Series X - should have been AC Unity but at the last minute reward points got spent on Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 (impressed so far), also AoE4 & replaying some Halo Infinite levels - silky smooth and sounds incredible with headphones.
PS5Pro - Halo, FH5 and some Pixel Junk Monsters 2.
Gears one, but I’m not sure I ever completed it. I’ve never really ‘got’ Gears at all - maybe to my embarrassment, but it’s exactly the same with GTA - I’ve tried several, but never really got or understood the vibe!
Anyway, I’m sort of tempted to try again with Gears E-Day, even though I tried (and failed again) with Gears Reloaded.
Just to add a bit of perspective- I bought this on PS5Pro rather than XSX because I assumed it would look better on the Pro. It does look a bit better but not by a country mile, and Digital Foundry are incorrect when it comes to frame rates- Pro is smooth but still has noticeable issues with hiccups in busy areas (even in Performance with VRR on) so it’s not all milk and honey by any means.
I wouldn’t worry if I were buying on Xbox - it’s a great remake on X and S too.
Enjoying it so far but I’m not yet a quarter way through. Graphics are great but have some minor framerate issues (playing on performance mode on PS5 Pro with VRR) quite noticeable in the busy areas of The Truth and Reconciliation which is where I’m at. The chromatic aberration is also a weird addition, just get rid of it already or allow us to toggle on or off. Hopefully all of this will get patched and improved over time.
Anyway it shows there’s still legs in a well crafted FPS with a decent and varied mission list. Not everything needs to be open world and have RPG mechanics. It’s refreshing not to be ‘crafting’ every thirty seconds also!
I’ve got the outage warning on my dashboard but everything I’ve tried so far seems to work just fine. I’m in the U.K. and don’t have Gamepass, so I’m not able to test multiplayer.
During the recent PSN outage most things also worked fine for me but GT7 went into a reduced “offline mode” and I couldn’t play FH5 at all as it couldn’t link to my Microsoft account.
Hopefully whatever is going on gets fixed in the next few hours.
Had a £5 reward & spent 99p on Borderlands 3. I’ve just clocked up enough points for another £5, so I’ll pick up Assassins Creed Unity before the sale ends.
Zero imagination. If these price increases are unavoidable (and they probably are, even if Microsoft AI are a big part of the reason behind the reason for component/memory price increases) then soften the blow by bundling 3months of GPU and/or some old First Party Games with the consoles - chuck in The Master Chief Collection, Diablo IV, Rare Replay, etc.
Throw the dog a bone ffs. Sometimes I think these people are clueless.
Re list The Orange Box and patch it to include the 60fps hack. It’s a few lines of code and is totally transformative. I’d buy it again immediately and I already have the physical version.
I’d love to see the earlier Forza games, Rallisport Challenge and Blur all backwards compatible, ideally with a resolution bump as well.
I’ve bought this game many times over the years but I’ll be back again for Campaign Evolved. My only decision is whether to buy on XSX or PS5Pro. It feels slightly ‘wrong’ to buy it on Sony’s machine but it might be the best version on consoles.
The whole thing seems a pretty odd decision to me. As the game was basically done for PS5 then surely if some decisions around exclusivity were needed it would’ve been better served by making it a timed exclusive? 12-18 months of Xbox exclusivity might have worked.
It just seems madness to have invested all that time and money in the port and then throw it in the bin.
@Fiendish-Beaver - I can see what you’re saying and I agree a discount system might not move the dial on purchases enough. But it might move it a bit and after all the nonsense of the past two years it might also build back a bit of goodwill with Xbox users. I like your idea of creating clear blue water between Xbox and PS prices. I guess they could be even more aggressive if they adopted that idea - maybe 15-20% (as Sony take a 30% cut for sales on their system). At the moment I’ll likely end up buying FH6 on Pro but if it was £48 on XSX and £60 on PS5 then I’d buy it on Xbox, especially with a period of built in exclusivity.
Interesting idea that mate - I think you are onto something! (Email Asha!!)
@Fiendish-Beaver - I agree but can’t really understand why they don’t try and solve the issue of not selling games (because of Gamepass subscriptions). Surely an easy way to try and achieve this would be to introduce a good incentive for Gamepass subscribers to buy (as well as rent) games. Maybe give a 10% discount on Day 1 First Party releases to Essential subscribers, 15% discount to Premium and 20% to Ultimate.
