FraserG

@fatpunkslim Yeah, we're going to generally focus on the Ally above other devices because it's an "Xbox" branded system, but it should apply to anything under the PC banner.

@kmtrain83 Not as far as I'm aware. Not yet at least!

@fatpunkslim They apply to anything running the Xbox PC app, so I assume they'll work on other Windows handheld PCs as well. I just had to update the app on my ROG Xbox Ally, and then the sounds started working.

@Coletrain Yeah, there's every chance that'll be the case. We'll see.

@ozkrmz Auto HDR unfortunately isn't on Xbox One, but don't let that stop you! Still a great game regardless

@TrollofWar I love Evercade too! Got a handheld and treated myself to the Evercade Alpha for Christmas, wonderful systems. I love buying the cartridges and flicking through the colour manuals.

@FarmDog08 Hmm, hard to say. If they're going to put all the work into getting native Xbox games playable alongside a full Windows operating system on the next first-party console, surely they can make that happen on third-party consoles too?

@themightyant Unfortunately not! PJ spends most of his time working on Nintendo Life these days, so he's not in the running for this one.

I'm sure he's GUTTED to be missing High on Life 2 😁🙃

@Hern4ndeZzz Good tip, thank you!

@General-Foley Yes, you still get the FPS boost on Xbox Series S

Thanks for the compliments, folks! If anyone's on the fence, I definitely recommend giving it a try - especially if you're on Xbox Series X with the 4K and FPS Boost!

@CaptnTedo Not everything has to be a major news story. We just like to share things that we find interesting

We also find Sundays to be ideal for stuff like this — flexible articles that we can schedule ahead of time to ensure Pure Xbox readers are still getting fresh content during the weekend when we're working very limited hours. We thought this was a fun one to cover!

@itsfoz I get what you mean, but I don't think any specific details have been countered this week — pretty much everything has suggested 2027 is the earliest possible year, but by no means set in stone.

In terms of rumour articles, it's just been a busy few days for rumours / reports / news on the next Xbox console, so we've tried to keep on top of them due to how much interest there evidently is. This particular one from Windows Central is getting a ton of interest on social media today in particular (and it's actually a follow-up to the one from earlier in the week with new details).

The goal is always to try and provide a mix of coverage though. News, rumours, guides, features, etc. I assume things will calm down on the next Xbox console front soon!

PS: If it helps, this article isn't taking away from any other news we might have reported on — none of us technically work on Sundays, so this was just an extra article based on how much the WC report was trending on socials.

@Lup Ah, that's a shame! Sorry to hear it.

For those wondering, the game in the thumbnail is Crisol: Theater of Idols! We mentioned it in our recent indie roundup:

https://www.purexbox.com/features/10-new-xbox-indie-games-that-should-be-on-your-radar-in-february-2026

@Elbow You're welcome. We do all the sales stuff manually (at least for now), which does take a lot longer than automating it at all, but it also means we can make it look exactly the way we want it to.

@Savex You're very welcome!

@Lup Argh, that's no good. What region?

@fatpunkslim You're welcome! It got good feedback last time, so I'll try and incorporate it when it makes sense to.

Hopefully the EU prices are useful here! I can't promise we'll do it every time, but we'll try when we can.

@Questionable_Duck Good stuff, thank you!

@SodaPop6548 Enjoy it! I'm sure you will

@GlasgowGuy It does indeed appear to be for Series X and S, but I'm not so sure about the two Console Archives games — Cool Boarders has been dated for Feb 14th on PS5, but nothing for Xbox yet. Will keep an eye on it!

@GeorgeKal There are, you're right! Your feedback is noted.

@GlasgowGuy Are we sure this is confirmed for Xbox? Cool Boarders seems to be just for Switch and PS5 from what I can see.

@SodaPop6548 Never a bad time for that!

@Questionable_Duck Added, thank you! I've left Constance for now until we get more concrete Xbox details on that one (I haven't found a new trailer for it yet either).

@fatpunkslim Yeah, it looks like the days of timed exclusivity with Final Fantasy are over (hopefully).

Update: Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is confirmed for June 3rd on Xbox, Monster Hunter Stories 3 also has a free demo / trial available today.

Still waiting on Arcade Archives / Console Archives to see if those games are coming to Xbox (seems likely).

@Fiendish-Beaver No idea yet!

@Fiendish-Beaver No need to apologise! It is confusing, and we're just trying to keep up with all of Microsoft's decisions

@Lup Whoops, apologies!

