starting Today
Jump into BF6 multiplayer for a limited time
The teams at EA and BF Studios have announced that Battlefield 6 will be free to try on all platforms, starting November 25th at 4am PT / 7am ET / 12pm GMT and running through December 2nd at those very same times. This free trial period will contain access to BF6 multiplayer, with three maps (Blackwell...
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (November 25)
Update: We've got a surprise third!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass roundup! Today, our final two November additions are here - including the underrated 2024 action-RPG Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden! Here's some more details on that one, alongside today's other XGP title: Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden (Console, PC, Cloud): "Hunt ghosts...
Monday24th Nov 2025
Talking Point What Have You Bought In The Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025 So Far?
Or what are you planning to buy?
The Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025 officially begin last week instead of this week, with the highlight being over 2000 games that have been discounted on the Xbox Store until the first few days of December. We've spent the past few days trying to round up a bunch of deals for you -= the best ones, the backwards...
News Digital Foundry Shares Awesome Unboxing Video Of An Untouched Launch Xbox 360
Jump in (to 2005)
We just had a pretty chill weekend amidst Xbox 360 celebrating 20 years of age over the last few days, and while I was personally relaxing with YouTube on Sunday evening, I came across this awesome Digital Foundry video unboxing a brand-new launch Xbox 360 from 2005. As you can see in the above video, hosts John and Rich get all...
News Xbox Crocs Are A Thing Now, And They're Going On Sale This Tuesday
"Xbox + Crocs drops November 25"
Xbox's latest partnership has been revealed, and we've got some new shoes on the way! Yes, the Xbox-Inspired "Crocs Classic Clog" will be going on sale from this Tuesday, November 25th. Xbox is only teasing a first look right now, which you can see in the social media video below: The Xbox "Crocs Classic Clog"...
News Xbox Series X|S Could Go Up In Price Again Due To Potential RAM Shortages, It's Claimed
Is it all AI's fault?
Microsoft has implemented multiple price increases for the Xbox Series X and S over the past few years, and a new report suggests this might not be the end for current-gen Xbox price hikes. Coming from Moore's Law Is Dead on YouTube —
Review SCUF Valor Pro Wireless - My New Favourite Xbox Series X|S Controller
TMR sticks, rear paddles and an internal battery
SCUF has a solid reputation when it comes to delivering amazing controllers, but we now have a real contender for one of their best Xbox efforts: the Valor Pro Wireless ($190 / £180). This beast boasts customisable back paddles, mouse-click or full-press shoulder triggers, TMR (Tunnel...
News FBC: Firebreak Update Gets Last-Minute Delay, Now Coming To Xbox Game Pass In January
"It still needs a bit more time"
Remedy's co-op shooter FBC: Firebreak hasn't exactly had the quickest start to life on Xbox, but the team vowed to support the game back in the summer; announcing a major update for later in the year. Well, that 'Rogue Protocol' update has now been delayed, as the studio "makes sure everything feels r
News Top 20 Best-Selling Xbox 360 Games Revealed In New US-Based Analysis
That's a lot of COD!
To celebrate the Xbox 360's 20th birthday over the weekend, Mat Piscatella of the analysis group Circana has been sharing a look at the top 20 best-selling Xbox 360 games in the US up to October 2025. Circana's data is based on both physical and digital sales of these games, although it's important to note that the digital data...
News Xbox Developers Are Reportedly 'Thrilled' To Release Their Games On PS5
It helps relieve sales pressure
Over the last 18 months or so, we've seen Microsoft pivot to releasing games on rival platforms - including PlayStation of course. While the reaction to this move has been mixed, shall we say, within the community, it sounds as though Xbox developers at large are pretty pleased with the decision. Talking with 404...
News Xbox Series X & Series S Receive Small UK Discounts To Kick Off Black Friday 2025
Better than nothing!
We're still a few days away from the official Black Friday date for 2025 (November 28th), but some discounts for both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are already starting to crop up online, albeit unspectacular ones. The deals seem particularly prominent here in the UK, where the likes of Argos, Amazon and Smyths have all...