Maybe these discounts could grow the longer you’ve been subscribed to the service (further rewarding loyalty). For example, if you’ve been subscribed to GPU for 5 or more years then you then get a 25% discount on Day 1 First Party releases.
I haven’t done the math on the numbers but I believe this would help Gamepass AND game sale numbers AND brand loyalty. I haven’t bought FH6 yet and my GPU sub expired earlier in the year. If I could sub for one month, try FH6 and then buy it using a 20% GPU discount then I could see that being a thing. I might even keep my GPU sub going if I started to realise what I was missing.
I also have a PS5Pro so I don’t mind if all games end up everywhere, but to me it makes sense (from a Microsoft perspective) for Xbox to keep games like Forza Horizon, Fable, Gears, Clockwork Revolution, Halo, etc exclusive for a minimum of 15 months. That way Day 1 purchasers, GPU and Premium subscribers ALL benefit from a period of exclusivity. Again, this builds ‘reward’ for brand loyalty.
The previous management opened this can of worms so I don’t envy Asha trying to steer the ship through the exclusivity decisions. Good luck to her!
I’m using QR with Age of Empires 4 - it really helps if I’m in the middle of an epic skirmish only to find I have to go and do something else. Just pause & come back later to finish the battle - way better than starting all over.
My GPU expired at the end of April so I’ve picked up 3 games that I hadn’t got around to completing- standard editions of Battlefield Hardline, Battlefield V & Star Wars Squadrons.
Interesting. I have a spare 1TB Seagate card - just tried in 3 different CF Express card readers and it doesn’t work with any of them (the plastic sleeve prevents the card being fully inserted, so I can’t tell if it would work without damaging the card).
Would be good if the cards can get a second use on PC and/or Helix.
@Questionable_Duck @Fiendish-Beaver - completely off topic but can I just say how refreshing it is to see a polite discussion/conversation without a hint of animosity! On certain other sites it isn’t uncommon to see a misunderstanding/disagreement quickly plummet into a slanging match or ‘pistols at dawn’ scenario!
Will be interesting to see how this pans out - my GPU expires at the end of the month and I cancelled the renewal following the +50% price hike. Can they come up with something to tempt me (and others who cancelled) back to Gamepass?..
Forza Horizon 4, Halo Infinite, Flight Sim & Halo MCC are no brainers. And all those games that still run best on XSX because of FPS Boost and/or better back compatibility - Dishonored 1 & Death of the Outsider, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Mirrors Edge, Kameo, Prey & Assassin’s Creed Unity all immediately spring to mind.
Excellent game. I got tired of waiting for it to arrive on Gamepass and bought the physical version for £3 a few months back. & it’s probably available for less than that if you can be bothered to look around.
It’s almost like Microsoft didn’t know what to do with the ABK acquisition- they’ve drip fed some games and held back others. Surely a better use of the CoD IP would have been to drop ALL CoD games onto Gamepass, give the earlier titles a resolution bump on Series Consoles, and shout from the treetops to gamers that Xbox is the home of Call of Duty.
I recall having a demo of a racing game that looked really promising but never got a release - Lamborghini?…..or have I remembered that incorrectly? Think it looked great back in the day but got canned….or maybe I’ve got this all wrong and it was a Dreamcast game!
I’m generally not a fan of AI but to me this looks absolutely stunning - a true generational leap if ever there was one. Each to their own and everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I’m not sure why some people are so set against this. After all, PSSR (old and new), and the likes of FSR4 are using AI to better upscale an image and frame-gen is literally making and adding extra frames to some games. This upscaler is reworking the lighting - the original geometry is untouched. The results on Starfield are night and day - taking the previous wooden, cardboard characters and bringing them to life. I think it looks superb - just wish I had a PC with a 5090!
I think it’s probably too late to do a reverse ferret now. From the moment we had the “It’s only 4 games” nonsense - with Spencer, Bond and Booty all sitting around the table, talking in corporate riddles and giving completely mixed messages, the Xbox brand was holed below the waterline.
Maybe bringing in a period of exclusivity (say 3-5 years) might help, but they’d still need to address the issue of poor first party software sales on their own consoles (caused largely by Gamepass and expensive hardware). PS plus is an inferior product to Gamepass from a consumer perspective but it looks way more sustainable - so maybe another revamp of Gamepass might also help?
