Timeline
Monday20th Oct 2025
News Xbox President Explains Why Microsoft Ditched Its First-Party Handheld
It came down to "speed" and being "innovative"
When rumours of a handheld Xbox console first started doing the rounds a while ago, it became apparent that Microsoft was not only working with Asus on a 'partner' device (now known as ROG Xbox Ally), but also on its own first-party handheld similar to existing home consoles. Once development on the two...
News Two Upcoming Xbox Game Pass Titles Win Big At Australian Game Awards Show
One of them won Game of the Year!
This past weekend, Australian gaming show SXSW Sydney 2025 took place, highlighting a bunch of new and upcoming titles across the industry - and a pair of Xbox Game Pass upcomers won big during the event's awards show. Those two games are upcoming narrative title Mixtape —
News Microsoft Passes The Buck To Asus For ROG Xbox Ally's Price Tag
"It really was Asus, because this is their hardware"
One of the most controversial aspects of Microsoft's new ROG Xbox Ally device is the eyewatering price tag — particularly the X version, which comes in at a thousand bucks — and in a new interview with Variety, Xbox exec Sarah Bond says that it was largely manufacturer Asus that decided on...
Report Resident Evil 0 Remake In Development For Release After Requiem
Back to the beginning
This summer, Capcom finally revealed Resident Evil Requiem as its next mainline RE title, and now a fresh report details what we can expect from the series after RE9 drops on Xbox next February - and we'll be firmly back in Resident Evil remake territory by the looks of it. According to outlet
Saturday18th Oct 2025
News Three Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In Late October 2025
All of them are well worth a play
Microsoft has just revealed the next batch of three games set to leave Xbox Game Pass in late October, with all of them showing on the official Xbox mobile app as of this morning. All of these are well worth a play, with Metal Slug Tactics being an RTS title, Return To Monkey Island being a point-and-click title,...
Poll Are You More Interested In The ROG Xbox Ally Now That Reviews Are Out?
The device is available to the public right now
Microsoft's big handheld launch day has come and gone — the ROG Xbox Ally is now available to the public, and plenty of impressions are already out there — so our poll today revolves around whether the device's launch reviews have tempted you into picking one up, or at least have you considering...
News 20+ Games Are Reduced By 90-95% In This Year's Xbox Shocktober Sale
HUGE discounts for great games!
Looking for some cheap Xbox games during the Xbox Shocktober Sale 2025? Well, there are around 20 games that are reduced by 90-95% in this specific sale alone, with highlights including Control Ultimate Edition, Killing Floor 2, Mad Max, Middle-earth: The Shadow Bundle
Feature These 50+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 20-24)
Including five new Game Pass additions!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for October 20-24! We've got a very busy few days ahead of us for new releases, including the likes of Ninja Gaiden 4, Jurassic World Evolution 3, early access for The Outer Worlds 2 and so much more, while five games are arriving into the
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 18-19)
Time for a lighthouse tour?
Welcome to another weekend! It's a big one in the world of Xbox with first-party title Keeper and the ROG Xbox Ally now available to the public; it's safe to say we've been putting time into both of these experiences recently and will continue to do so in the coming days. Here's everything we're playing this weekend:...
Friday17th Oct 2025
8BitDo's first wireless Xbox pad is worth every jiggy
8BitDo has certainly come a long way since the days of creating clones of NES and SNES controllers – it is now one of the most respected accessory makers in the world and has even produced officially licensed sticks and pads for the Xbox family of consoles. The company's latest offering –...
News Control's New 120FPS Mode Tested In Latest Digital Foundry Analysis
"The advantages speak for themselves"
Earlier this month, Remedy unveiled its new patch for Control Ultimate Edition - adding in a bunch of current-gen features that had been present in the PC version for a number of months prior. Since then,
Roundup Here's What The Critics Think Of Keeper On Xbox Game Pass
Out now on GPU!
Another Xbox first-party title is in the books! Yep, Double Fine's Keeper is now available to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass players, so we're here to round up a bunch of early reviews to get an idea of what folks are thinking so far. Of course, our Pure Xbox review has
Review Keeper (Xbox) - A Memorable Puzzle Adventure From Xbox Studio Double Fine
Reviewed across both Xbox Series X and ROG Xbox Ally!
I totally understand why Xbox hasn't been marketing Keeper very well ahead of launch. Microsoft has suffered some criticism for not putting the spotlight on Double Fine's new Xbox first-party game, but after playing it, I think there are a couple of key reasons behind the decision - the first...