News Bethesda Wants To Do More Shadow Drops Following Hi-Fi RUSH & Oblivion Remastered
What next?
In recent years, Bethesda has employed the 'shadow drop' technique on multiple occasions; where the game(s) in question is simply released without any prior announcement or marketing. It's done this with 2023's Hi-Fi RUSH and 2025's Oblivion Remastered - and it sounds like the Xbox publisher wants to do it again. Speaking with
News A.I.L.A Is Bringing Its 'Intense' First-Person Horror Game To Xbox This Week
"Survive intense horror experiences that prey on your deepest fears"
One of the games that we highlighted in our "games coming to Xbox next week" roundup over the weekend was the first-person horror game A.I.L.A, which is launching on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S this Tuesday, November 25th. Developed by the team behind 2022's
Saturday22nd Nov 2025
Poll Which Is Your Favourite Xbox 360 Launch Title?
The lineup is 20 years old today!
The Xbox 360 is 20 years old today, and we have some fantastic memories of Microsoft's sophomore system from way back in 2005. The console was incredible (RROD aside), the controller was an amazing evolution of the OG Xbox effort - and all-in-all, we we very happy with the experience back in the way. However, we...
News 80+ Games Are Reduced By 90-95% In The Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025
HUGE discounts for great games!
Looking for some cheap Xbox games during the Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025? We've got well over 2000 titles discounted as part of the big November sale this year, and over 80 over those have dropped by 90% or even as much as 95% for the next two weeks. In fact, there are so many individual discounts that we're not...
Feature These 30+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (November 24-28)
Including some exciting Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for November 24-28! We've got some interesting stuff on the way over the next few days including first-person horror game A.I.L.A, Forza Motorsport rival Project Motor Racing and two exciting Xbox Game Pass titles - the excellent
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 22-23)
How about some The Crew Motorfest on XGP?
Welcome to another weekend! It's been a busy week in Xbox land with the Partner Preview showcase the other day - and we've had several Xbox Game Pass drops in recent days along with the surprise arrival of Silent Hill 2! Oh, and happy birthday to
News It's Official! The Xbox 360 Is 20 Years Old Today
We're celebrating the big day with a fond look back
20 years, eh, where does the time go?! Yep, Microsoft's Xbox 360 console launched on November 22nd, 2005 - which means the system has now hit the ripe old age of 20. To celebrate, we've been looking back at what made this gaming machine one of the very best - from the system itself to its launch...
Friday21st Nov 2025
Poll How Important Is The Xbox Play Anywhere Program To You?
Has it influenced your buying decisions?
Yesterday, in our live thread for the Xbox Partner Preview showcase here at Pure Xbox, there was a bit of discussion about Xbox Play Anywhere and how important it's become to Microsoft in recent times. A few members of the PX community asked if we could put a poll together on it in the future, and so we're...
News The ROG Xbox Ally's Dashboard Will Soon Be Available On Standard Windows PCs
Update: Rolling out now to Insiders
You've probably seen us talking about the "Xbox full-screen experience" on the ROG Xbox Ally - a fancy name for the dashboard and overall interface that's been adopted by the ASUS handheld since it launched last month. Microsoft suggested at the time that this dashboard would roll out to other Windows handhelds...
Talking Point Do You Have Any Plans For Xbox 360's Big Birthday Weekend?
Dusting off the old machine? Playing some back compat classics?
This weekend, Xbox 360 will be 20 years old, and we've started the celebrations early here at Pure Xbox. I've been drifting about a lot in Project Gotham Racing 3,
News Xbox Brings Back Two Regular Black Friday Promotions, Including $1 Game Pass Trials
Only for Essential & Premium though
We've provided a bunch of coverage on Xbox's massive Black Friday digital sale already, including all of the backwards compatible deals and the games that are now at their lowest price ever on the Microsoft Store. However,
Hands On Perfect Dark Zero Is A Bizarre Time Capsule Of The Early Xbox 360 Days
The name's Dark, Joanna Dark
As we celebrate the Xbox 360's 20th anniversary this week, I've been going back to one of its launch titles in the form of Perfect Dark Zero to see how it holds up and whether its mixed reaction over the years has been justified. My personal history with Perfect Dark is a little muddled - the first memory I have of the...