Honestly, I can’t see Asha Sharmer turning around the mess Xbox has backed itself into, but maybe that’s been the plan all along - just go all-in on being a third party publisher & give up on hardware.
Better than nothing but also very disappointing- what we really needed was the (cancelled) XB360 version. I’d still be happy to pay for that but guess there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell of that happening.
@Fiendish-Beaver - you’re welcome. I didn’t appreciate that you already had a PS5, so I can see why you don’t need PS+ for your Pro.
I really enjoyed Astro’s Playground but if it doesn’t float your boat then there’s no need to get the full fat version as it’s largely more of the same. I bought GT7 back in Dec 2024, put it to one side as I was unimpressed but came back to it last November. I was completely wrong- it is a superb game and I’m now hooked. Wipeout has aged well - could easily be a current gen game.
You’re probably right about switching your focus for purchases - the way I look at it is that PlayStation will be around for a minimum of 10-12 years (and likely much longer) - I can’t see how the PS6 can fail. Xbox might be around just as long, or it might crash and burn with the demise of Series X/S. I guess we all need a crystal ball at this point!
@Fiendish-Beaver - I’m also less and less confident that we will see another Xbox, but new hardware is exciting so I hope they do follow through; especially as its rumoured PS6 is now delayed.
Have fun with your Pro, I’ve had mine since launch and it’s great. I still love my XSX but ever since the ‘4 games’ nonsense I’ve only bought the occasional game on the Xbox store, & solely because I have reward vouchers to spend.
You may want to pick up PS+ extra (or premium) which will give you immediate access to: God of War God of War Ragnarock Cyberpunk Ghost of Tsushima Hogwarts Legacy Spider-Man Spider-Man Miles Morales Death Stranding Demon’s Souls Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart Returnal Sword of the Sea The Last of Us 1&2 Uncharted Legacy of Thieves Until Dawn Wipeout Omega Collection (and lots more besides).
Oh, and purchasing Astro Bot (assuming you enjoy the boxed in Astro’s Playground) and GT7 is a no-brainer. Don’t assume you need to look for the ‘Pro Enhanced’ badge for a better experience - there are plenty of standard games like Guardians of the Galaxy, Far Cry 6, EA WRC, RoboCop, Cyberpunk, etc that run best on Pro).
@themightyant - my comment was just a personal opinion - wasn’t looking for a response but I understand the basis of your comments even if I don’t entirely agree.
Maybe I’m less affected by the fatigue as I sat out the XB1/PS4 era completely. Usually I find most of their games entertaining, well made, polished and often well supported after release (hence my confusion over the dislike of the brand).
Never really understood the dislike of Ubisoft and good on them for supporting older games with these updates. I’ve been enjoying last week’s 60fps patch for Far Cry 3 classic.
Hope the rumours about more updates for AC games are true. Wildlands would be a nice addition too if they can get to it.
Great additions this month. My GPU sub expires at the end of April but if MS keep up this level for GP Premium then that may be the way forward for me.
If you want to play the latest releases then I still think there’s value in Gamepass but my sub expires May 1st and I don’t see me coming back anytime soon. At least that’s what my thinking is now…..all bets might be off if we get a new console/PC hybrid and plenty of cracking first party games.
Bought the physical version on XB360 many years ago and have it installed on XSX. Decided to buy the new version when it was discounted - I had £20 of reward points + £4.99. No sign of a refund for me (and I’m not expecting one) but oddly after I purchased the game it kept appearing as a 100% discount under the ‘Deals for You’ section on the store - apparently “Due to your interest in similar games”
….might be worth others checking to see if they can claim a free copy.
Good work all year from the guys at Pure Xbox - thank you and season’s greetings to all the staff and readers - always find this a friendly and helpful community, long may that continue 👍
A shame there is no upgrade path for those of us with the XB360 physical version - a 75% discount would’ve convinced me to buy on XSX but as things stand I’ll just play the game on PS Plus Extra.
@Bmartin001 - sadly it sounds not. I’m in the same boat - would’ve been great for those of us that own the original on disc, even if there was a paid for upgrade path.
I’m subscribed on Ultimate until May but I’ve cancelled my renewal for the period beyond that. 50%+ price hike means it’s no longer the great value product it once was. Since cancelling I’ve spent about £80 (mainly from Reward Points) to purchase the games I want to keep and own.
Strangely, I’m really looking forward to a break from GP as my backlog has become absolutely ridiculous.
