@Fiendish-Beaver These days anything published by Xbox Game Studios (or even Bethesda / Activision Blizzard) seems to get referred to as "first-party".
There's definitely been a lot of debate about it though. Maybe we'll think about avoiding the term in the future where possible.
@eduscxbox Yeah I agree with you, but that's not when I was getting at with the "fuel to the narrative" comment.
What I mean is, even though Xbox had a good excuse for not selling many consoles during Black Friday (due to not having any deals for them), people are still using this data and how they were beaten by the NEX Playground to "fuel the narrative" that people aren't buying Xbox consoles anymore.
It's still a bad look for Xbox IMO, because people will spread this narrative regardless of the reasoning for the poor sales.
@Nugziam Yeah, I've heard that too. We know what happens with big acquisitions like these though - things get cut, things get moved around... future suddenly seems more uncertain.
I did come across another example that ended up getting removed by the mods on Reddit, so these free Gift Cards are out there! Definitely seem to be rare though.
""We are aware of an issue where Xbox players are unable to upgrade their digital Xbox 360 version of Red Dead Redemption to the Xbox Series X|S version and are working with Microsoft to resolve it. Thank you for your patience.""
I'm excited for all of these in 2026 right now, and it's still very early days with a lot more to be announced!
Aphelion At Fate's End Beast of Reincarnation Denshattack! Fable Forza Horizon 6 Freestyle Football 2 Gears of War: E-Day Halo: Campaign Evolved High On Life 2 Mixtape Moonlighter 2 Planet of Lana 2 Replaced Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Super Meat Boy 3D TCG Card Shop Simulator There Are No Ghosts At The Grand Vampire Crawlers
Update: Hollow Knight, Paw Patrol World and Cataclismo appear to have survived! Xbox has shared the full list of Game Pass leavers for December 2025, and they aren't part of it.
@MaccaMUFC We've got a story coming out soon about this - basically it seems it's bugged at the moment. The only people that can access it are GTA+ subscribers and those who have actually bought the new version.
We're going to have to sit tight and see what happens!
@AlwaysPlaying It's not on sale at the moment on the Xbox Store (at least in my region), but the new version should appear with a 50% discount at midnight local time.
@Markatron84 Would love to, but as you say, I think Pure Xbox is probably not the best place for it. It's definitely worth a play if you get the chance though!
@awp69 Yeah, there are so many! Highly encourage everyone to check out the DekuDeals list for all 500 (or at least the first 300... there are some gems in there).
@Megabeenz 100%! It's amazing throughout, but in particular I'd say Split Fiction and The Walking Dead S1 have my all-time favourite video game endings.
That last level in Split Fiction is just one of the most jaw-dropping experiences I've ever had! Absolutely incredible.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner @Megabeenz Yeah, I think GOTY is probably too much (how did Split Fiction not get nominated for that though?!), but it certainly deserved more nominations in other categories like art and audio design.
Comments 3,451
Re: More Xbox Players Are Starting To See Success With The Free Red Dead Redemption Upgrade
@awp69 Yeah, you're not alone. Clearly there are some issues under the hood that need sorting out with these upgrades.
Re: Opinion: Backwards Compatibility Still Adds So Much Value To Xbox Series X|S In 2025
Hear! Hear!
Owning a ROG Xbox Ally X is making me realise this as well. I LOVE that handheld, but I'm really missing the backwards compatibility program on it!
Re: Four Xbox First-Party Releases Mentioned In GamesRadar's Top 25 Games Of 2025
@Fiendish-Beaver Haha I know, don't worry
Re: The Game Awards 2025: Date, Start Times & Everything You Need To Know
@Fiendish-Beaver Nah, it's always this late! Secretly our most hated showcase of the year (ruins our sleep๐ )
Re: All Xbox Games With Mouse & Keyboard Support
Thanks all! List has been updated.
Re: Four Xbox First-Party Releases Mentioned In GamesRadar's Top 25 Games Of 2025
@Fiendish-Beaver These days anything published by Xbox Game Studios (or even Bethesda / Activision Blizzard) seems to get referred to as "first-party".
There's definitely been a lot of debate about it though. Maybe we'll think about avoiding the term in the future where possible.
Re: Seven More Games Set To Be Delisted On Xbox In December 2025
@joey302 Looks like it's working again now!
Re: Xbox Series X|S Had No Black Friday Deals, So They Lost To A Console We've Never Heard Of (US)
@eduscxbox Yeah I agree with you, but that's not when I was getting at with the "fuel to the narrative" comment.
What I mean is, even though Xbox had a good excuse for not selling many consoles during Black Friday (due to not having any deals for them), people are still using this data and how they were beaten by the NEX Playground to "fuel the narrative" that people aren't buying Xbox consoles anymore.