News Ubisoft Has Two Major Releases Planned By April 2026, One Being The Prince Of Persia Remake
What could the other be?
Ubisoft has provided new financial results this week covering its 2026 fiscal year, and the company has shared within those results a list of releases coming by the end of Q4 - and one of those titles is unannounced at this stage. This mystery title — which is due out by April 2026 — sits alongside a batch of mobile...
News Thank Goodness You're Here! Is Bringing Its Absurd 'Slapformer' To Xbox This December
Crossing over from Switch and PlayStation
Over the past year-or-so, you may have heard about an indie game called Thank Goodness You're Here! that's proved a hit across PC, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation, and now it's finally getting an Xbox release on December 9th, 2025. The game is a self-described "comedy slapformer" that takes place in...
News NACON Is Kicking Off The Xbox Birthday Celebrations With This 360-Inspired Controller
It seemingly comes with a mini blades dashboard(!!)
This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of Xbox 360, and accessory maker NACON is getting in early with its announcement of a new limited-edition controller for Xbox and PC. Well, we say early, but this special edition 'Revolution X Unlimited' pad doesn't actually launch until next February...
News Silent Hill 2 Remake Comparison Shows Difference Between Xbox Series X And Series S
Here's how both Xbox versions stack up
In case you haven't heard yet, the Silent Hill 2 Remake was quietly released on Xbox just a few hours ago! There's been a lot of speculation about how this game will run on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and the YouTube channel Fuzion Xbox Testin
News Battlefield 6 Is An Absolute Smash Hit, The Best-Selling Game On Xbox In 2025 So Far (US)
The region's highest single-month game sales since MWII!
Circana's Mat Piscatella has again taken to social media in recent days to share game sales data for the US in 2025, and perhaps unsurprisingly Battlefield 6 is an absolute smash hit, especially on Xbox and PC. On those two platforms specifically, the new EA shooter is officially the...
News Beloved YouTuber Shares How Xbox 360 Helped Them 'Process Grief And Find Peace Again'
The power of gaming in full effect
When it comes to the big, wide world of YouTube, there are a few names that we're particularly fond of in the gaming space, and one of those is My Retro Life - an awesome channel featuring tons of old-school home video footage. It's run by a guy named Tyler, and his dad captured a lot of the footage back in the...
News Silent Hill 2 Remake Is Rolling Out Now On Xbox, And It's Discounted By 50% At Launch
With Xbox Play Anywhere support as well!
Have you been waiting over a year for Silent Hill 2 to come to Xbox? Well, you don't have to wait any longer! Konami and Bloober Team are releasing the game on the Xbox Store today, complete with an immediate 50% discount. Despite bizarrely not appearing at the Xbox Partner Preview event, Silent Hill 2...
Thursday20th Nov 2025
News Expedition 33 Wins GOTY As Xbox Takes Home Two Awards At The Golden Joysticks 2025
Full list of winners revealed
Today wasn't just about the Xbox Partner Preview Showcase - it's also been a night for celebrating the best games of the past 12 months, with the Golden Joystick Awards taking place over in London. Unsurprisingly, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was the talk of the show, with the game taking home four awards including the...
News Total Chaos Gets Its First Official Review Following Surprise Xbox Game Pass Launch
"An action-packed accessible survival horror FPS"
You may have heard by now that two games have been shadow dropped onto Xbox Game Pass following today's Xbox Partner Preview showcase, and one of those is the survival horror title Total Chaos. The surprise nature of this reveal means there are barely any impressions for the game thus far, but we...