I’ve never understood why CoD games just don’t simply install everything by default and then give you an option to uninstall bits you don’t want. I’m sure they’d have happier customers that way.
Base Game 8.2GB
BO6:Campaign 38.5GB
BO7 Multiplayer 75.9GB
I’m only interested in the campaign. Do I need to install anything else? (eg what is BO7 Worlds Collide? 74.4GB)
Finally, do we need to keep the multiplayer part installed (I think I read the final level of the campaign is multiplayer?) or are we safe to uninstall that bit.
Thanks 👍
EDIT - I can see various Black Ops 7 Add-On packs - which of these should be ticked?
@Fiendish-Beaver - pretty much exactly what I’m thinking. They’ve all but killed Series consoles at this point so I’m hoping for a new XboxPC next autumn, launching with FH6, Halo remake, new Gears, Clockwork Revolution and CoD MWIV.
Comments 580
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 1-2)
Series X - should have been AC Unity but at the last minute reward points got spent on Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 (impressed so far), also AoE4 & replaying some Halo Infinite levels - silky smooth and sounds incredible with headphones.
PS5Pro - Halo, FH5 and some Pixel Junk Monsters 2.
Have a good one all!
Re: Talking Point: What Was The First Gears Of War Game You Ever Played?
Gears one, but I’m not sure I ever completed it. I’ve never really ‘got’ Gears at all - maybe to my embarrassment, but it’s exactly the same with GTA - I’ve tried several, but never really got or understood the vibe!
Anyway, I’m sort of tempted to try again with Gears E-Day, even though I tried (and failed again) with Gears Reloaded.
Sorry, I’ll get my coat!…
Re: Not A Good Look For Xbox As Halo: Campaign Evolved Plays Best On PlayStation
Just to add a bit of perspective- I bought this on PS5Pro rather than XSX because I assumed it would look better on the Pro. It does look a bit better but not by a country mile, and Digital Foundry are incorrect when it comes to frame rates- Pro is smooth but still has noticeable issues with hiccups in busy areas (even in Performance with VRR on) so it’s not all milk and honey by any means.
I wouldn’t worry if I were buying on Xbox - it’s a great remake on X and S too.
Re: Poll: So, What Do You Think Of Halo: Campaign Evolved?
Enjoying it so far but I’m not yet a quarter way through. Graphics are great but have some minor framerate issues (playing on performance mode on PS5 Pro with VRR) quite noticeable in the busy areas of The Truth and Reconciliation which is where I’m at. The chromatic aberration is also a weird addition, just get rid of it already or allow us to toggle on or off. Hopefully all of this will get patched and improved over time.
Anyway it shows there’s still legs in a well crafted FPS with a decent and varied mission list. Not everything needs to be open world and have RPG mechanics. It’s refreshing not to be ‘crafting’ every thirty seconds also!
Re: Xbox Servers Are Still Down, Preventing Players From Accessing Both Physical And Digital Games
I’ve got the outage warning on my dashboard but everything I’ve tried so far seems to work just fine. I’m in the U.K. and don’t have Gamepass, so I’m not able to test multiplayer.
During the recent PSN outage most things also worked fine for me but GT7 went into a reduced “offline mode” and I couldn’t play FH5 at all as it couldn’t link to my Microsoft account.
Hopefully whatever is going on gets fixed in the next few hours.
Re: Talking Point: What Have You Bought In The Xbox Summer Sale 2026?
Had a £5 reward & spent 99p on Borderlands 3. I’ve just clocked up enough points for another £5, so I’ll pick up Assassins Creed Unity before the sale ends.
Re: Xbox Announces Worldwide Price Increases For Series X|S Consoles
Zero imagination. If these price increases are unavoidable (and they probably are, even if Microsoft AI are a big part of the reason behind the reason for component/memory price increases) then soften the blow by bundling 3months of GPU and/or some old First Party Games with the consoles - chuck in The Master Chief Collection, Diablo IV, Rare Replay, etc.
Throw the dog a bone ffs. Sometimes I think these people are clueless.
Re: These Are The Top 10 Xbox Backwards Compatibility Requests After 750,000 Votes
Re list The Orange Box and patch it to include the 60fps hack. It’s a few lines of code and is totally transformative. I’d buy it again immediately and I already have the physical version.
I’d love to see the earlier Forza games, Rallisport Challenge and Blur all backwards compatible, ideally with a resolution bump as well.
