FraserG

@Fiendish-Beaver I don't believe so unfortunately. It's not part of the terms and conditions anyway.

@UltimateKGB That's what we like to hear!

@Bartig Not anymore, thanks for pointing that out!

@awp69 @oopsiezz Got an update on Shift at Midnight - it's sadly been delayed to the second half of July.

@Tasuki It was a weird speed-related glitch where you'd be thrown into the void if you played The Eliminator, and when the mode ended you'd receive potentially hundreds of millions of credits.

@awp69 Yeah, that's what's confused me too. I still think it'll arrive tomorrow, but we'll have to wait and see.

@somnambulance Who knows at this point.

@Enriesto I really wouldn't know to be honest. We've seen it happen before where Xbox has "closed" a studio and it's been reborn (Tango Gameworks), but it's impossible to say in this case. Too many variables, too many behind-the-scenes conversations that we aren't aware of.

The good news (if you want to call it that) is that we should have definitive confirmation on what's happening with each of these studios by the end of the month / start of next month. Maybe a lot sooner... we'll see.

What's particularly interesting to me is that Xbox's CSO was asked about why Senua wasn't exclusive to Xbox recently, and he responded with "no further comment". I assume the reason is because they knew Ninja Theory was potentially getting closed down or spun off into an independent company. That's my guess, anyway.

Update: Kotaku says it's spoken to a source who says the company is in negotiations with Microsoft.

"Update 1:15pm ET: According to one source at the studio, Compulsion leadership is in ‘negotiations’ with Microsoft over the studio’s fate, but the details of these negotiations have not been disclosed."

Update: Kotaku says Compulsion Games is being shut down.

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/06/compulsion-games-is-being-shut-down-by-xbox-says-report

Update: The original posts have been deleted and replaced with a suggestion that Compulsion and Arkane are the two studios.

@Fiendish-Beaver @RiverGenie They describe it as a PvPvE extraction ARPG on their website and Steam page.

Here's a bit more:

"Mistfall Hunter is a third-person PvPvE extraction ARPG blending bleak dark fantasy aesthetics with intense, visceral action. Step into a forbidden realm consumed by the mist. Caught in a ruthless loop of high-stakes looting, deadly combat, and desperate extractions, you must fight for your life in the shadows to experience the ultimate dark fantasy survival test."

It can be apparently played solo, as well as in teams of up to three people.

"Stalk the mist as a lone wolf, or band together in a three-player squad."

@Skinny-Pete Yes, there is! It's not official, but you can play the full tournament with all 48 teams I believe.

@themightyant Haha, thank you!

@VisitingComet1 Mistfall Hunter.

@ReverendKeyrlis Apologies, thank you. Article has been updated with the correct trailer.

@awp69 Thanks for letting me know! I hadn't seen that. Article has now been updated.

@Dart-TheRedDragoon I don't believe they have anything to do with each other - they're just mentioned in the same report.

@ZeD Yep, I forgot about that one:

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/04/graveyard-keeper-is-available-to-claim-for-free-on-xbox-for-a-limited-time

Have updated, thank you!

I want to shout out Slopecrashers here - it's an indie take on Snowboard Kids from the N64.

Not as good, but still fun!

@Grognard66 I've seen others suggesting that they've been able to grab the deal in the US. Is it showing up when you go to the Microsoft Store app on your Xbox console, and then into the "Deals" section?

You have to scroll down slightly to "Special Offers" and it should be appearing there.

@FreasurePlanten Early Access is July 23rd for those with the Premim Edition, full release is July 28th

@Coletrain So, I believe it swaps your console from "Sleep" to "Shutdown" specifically when it's off.

The feature was first mentioned in an Alpha Skip-Ahead update on June 3rd:

"Starting today, we’re beginning to roll out an update to Xbox consoles that helps improve power consumption while your console is off.