Guide ARC Raiders Server Slam: How To Download The Open Beta & What To Expect On Xbox
Play for free all-weekend long!
ARC Raiders is an upcoming extraction FPS that's been hotly anticipated for some time now, and ahead of its imminent launch at the end of October, developer Embark Studios has just released a 'Server Slam' open beta on all platforms - including Xbox. Prior to this one going live, we were seeing lots of questions...
Roundup Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
It's finally coming out!
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 was first announced before the current generation of consoles even started, and now after multiple delays, reboots and developer handovers, this vampiric action-RPG is about to grace Xbox Series X and S. So, what's it actually like after all these years? Well, the reviews look a bit...
News Microsoft Debuts ROG Xbox Ally At Gamescom Asia With Impressive Hands-On Booth
"Make sure you stop by and say hello"
The ROG Xbox Ally is out now of course, and neatly coinciding with the device's launch, Gamescom is currently hosting its Asia x Thailand edition of the convention - and Microsoft SEA is there in full force with the new handheld Xbox! We're starting to see Gamescom Asia Xbox booth pics crop up on our social...
News Three Very Intriguing Racing Games Are Coming To Xbox This November
Hopefully a good month for racing fans!
This week has marked the announcement of yet another new racing game for Xbox in November, which means we've now got three (that we know of) that are well worth keeping on your radar - and that's without even mentioning Wreckreation that's coming in late October - don't overlook that one either! <related...
News The Crew 2 Will Now Be Playable 'For Years To Come' As Ubisoft Adds Offline Mode
"This marks a major milestone..."
After months of promises and post-launch work from the Ivory Tower development team, an offline mode has finally been added to The Crew 2, ensuring that the game will be playable "for years to come" on Xbox consoles. We first heard about this effort over a year ago following
News 61 Games Discounted To Less Than $1 In New Xbox Play Anywhere Sale
"Play anywhere, save everywhere"
We all like cheap games, right? Well, you'll find plenty of them in the Xbox Shocktober Sale (we'll be highlighting a bunch over the weekend), but there's also a new Xbox Play Anywhere sale that's specifically dedicated to low-priced titles. It's called the "Xbox Play Anywhere Sale" here in the UK, but known as the...
News Double Fine's Keeper Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 17)
A new Xbox first-party release!
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! Today brings just the one game - although it's quite a big addition as Double Fine's Keeper makes its XGP debut. This is an Xbox first-party release from the folks that made the well-received Psychonauts 2 back in 2021, so it shou
Thursday16th Oct 2025
News Absolum Studio Clarifies Xbox Situation, Tells Fans To 'Stay Tuned For Upcoming Announcements'
Update: Company issues statement
There's been a bit of buzz about a new game called Absolum recently - we've been seeing quite a lot of people trying to find details about an Xbox version, and so we've dug into the game's Discord server to find out why it's skipping Microsoft's console platform at launch. Absolum, if you don't know, is a roguelite...
News Four New Retro Classics Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 16)
More classics to play on Game Pass!
Microsoft has added four new titles to its Retro Classics library this week, shortly after adding the same amount of games to the collection back in September. Although this is another slightly smaller list than what we've become used to since Xbox Retro Classics launched in May, any new addition
News Ninja Gaiden & Dead Or Alive Director Tomonobu Itagaki Has Passed Away
"So, it goes."
Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive have both played major roles in the history of Xbox over the past 24 years, and we're saddened to hear that a key figure on both those franchises has passed away. It's been announced that Tomonobu Itagaki, who created the Dead or Alive series and revived the Ninja Gaiden series back in 2004, died...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (October 16-19)
Your latest batch of free trials
Xbox Free Play Days has landed! We've got a big batch of games playable on the service this week, with five games available as part of Microsoft's main list - and a bonus sixth game thanks to Focus Interactive and a new Space Marine 2 trial. Here's your main FPD list this weekend: Everspace F1 25 Hell Let Loose
News Xbox Fan Thinks They've Discovered More 'Play Anywhere' Titles Being Added Soon
Maybe a glitch, maybe the real deal
With the ROG Xbox Ally now out in the wild, there's been hope that Microsoft might accelerate its Xbox Play Anywhere program even further and add some big games to the list, and one fan thinks they've discovered a few on the way. This person took to Reddit on Wednesday to explain that when they ticked the "Xbox...