Re: Halo: Campaign Evolved Comparison Shows Difference Between Xbox Series X And Ally X
I’ve bought this game many times over the years but I’ll be back again for Campaign Evolved. My only decision is whether to buy on XSX or PS5Pro. It feels slightly ‘wrong’ to buy it on Sony’s machine but it might be the best version on consoles.
Re: Report: Xbox Set For Major Job Cuts, Studio Closure Or 'Lineup Changes' Could Be Involved
Sad news. I wonder if Turn 10 might be in danger.
Re: Xbox Employee Responds To New Trailer Showing PS5 Logo For Gears Of War E-Day
The whole thing seems a pretty odd decision to me. As the game was basically done for PS5 then surely if some decisions around exclusivity were needed it would’ve been better served by making it a timed exclusive? 12-18 months of Xbox exclusivity might have worked.
It just seems madness to have invested all that time and money in the port and then throw it in the bin.
Re: 'It's A Tough Topic' - Xbox CEO Shares Her Latest Thoughts On Exclusives
@Fiendish-Beaver - I can see what you’re saying and I agree a discount system might not move the dial on purchases enough. But it might move it a bit and after all the nonsense of the past two years it might also build back a bit of goodwill with Xbox users. I like your idea of creating clear blue water between Xbox and PS prices. I guess they could be even more aggressive if they adopted that idea - maybe 15-20% (as Sony take a 30% cut for sales on their system). At the moment I’ll likely end up buying FH6 on Pro but if it was £48 on XSX and £60 on PS5 then I’d buy it on Xbox, especially with a period of built in exclusivity.
Interesting idea that mate - I think you are onto something! (Email Asha!!)
Re: 'It's A Tough Topic' - Xbox CEO Shares Her Latest Thoughts On Exclusives
@Fiendish-Beaver - I agree but can’t really understand why they don’t try and solve the issue of not selling games (because of Gamepass subscriptions). Surely an easy way to try and achieve this would be to introduce a good incentive for Gamepass subscribers to buy (as well as rent) games. Maybe give a 10% discount on Day 1 First Party releases to Essential subscribers, 15% discount to Premium and 20% to Ultimate.
Maybe these discounts could grow the longer you’ve been subscribed to the service (further rewarding loyalty). For example, if you’ve been subscribed to GPU for 5 or more years then you then get a 25% discount on Day 1 First Party releases.
I haven’t done the math on the numbers but I believe this would help Gamepass AND game sale numbers AND brand loyalty. I haven’t bought FH6 yet and my GPU sub expired earlier in the year. If I could sub for one month, try FH6 and then buy it using a 20% GPU discount then I could see that being a thing. I might even keep my GPU sub going if I started to realise what I was missing.
I also have a PS5Pro so I don’t mind if all games end up everywhere, but to me it makes sense (from a Microsoft perspective) for Xbox to keep games like Forza Horizon, Fable, Gears, Clockwork Revolution, Halo, etc exclusive for a minimum of 15 months. That way Day 1 purchasers, GPU and Premium subscribers ALL benefit from a period of exclusivity. Again, this builds ‘reward’ for brand loyalty.
The previous management opened this can of worms so I don’t envy Asha trying to steer the ship through the exclusivity decisions. Good luck to her!
Re: Opinion: Forza Horizon 6 Has Changed My Mind About Quick Resume On Xbox Series X|S
I’m using QR with Age of Empires 4 - it really helps if I’m in the middle of an epic skirmish only to find I have to go and do something else. Just pause & come back later to finish the battle - way better than starting all over.
Re: 30+ Xbox Games Are Reduced By 90-95% To Kick Off The New Month
@BustedUpBiker - thanks, I’m looking forward to some decent tie fighter battles.
Re: 30+ Xbox Games Are Reduced By 90-95% To Kick Off The New Month
My GPU expired at the end of April so I’ve picked up 3 games that I hadn’t got around to completing- standard editions of Battlefield Hardline, Battlefield V & Star Wars Squadrons.
£5 rewards plus a grand total of 97p!
Re: Talking Point: What Have You Bought In The Xbox Spring Sale 2026?
GTA 5, Doom TDA & Deathloop - total £18 (+ Reward Points).