Note: XBOX Insiders who have remote features enabled in Settings are excluded from this rollout. We want to make sure that experience continues to work as expected while we evaluate this update with the Insider community."

https://support.xbox.com/en-US/help/hardware-network/xbox-insider-release-notes/console/alpha-skip-ahead/2026/06/alpha-skip-ahead-2607-260601-2200

@Dman10 Apologies for that. I was at a wedding yesterday and we don't technically work non-UK hours, so it's sometimes hard for us to readjust to breaking news at 10pm/11pm BST.

@Questionable_Duck Yeah, it's official. There's even an Xbox Store page for it:

https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/atelier-karia-the-night-kingdom-the-guide-of-memories/9N6HNLVW5RJV/0010

@anoyonmus It's only been announced for Switch 2 right now, but that could change in the future. We've seen the same thing happen with Final Fantasy before.

@Lup Yeah, it's switched now. Placeholder that was left in by accident!

@BacklogBrad Hellblade: Combat Evolved, you say? 👀

Update: This is a very old feature, but I wanted to recycle it anyway as the point stands!

This is still my favourite FIFA / EA FC game of all time, and my number one pick if you want to play a World Cup game on Xbox in 2026

Unfortunately it's not backwards compatible though...

@datamonkey Thank you!

@Banjo- Don't tempt me

@Foxx Day one usually means Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

@Fiendish-Beaver The company are good to me, don't worry

@Fiendish-Beaver I was still working away on a bunch of Summer Game Fest articles at the time, so I had it in the background but wasn't really paying attention.

Seems like a good show though! Trine 6, Yooka-Laylee Kart, Screenbound... all interesting stuff.

The intent was to publish this roundup last night, but the trailers were hard to come by.

@awp69 Fair. I wanted to add it anyway as the free trials often get overlooked (and aren't officially classed as Perks).

Update: We've got a release date for this one! I've updated this post from last year with the new trailer and August 27th release date.

@Kaloudz Me too! I can't stand the review system on there.

@deadmaker You're welcome!

@deadmaker It was officially cancelled late last year, but rumours suggest they're still interested in doing something at some point.

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2025/10/xbox-president-explains-why-microsoft-ditched-its-first-party-handheld

Sharma was actually asked about making a first-party handheld during this specific Bloomberg interview, but didn't commit to anything.

Update: Thomas Mahler has issued a follow-up statement:

https://x.com/thomasmahler/status/2062870920289530117?s=20

@AccessibleDaydream You're welcome - we do it for the sale articles as well! It's just the Game Pass roundups and things of that nature where we link to internal game pages.

@TrollOfWar And obviously the Xbox Player Voice website, where "Exclusives" is currently the number one request:

https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/forum/fcafaf3d-8949-f111-bec7-0022482aa91b

@ILuvGames Nah, it's a weird one. There aren't normally price discrepancies between Xbox and PlayStation.

@Wardstone234 I hadn't seen it, that's cool! Will make sure we cover it when things settle down a bit (they say they'll announce in a "separate publication" when the Perk goes live).

@Lup @Nic-Noc20th-C The article has just been updated with around another 10 games if you're interested

This is the final lineup for the Xbox Demo Fest now. A handful of games still don't appear to have gone live yet (they're either showing broken links or "not available separately" on the Xbox Store), but they're part of the official list and will be included at some point soon.

@Fiendish-Beaver I'll do them where I can! The smaller ones will naturally give way to the bigger ones over the next few days though.

We'll definitely have roundups for SGF, Xbox, Future Games Show and the PC Gaming Show. Also hoping to do Day of the Devs, IGN Live and maybe the Wholesome Direct.

I've been reminded that Control Resonant is an Xbox Play Anywhere title at launch, so the headline has been adjusted a little.

Still an annoying situation, but not as bad!

@BIG3 Haha yeah, me too.

@Romans12 Why would it not be relevant to an Xbox audience that they're missing out on early access for a big 2026 release?

Many games have had success with early access on Xbox in recent years, so I feel it's noteworthy that Control Resonant is only offering it for a different platform.

Update: Now refreshed for June onwards!

We'll obviously be getting more announcements for Summer Game Fest and at the Xbox Games Showcase, and those will go into the next roundup (wanted to give some smaller games a chance to be highlighted in the meantime).