It's still a bad look for Xbox IMO, because people will spread this narrative regardless of the reasoning for the poor sales.
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025
@Questionable_Duck Wouldn't it be nice if they just made this clear during the event itself? ๐
Re: Netflix Is Buying Warner Bros. For Even More Money Than Xbox's ActiBlizz Deal
@Nugziam Yeah, I've heard that too. We know what happens with big acquisitions like these though - things get cut, things get moved around... future suddenly seems more uncertain.
Re: Netflix Is Buying Warner Bros. For Even More Money Than Xbox's ActiBlizz Deal
Any wrestling fans in here? I'm concerned for the future of AEW as part of this deal (don't want another WCW situation!).
Re: Netflix Is Buying Warner Bros. For Even More Money Than Xbox's ActiBlizz Deal
In the words of Obi-Wan, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Re: Roundup: All The Xbox Reveals From The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted 2025
@Questionable_Duck Have done that now. Thank you!
Re: The Xbox Mobile App Is Finally Adding A Store, And Here's Your First Look At It
@ianners3 It always seems to be that low!
Re: Report: Foxconn Subsidiary Plans To Make Up To 4.8 Million 'Xbox Consoles, Parts And Other Devices' Per-Year
@Fiendish-Beaver Maybe? Honestly it's hard to say. I assume they will be involved in it eventually, even if they aren't now.
Re: The Xbox Mobile App Is Finally Adding A Store, And Here's Your First Look At It
@BaldB3lper78 I've seen a suggestion that it's available through TestFlight, but maybe not in the UK yet.
Re: Xbox Is Giving Away Free Gift Cards To Various Users This December
@Chip-Douglas I'm not sure to be honest as I haven't received one, but I assume it would appear in the "Social" section ("Chats" tab).
Re: Xbox Is Giving Away Free Gift Cards To Various Users This December
@Yooka-Laylee Amazing! Enjoy
Re: Xbox Is Giving Away Free Gift Cards To Various Users This December
I did come across another example that ended up getting removed by the mods on Reddit, so these free Gift Cards are out there! Definitely seem to be rare though.
Re: Need A Reason To Play Fallout 76 Again? It's Just Released A Massive New Update
@Balaam_ It is! Early 2026:
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2025/10/fallout-76-is-officially-getting-a-native-xbox-series-xs-version-in-early-2026
Re: When Will The Xbox Countdown Sale 2025 Be Revealed?
@ddlevine Easily done!
Re: When Will The Xbox Countdown Sale 2025 Be Revealed?
@BattleMonkey Nope, not since I've been tracking it (since 2020).
Re: When Will The Xbox Countdown Sale 2025 Be Revealed?
@ddlevine There isn't a Friday, December 15 this year!
It's probably going to be either Friday 12th or Friday 19th.
Re: High On Life 2 Debuts 10 Minutes Of New Gameplay Footage As Xbox Pre-Orders Go Live
@themightyant PJ's review was legendary for sure
Re: Talking Point: Have You Received The Free Upgrade For Red Dead Redemption On Xbox?
Update: With the upgrade now working for a lot people, we've ditched the poll and turned this into a Talking Point!
It's clearly still not working for some people, so let's hope they're just slowly rolling it out.
Re: Rockstar Causes Confusion Over Red Dead Redemption Upgrade On Xbox
Official update from Rockstar Support:
""We are aware of an issue where Xbox players are unable to upgrade their digital Xbox 360 version of Red Dead Redemption to the Xbox Series X|S version and are working with Microsoft to resolve it. Thank you for your patience.""
Re: Xbox Teases 2026 Game Pass Lineup As It Delivers The Service's Final Update Of 2025
I'm excited for all of these in 2026 right now, and it's still very early days with a lot more to be announced!
Aphelion
At Fate's End
Beast of Reincarnation
Denshattack!
Fable
Forza Horizon 6
Freestyle Football 2
Gears of War: E-Day
Halo: Campaign Evolved
High On Life 2
Mixtape
Moonlighter 2
Planet of Lana 2
Replaced
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
Super Meat Boy 3D
TCG Card Shop Simulator
There Are No Ghosts At The Grand
Vampire Crawlers
Full list is here btw:
https://www.purexbox.com/guides/xbox-game-pass-in-2026-the-full-list-of-everything-announced-so-far
Re: Five Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass In December 2025
Update: Hollow Knight, Paw Patrol World and Cataclismo appear to have survived! Xbox has shared the full list of Game Pass leavers for December 2025, and they aren't part of it.