Re: 'Voila, 920GB Of Extra Storage' - Xbox Fan Turns Their 1TB Expansion Card Into A PC SSD
Interesting. I have a spare 1TB Seagate card - just tried in 3 different CF Express card readers and it doesn’t work with any of them (the plastic sleeve prevents the card being fully inserted, so I can’t tell if it would work without damaging the card).
Would be good if the cards can get a second use on PC and/or Helix.
Re: Xbox Is Having 'Very Big Discussions' About Exclusivity, Says Reporter
@Fiendish-Beaver 😂
Re: Xbox Is Having 'Very Big Discussions' About Exclusivity, Says Reporter
@Questionable_Duck @Fiendish-Beaver - completely off topic but can I just say how refreshing it is to see a polite discussion/conversation without a hint of animosity! On certain other sites it isn’t uncommon to see a misunderstanding/disagreement quickly plummet into a slanging match or ‘pistols at dawn’ scenario!
Well done guys 👏👏
Re: Xbox Boss Declares Game Pass Is 'Too Expensive' And Needs A 'Better Value Equation'
Will be interesting to see how this pans out - my GPU expires at the end of the month and I cancelled the renewal following the +50% price hike. Can they come up with something to tempt me (and others who cancelled) back to Gamepass?..
Re: Talking Point: If Someone Was Buying Their First Xbox Today, What Games Would You Recommend?
Forza Horizon 4, Halo Infinite, Flight Sim & Halo MCC are no brainers. And all those games that still run best on XSX because of FPS Boost and/or better back compatibility - Dishonored 1 & Death of the Outsider, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Mirrors Edge, Kameo, Prey & Assassin’s Creed Unity all immediately spring to mind.
Re: Xbox, Now's The Perfect Time To Put This Brilliant Last-Gen COD On Game Pass
Excellent game. I got tired of waiting for it to arrive on Gamepass and bought the physical version for £3 a few months back. & it’s probably available for less than that if you can be bothered to look around.
It’s almost like Microsoft didn’t know what to do with the ABK acquisition- they’ve drip fed some games and held back others. Surely a better use of the CoD IP would have been to drop ALL CoD games onto Gamepass, give the earlier titles a resolution bump on Series Consoles, and shout from the treetops to gamers that Xbox is the home of Call of Duty.
A real missed opportunity.
Re: Xbox Fan Shows Off Their Collection Of 'Almost' Every OXM Demo Disc
I recall having a demo of a racing game that looked really promising but never got a release - Lamborghini?…..or have I remembered that incorrectly? Think it looked great back in the day but got canned….or maybe I’ve got this all wrong and it was a Dreamcast game!
Re: Bethesda Says Starfield Looks 'Amazing' With Nvidia's DLSS 5, But Don't Expect It On Xbox
I’m generally not a fan of AI but to me this looks absolutely stunning - a true generational leap if ever there was one. Each to their own and everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I’m not sure why some people are so set against this. After all, PSSR (old and new), and the likes of FSR4 are using AI to better upscale an image and frame-gen is literally making and adding extra frames to some games. This upscaler is reworking the lighting - the original geometry is untouched. The results on Starfield are night and day - taking the previous wooden, cardboard characters and bringing them to life. I think it looks superb - just wish I had a PC with a 5090!
Re: Opinion: Xbox Should Consider Cancelling Halo: Campaign Evolved For PS5
I think it’s probably too late to do a reverse ferret now. From the moment we had the “It’s only 4 games” nonsense - with Spencer, Bond and Booty all sitting around the table, talking in corporate riddles and giving completely mixed messages, the Xbox brand was holed below the waterline.
Maybe bringing in a period of exclusivity (say 3-5 years) might help, but they’d still need to address the issue of poor first party software sales on their own consoles (caused largely by Gamepass and expensive hardware). PS plus is an inferior product to Gamepass from a consumer perspective but it looks way more sustainable - so maybe another revamp of Gamepass might also help?
Honestly, I can’t see Asha Sharmer turning around the mess Xbox has backed itself into, but maybe that’s been the plan all along - just go all-in on being a third party publisher & give up on hardware.
Re: Here's What Might Leave Xbox Game Pass In March 2026
I don’t see Atomfall leaving - it was only recently added to Premium (January).
Re: Talking Point: Three Years Later, What Do You Think Of The GoldenEye 007 Port For Xbox?
Better than nothing but also very disappointing- what we really needed was the (cancelled) XB360 version. I’d still be happy to pay for that but guess there’s not a snowball’s chance in hell of that happening.