@Fiendish-Beaver No, no — that's not incorrect! PC Game Pass is the official term.

What I mean is, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members get every PC game as part of the package anyway, so Microsoft refers to both "PC Game Pass" and "Xbox Game Pass Ultimate" members as getting PC games.

So, when they say that MENACE is available for "Ultimate" and "PC" members, that's technically true — but there isn't a native console version. That's why we put "Menace (PC)" in our roundup here - specifically mentioning PC in brackets to show that it's a PC exclusive as things stand.

All of this has become confusing and perhaps we need to find a more suitable way ourselves to separate the PC-only titles

@Fiendish-Beaver That's just because Ultimate includes PC Game Pass within the package. Microsoft qualifies every PC-only game as being part of both PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

We'll always put "(PC)" in brackets like that when we're talking about a PC-only release.

Menace is getting some really great first impressions, hopefully we'll see it on Xbox consoles at some point.

@Fiendish-Beaver @Vordus Fortnite's the one I'm most curious about in terms of the deal they've struck. I like having access to Fortnite Crew, and I do actually make use of the V-Bucks at least, but I wouldn't pay for it outside of Game Pass Ultimate.

Then again, with the sheer number of Fortnite fans out there, I assume it's providing a lot of value for a bunch of them.

@fatpunkslim Too early to say about the next generation of Xbox consoles! It's all just based on rumours and reports right now.

@fatpunkslim The 25th anniversary is this year, but announcing the console in 2026 and releasing exactly a year later in November 2027 seems a good idea — if they can get everything lined up, of course.

Worth pointing out that every major Xbox console launch has happened in November, so November 2027 or November 2028 seem like good bets to me.

Still think it'll be 2028 personally, but it's good to hear how confident AMD is in supporting a 2027 launch.

I've just added Xbox Game Pass tags to a couple more of these games following their XGP reveals earlier today!

@PsBoxSwitchOwner Would you say so? There are five "day one" additions from February 10th to February 13th alone, and this is a quiet part of the year anyway — they'll definitely ramp things up as we get to the summer and fall months.

@johnK Yeah, it did seem like it — perhaps it's scheduled for the 13th.

@themightyant A lot of games and a lot of long games! It feels kinda impossible, but I still want to try

@Jaxx420 That's great to know, thank you! I may give it a go then.

It's in the article but just in case anyone misses it, we did a "Hands On" of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii when it came out:

https://www.purexbox.com/previews/hands-on-like-a-dragon-pirate-yakuza-in-hawaii-xbox-imagine-edward-kenway-liked-sequins-and-musicals

I'm so tempted to play it, but as someone who's only played bits of Yakuza and mainly stuck to Judgment instead, I feel like I need to start with Yakuza 0 and make my way through the series first 😅

This list has now been updated for February! Only a few changes to mention (took out January's games, added a couple of recently-announced titles, and altered some dates based on the Xbox Developer Direct showcase).

@Lup Not sure if they're all part of the base game or in DLCs as well, but they way it's worded in our press release suggests it's all base game.

Rusev has definitely been in 2K games before, but they're counting him as new because he was in AEW for a few years and this is his first time back.

On a separate note, I ask that everyone remains civil in the comments (the mod team will be less active over the weekend), and just keep in mind that we're all entitled to our opinions.

Debating and disagreeing is obviously fine, just please ensure none of our Community Rules (you can access them underneath the comment box) are broken in the process. Thank you!

@Weebleman @Fiendish-Beaver @Markatron84 @DonkeyFantasy Ah, I wish I'd have done it now, what a reveal that would have been! Alas, I'm just a shifty-looking guy with nothing to hide

@HeavyHoggJP Here you go, I wrote about it last year:

https://www.purexbox.com/features/world-of-warcraft-plays-surprisingly-well-on-xbox-thanks-to-geforce-now

@Lup They still appear in the same place as usual, on the bottom of the screen.

That said, I know games like Rock Band 4 actually push them to the top of the screen by default, so I think those decisions are made on a game-by-game basis.

@HeavyHoggJP I occasionally play it on my Xbox Series X through GeForce Now, but a native version would obviously be preferable.

Thank you to Pure Xbox reader "James" who shared this tip with us earlier today! We hadn't spotted this piece of news, so it's much appreciated

@swedetrap I don't believe so, the developer is 34BigThings (they previously made Redout).