Re: Red Dead Redemption For Xbox Series X|S Has A 50% Launch Discount
@norwichred Yep, that's correct.
Re: Rockstar Causes Confusion Over Red Dead Redemption Upgrade On Xbox
I think this is just a mistake that'll be rectified soon.
That Rockstar Support message is mega confusing, but surely the agent (or AI?) has just got it wrong.
Stay patient, folks - we'll let you know when more information rolls in.
Re: Red Dead Redemption For Xbox Series X|S Has A 50% Launch Discount
@MaccaMUFC We've got a story coming out soon about this - basically it seems it's bugged at the moment. The only people that can access it are GTA+ subscribers and those who have actually bought the new version.
We're going to have to sit tight and see what happens!
Re: Hands On: Red Dead Redemption For Xbox Series X Makes A Great First Impression
@AlwaysPlaying It's not on sale at the moment on the Xbox Store (at least in my region), but the new version should appear with a 50% discount at midnight local time.
Re: Here's What's Included In The Xbox November 2025 Update
@BaldB3lper78 Certain models can, but not all. The ones in this November roundup are newly supported.
Re: TimeSplitters Rewind Has Launched For Free On PC, And It's Great On The Xbox Ally
@Markatron84 Would love to, but as you say, I think Pure Xbox is probably not the best place for it. It's definitely worth a play if you get the chance though!
Re: TimeSplitters Rewind Has Launched For Free On PC, And It's Great On The Xbox Ally
@Gabrie Yeah, that's exactly what it is.
Not announced for any specific storefront, just a free download off the website (which works fine in Windows Desktop mode on the ROG Xbox Ally).
Re: ROG Xbox Ally Adds Console-Like Optimisation Feature For 40+ Games, With More Joining Soon
@BaldB3lper78 Yeah absolutely!
Re: Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (November 25)
Yep, definitely Banishers for me
Re: Xbox Series X & Series S Receive Small UK Discounts To Kick Off Black Friday 2025
@PsBoxSwitchOwner Yeah, we're going to cover it in a little bit. Stems from a YouTube channel called Moore's Law is Dead.
Re: 80+ Games Are Reduced By 90-95% In The Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025
@ddlevine You're welcome! It's a pain to put together, but people seem to appreciate it
Re: Hands On: Perfect Dark Zero Is A Bizarre Time Capsule Of The Early Xbox 360 Days
@Markatron84 Kameo was in the plans, but a few things got in the way. Hopefully soon!
Re: Hands On: Perfect Dark Zero Is A Bizarre Time Capsule Of The Early Xbox 360 Days
@Chip-Douglas Thank you! Much appreciated
Re: These 30+ Games Are At Their 'Lowest Price Ever' In The Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025
@awp69 Yeah, there are so many! Highly encourage everyone to check out the DekuDeals list for all 500 (or at least the first 300... there are some gems in there).
Re: This Xbox Game Studios Adventure Deserved More Nominations At The Game Awards 2025
@Megabeenz 100%! It's amazing throughout, but in particular I'd say Split Fiction and The Walking Dead S1 have my all-time favourite video game endings.
That last level in Split Fiction is just one of the most jaw-dropping experiences I've ever had! Absolutely incredible.
Re: This Xbox Game Studios Adventure Deserved More Nominations At The Game Awards 2025
@Pigrotto Glad to hear it! I really liked Keeper in the end, it's the kind of game that sticks long in the memory.
Re: This Xbox Game Studios Adventure Deserved More Nominations At The Game Awards 2025
@PsBoxSwitchOwner @Megabeenz Yeah, I think GOTY is probably too much (how did Split Fiction not get nominated for that though?!), but it certainly deserved more nominations in other categories like art and audio design.
Re: This Xbox Game Studios Adventure Deserved More Nominations At The Game Awards 2025
Agreed! It's one of my favourite games of 2025.
I can't believe Keeper didn't get nominated for "Best Art Direction" either. That's just ridiculous.
Re: Deals: Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025 Now Live, 1000+ Games Discounted
@hitmanfan47 Yep, that's now been fixed. Thank you!
Re: Xbox 360 Was Influenced By Fear Of Sony Dominating The Living Room, Says Former Boss
@themightyant Yeah, I don't think there's much left for Peter to discuss about the Xbox 360 era that's new to be honest!
Still worth covering during a special week for the 360 though
Re: DOOM: The Dark Ages Adds 'Ripatorium 2.0' In Its Third Big Update, Out Now On Xbox & PC
@Fiendish-Beaver Arena mode! Make your own battles, fight off waves of enemies, customise how it you like.
Not multiplayer as far as I'm aware.
Re: All Xbox Games With Mouse & Keyboard Support
Thanks all! List updated again