Re: Talking Point: Will The Next Xbox Console Be Revealed In 2026?
@Fiendish-Beaver - you’re welcome. I didn’t appreciate that you already had a PS5, so I can see why you don’t need PS+ for your Pro.
I really enjoyed Astro’s Playground but if it doesn’t float your boat then there’s no need to get the full fat version as it’s largely more of the same.
I bought GT7 back in Dec 2024, put it to one side as I was unimpressed but came back to it last November. I was completely wrong- it is a superb game and I’m now hooked.
Wipeout has aged well - could easily be a current gen game.
You’re probably right about switching your focus for purchases - the way I look at it is that PlayStation will be around for a minimum of 10-12 years (and likely much longer) - I can’t see how the PS6 can fail. Xbox might be around just as long, or it might crash and burn with the demise of Series X/S. I guess we all need a crystal ball at this point!
Re: Talking Point: Will The Next Xbox Console Be Revealed In 2026?
@Fiendish-Beaver - I’m also less and less confident that we will see another Xbox, but new hardware is exciting so I hope they do follow through; especially as its rumoured PS6 is now delayed.
Have fun with your Pro, I’ve had mine since launch and it’s great. I still love my XSX but ever since the ‘4 games’ nonsense I’ve only bought the occasional game on the Xbox store, & solely because I have reward vouchers to spend.
You may want to pick up PS+ extra (or premium) which will give you immediate access to:
God of War
God of War Ragnarock
Cyberpunk
Ghost of Tsushima
Hogwarts Legacy
Spider-Man
Spider-Man Miles Morales
Death Stranding
Demon’s Souls
Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
Returnal
Sword of the Sea
The Last of Us 1&2
Uncharted Legacy of Thieves
Until Dawn
Wipeout Omega Collection
(and lots more besides).
Oh, and purchasing Astro Bot (assuming you enjoy the boxed in Astro’s Playground) and GT7 is a no-brainer. Don’t assume you need to look for the ‘Pro Enhanced’ badge for a better experience - there are plenty of standard games like Guardians of the Galaxy, Far Cry 6, EA WRC, RoboCop, Cyberpunk, etc that run best on Pro).
Enjoy!
Re: Fantastic Far Cry Upgrades Could Be Followed Up By More 60FPS Patches From Ubisoft
@themightyant - my comment was just a personal opinion - wasn’t looking for a response but I understand the basis of your comments even if I don’t entirely agree.
Maybe I’m less affected by the fatigue as I sat out the XB1/PS4 era completely. Usually I find most of their games entertaining, well made, polished and often well supported after release (hence my confusion over the dislike of the brand).
Re: Fantastic Far Cry Upgrades Could Be Followed Up By More 60FPS Patches From Ubisoft
Never really understood the dislike of Ubisoft and good on them for supporting older games with these updates. I’ve been enjoying last week’s 60fps patch for Far Cry 3 classic.
Hope the rumours about more updates for AC games are true. Wildlands would be a nice addition too if they can get to it.
Re: Xbox Exec Explains Why Some Games Are 'Day One' For PS5, And Others Aren't
@White_oyster - thanks mate, you started my weekend with a chuckle.
Re: These 10 Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass, Multiple Major Additions (January 21 - February 3)
Great additions this month. My GPU sub expires at the end of April but if MS keep up this level for GP Premium then that may be the way forward for me.
Re: Talking Point: How Do You Feel About Xbox Game Pass In 2026?
If you want to play the latest releases then I still think there’s value in Gamepass but my sub expires May 1st and I don’t see me coming back anytime soon. At least that’s what my thinking is now…..all bets might be off if we get a new console/PC hybrid and plenty of cracking first party games.
Re: Xbox Might Have Just Revealed Forza Horizon 6's Release Date
Lol, obviously someone told them my GPU sub expires May 1st!
Re: Xbox Gives Refunds For Red Dead Redemption Following Recent Upgrade Issues
Bought the physical version on XB360 many years ago and have it installed on XSX. Decided to buy the new version when it was discounted - I had £20 of reward points + £4.99. No sign of a refund for me (and I’m not expecting one) but oddly after I purchased the game it kept appearing as a 100% discount under the ‘Deals for You’ section on the store - apparently “Due to your interest in similar games”
….might be worth others checking to see if they can claim a free copy.