News Xbox Says It 'Defines Success' By How Much Time Players Spend On The Platform
All about the engagement
With the ROG Xbox Ally now spreading its wings around the globe, the Xbox Wire team has shared a blog post about the device's day one launch and what updates are coming in future - and they've used some interesting language here as Microsoft enters new territory with its first handheld system. <related ids="192638">
News Microsoft Teases New Features Coming To ROG Xbox Ally In Late 2025 & Early 2026
"We’re committed to pushing handheld gaming further"
The ROG Xbox Ally is only just starting to be delivered across the world today, and Microsoft is already talking about plans for new features! Specifically, they've highlighted a few things arriving in the coming weeks and months. It sounds like the first major post-launch addition will be...
News Waterpark Simulator Has Become A Viral Hit On PC, And The Devs Might Bring It To Xbox
"We plan to expand to other platforms"
In recent weeks, we've seen CayPlay's viral hit Waterpark Simulator popping up all over our YouTube and social media feeds - and to be honest, it's making us a bit jealous that we can't hop in and play on Xbox. Despite this being a Steam-only release for now though, the developer has hinted that other platforms...
News Digital Foundry Delivers Its Verdict On The Xbox Versions Of Battlefield 6
"A detailed breakdown of every mode"
Battlefield 6 has been out for almost a week now, which has given the folks at Digital Foundry plenty of time to dig into every version of the game for its latest analysis video - including the Xbox Series X and S versions which largely impress throughout. If you'd like to hear it straight from the DF team we've...
News Xbox Shocktober Sale 2025 Now Live, 200+ Games Discounted
A spooktacular sale for the rest of October!
It's time for the Xbox Shocktober Sale 2025! This year's version of the sale includes a list of over 200 discounted games, plenty of which are major AAA titles, including some recent releases such as Hell is Us and Killing Floor 3. Below, we've included just some of the major highlights from the Xbox...
News Mulitple Games Are Suddenly Getting Updated With ROG Xbox Ally Optimisations
Great to see!
Happy ROG Xbox Ally day! Both versions of the new ASUS and Xbox handheld are officially releasing today in many regions across the world, and therefore it's no surprise to see developers and publishers highlighting their support for it. In fact, some are actually rolling out additional support for the device, with Hogwarts Legacy...
News Xbox Indie Showcase Announced For October 2025
"Packed with exclusive trailers, new looks, and gameplay"
We have a new Xbox showcase coming this month! Yep, in partnership with IGN, ID@Xbox will be showcasing some of the platform's hottest indies on October 28th - and we're expecting some fresh Xbox Game Pass announcements here as well. IGN hasn't confirmed any XGP announcements just yet, but t
Wednesday15th Oct 2025
Roundup Ball x Pit Launches On Xbox Game Pass To Impressive Reviews
"A brick-breaking, ball-fusing, base-building survival roguelite"
Amidst all of the craziness regarding the ROG Xbox Ally today, don't forget that Ball x Pit is launching on Xbox Game Pass, and the first reviews have arrived! This game is a described as a "brick-breaking, ball-fusing, base-building su
News Sarah Bond Shows Off Where Microsoft Is 'Prototyping For The Next Generation Of Xbox'
"This is where the team is actually designing, prototyping and testing"
There's been a lot of talk recently about the next generation of Xbox and whether Microsoft might even cancel its next-gen console(s), but a new walkthrough of the hardware labs suggests Team Xbox is hard at work on whatever's next. As you can see in the clip below, Xbox's...
News Two More Games Announced For Xbox Game Pass In November 2025
A couple of fresh announcements for next month!
You may have seen this past weekend that we brought you an early look at what's coming to Game Pass next month - well, we now have two more November 2025 additions confirmed for the library. Both of these titles got fresh release date announcements today, along with accompanying trailers, so we'll...
News Ubisoft Missed The Xbox Kinect, So They Created An Ambitious Alternative
Specifically for Just Dance
Here's something interesting we came across this week - Ubisoft has been talking about an alternative to the Xbox Kinect (a device that was discontinued in the Xbox One era), with the catch being that it's specifically for Just Dance. They call this "Camera Controller mode", and it works pretty much the same way as the...
Report Battlefield 6 Sells Over 6 Million Copies, And A Good Chunk Of Those Are On Xbox
A solid split for Series X|S!
It's no secret that Battlefield 6 has had some hype behind it after years of the series not quite hitting the mainstream mark - but an early sales report shows just how well the game is doing right now, including on Xbox Series X and S consoles. The folks over at Alinea Analytics are back again this week with a big...
Feature A Quick Look At What It's Like To Unbox The ROG Xbox Ally X
First impressions count
It was all the way back in late 2020 that we did a little feature on unboxing the Xbox Series X, so we may as well do the same thing for the ROG Xbox Ally X, right? Nothing too crazy - let's just have a look inside and see what we get! So, the first thing you'll be greeted with is this very nice-looking box. The ROG Xbox...