Re: Xbox Console Sales 'The Worst On Record' In 2025 As Microsoft Shifts Focus (UK)
Can’t say I’m surprised with the slump - just look at the self-inflicted damage done over the past 2 years.
Sadly not a great outlook!
Re: Talking Point: What Have You Bought In The Xbox Countdown Sale This Year?
Reward points have been stacking up nicely - £30 credit so this holiday I’ve invested in…
XSX digital-
Ace Combat £4
Mass Effect Legendary Edition £5.99
Red Dead Redemption £24.99
Damage to my wallet - less than a fiver.
XSX physical:
COD Modern Warfare - £3
COD WWII - £3
Battlefield V - £3
PS5 digital-
Assassin’s Creed Shadows - £34.99
Resident Evil 4 - £13.99
And my New Year’s resolution was to buy less games - oh dear!
Re: Merry Christmas And Happy Holidays From The Pure Xbox Team!
Good work all year from the guys at Pure Xbox - thank you and season’s greetings to all the staff and readers - always find this a friendly and helpful community, long may that continue 👍
Re: Talking Point: What Games Are You Playing Over Christmas Break?
Inbetween booze and mince pies it’ll be…
Series X - Age of Empires 4, Forza Horizon 4, Red Dead Redemption
PS5Pro - GT7, Cyberpunk, Ghost of Tsushima and AC Shadows
Merry Christmas!
Re: 50+ Games Are Reduced By 90-95% In This Year's Xbox Countdown Sale
I don’t need any more games but Ace Combat 7 for £4 is tempting
Re: Talking Point: Have You Received The Free Upgrade For Red Dead Redemption On Xbox?
A shame there is no upgrade path for those of us with the XB360 physical version - a 75% discount would’ve convinced me to buy on XSX but as things stand I’ll just play the game on PS Plus Extra.
Re: Red Dead Redemption To Receive Free Xbox Series X|S Upgrade This December
@Bmartin001 - sadly it sounds not. I’m in the same boat - would’ve been great for those of us that own the original on disc, even if there was a paid for upgrade path.
Re: Poll: Now That The Dust Has Settled, Which Xbox Game Pass Tier Are You Subscribed To?
I’m subscribed on Ultimate until May but I’ve cancelled my renewal for the period beyond that. 50%+ price hike means it’s no longer the great value product it once was. Since cancelling I’ve spent about £80 (mainly from Reward Points) to purchase the games I want to keep and own.
Strangely, I’m really looking forward to a break from GP as my backlog has become absolutely ridiculous.
Sometimes less is more.
Re: Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7: Release Date, Launch Times & Download Size On Xbox Game Pass
@Kezelpaso - many thanks Ben. I’ll do that.
I’ve never understood why CoD games just don’t simply install everything by default and then give you an option to uninstall bits you don’t want. I’m sure they’d have happier customers that way.
Re: Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7: Release Date, Launch Times & Download Size On Xbox Game Pass
My current (XSX) install updated to this today…
Base Game 8.2GB
BO6:Campaign 38.5GB
BO7 Multiplayer 75.9GB
I’m only interested in the campaign. Do I need to install anything else? (eg what is BO7 Worlds Collide? 74.4GB)
Finally, do we need to keep the multiplayer part installed (I think I read the final level of the campaign is multiplayer?) or are we safe to uninstall that bit.
Thanks 👍
EDIT - I can see various Black Ops 7 Add-On packs - which of these should be ticked?
Eg….Gamepass Launch pack 1
Gamepass pack 1
Gamepass pack 2
Gamepass pack 3
Gamepass pack 4
Gamepass pre-order pack 1
Typical Call of Duty….they never make life easy do they?!
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Think Xbox's Release Schedule Looks Like For 2026?
@Fiendish-Beaver - pretty much exactly what I’m thinking. They’ve all but killed Series consoles at this point so I’m hoping for a new XboxPC next autumn, launching with FH6, Halo remake, new Gears, Clockwork Revolution and CoD MWIV.
Interesting times!
Re: Is Xbox Down? Huge Azure Server Outage Causes Issues Across Microsoft Services
All seems fixed to me - Store, Gamepass, Dashboard and games all now working fine again (U.K. 9.20pm).
I did do a restart when I first encountered the problem - not sure if that will help others clear out any gremlins.
Re: Is Xbox Down? Huge Azure Server Outage Causes Issues Across Microsoft Services
Store and Gamepass button not working for me but I can still play games (U.K. 5.25PM)