Feature 10 Tips And Tricks For Your First Day With The ROG Xbox Ally
Some handy hints to make your day one experience even better
If you've already committed to buying a ROG Xbox Ally or ROG Xbox Ally X, or you're thinking about picking one up in the near future, we think there are a few things you need to know in order to get the best day one experience possible! I've been spending basically all of October with the...
News Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About The ROG Xbox Ally
A roundup of first impressions for both versions of the device
With just a day to go until the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds are released to the public, the first reviews have been going live at a variety of outlets across the web, and they make for some pretty interesting reading! Of course, we've got our own review of the ROG Xbox...
Feature ROG Xbox Ally X Battery Life: How Many Hours Do You Get Per-Charge?
Here's what we've experienced so far
With our big ROG Xbox Ally X review going live here at Pure Xbox earlier today, we thought we'd delve a little deeper into the battery life side of things - they only get a passing mention as part of the main review. During my time with the ROG Xbox Ally X, I've obviously been playing lots of games across...
Review ROG Xbox Ally X - An Amazing Handheld PC With Plenty Of Console-Like Potential
The future looks bright for Xbox's new handheld device
Well folks, the time has arrived. With the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X officially releasing on October 16th, ASUS was kind enough to give us rough two weeks of early access to the "X" version of the device (the most premium model) here at Pure Xbox, and I've been playing it every single...
News Upcoming FPS ARC Raiders Is Completely Free-To-Play This Weekend On Xbox
"This is a full-scale Server Slam"
ARC Raiders, an upcoming extraction shooter from The Finals dev Embark Studios, has been in the works for quite a while now - but launch is almost here! The full game releases at the end of this month, and ahead of time, the team is opening up a portion of the experience for a "full-scale server slam" this weekend...
News Three Games Are Moving Over To Xbox Game Pass Premium Today (October 15)
Along with a bonus fourth title!
With Microsoft's recent Xbox Game Pass overhaul, the new 'Premium' tier is a much more affordable option - and despite a lack of day one launches on there, plenty of games are still being added on a regular basis. Back on Monday,
News Xbox Begins Adding 'Handheld Optimized' Tags To PC Games Ahead Of ROG Xbox Ally Launch
A neat system for the new handheld
Back in August, Xbox unveiled a new feature known as the "Handheld Compatibility Program" that would help PC handheld owners (and particularly ROG Xbox Ally owners) understand how certain games will perform on their systems. Everything kinda went quiet on this immediately afterwards, but as shown off by The...
Rumour Halo Remake To Feature 'Modern Mechanics', Could Be Announced This Month
Keep an eye on the Halo World Champs
In recent months, we've heard little bits and pieces about a Halo: Combat Evolved remake potentially coming to Xbox next year - and now some new information has been shared that hints at the sorts of changes we can expect Halo Studios to make with its new version of the original Halo. Twitter account Halo Leaks...
Tuesday14th Oct 2025
News Xbox Reveals First Three Games Included In Big 'Shocktober Sale' Starting This Week
Maybe save some Xbox credit for Thursday!
We've got another big Xbox sale on the way in a couple of days' time! Yes, it's been announced that the Xbox Shocktober Sale for 2025 will begin on Thursday, October 16th and will last until the start of November, featuring "horrifyingly good savings on spooky titles across console and PC". The first three...
News Summer Game Fest 2026 Date Revealed With 'Spectacular Cross-Platform Showcase' Teased
Geoff is back, back again
Ahh, we're just about settling down after this year's showcase season, with the fall games rush about to begin here in late 2025. Well, as ever, this industry just keeps on ploughing forward - and today, The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley has revealed the date for their Summer Game Fest 2026 showcase. Yep, the de-facto...
News Assassin's Creed Franchise Lead Quits Ubisoft As New 'Vantage Studios' Label Takes Shape
He worked on some massive AC games
Right at the start of this month — buried in and amongst all of Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass news — Ubisoft announced that it had officially spun up its 'Vantage Studios' subsidiary to handle Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six in the future - and today, the company has hit a bit of a bump in the road...
News The Outer Worlds 2 Is Bringing 'Big Sequel Energy' To Xbox Game Pass This Month
New live action trailer is very Obsidian
We're just about two weeks away from The Outer Worlds 2 at this point, and as the game's marketing cycle starts to ramp up, the team has dropped a new live action trailer that takes the mick out of sequels - and it's very tongue-in-cheek Obsidian. As usual, we've chucked this trailer up above for you to take...
