Latest Features
Poll What Is Your Xbox Game Of The Year For 2025?
Get your votes in!
It's that time of year again! We're looking to crown a Pure Xbox Game of the Year for 2025, and in order to do that, we're going to need you to vote for the best Xbox games of the past 12 months — only the top ten will make the final cut! Last year's winner ended up being Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, closely followed by...
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (December 15-19)
Including two former PS5 console exclusives
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for December 15-19! The releases are slightly slowing down as we head into the Christmas period, but we've still got loads of interesting launches over the next few days including the former PS5 console exclusives Fort Solis and Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (December 13-14)
Starting to tackle the backlog?
Welcome to our latest 'What Are You Playing' discussion! With another weekend upon us, we're starting to think about what games we might play over the next few days - and yes, those Christmas backlog plans are also creeping up! Here's what we're playing this weekend: Ben Kerry, Staff Writer: This week of Xbox Game...
Opinion The Game Awards' Big Surprise Fell Flat, But I Have High Hopes For This New Xbox FPS
Letting my guard down
Okay, look, it's no secret that The Game Awards' reveal of free-to-play shooter Highguard didn't exactly go down well, is it? The upcoming FPS — which is out on Xbox next month — fell victim to strange TGA scheduling; where it was the final reveal in the hopes of being the 2025 show's bi
Feature One Game In Particular Deserved Way More Love At The Game Awards 2025
I'm going to champion it once more
If you go back a few years to The Game Awards 2021, it felt like Hazelight Studios' It Takes Two was the "chosen one" of that event in many ways, racking up Game of the Year alongside a bunch of other awards. It was a deserved win for a fantastic co-op game that built upon the success of A Way Out a few years...
Talking Point What Do You Hope To See From Xbox Developer Direct Next Month?
Announced yesterday by Xbox!
Yesterday, in and amongst all of The Game Awards madness, Microsoft's Matt Booty came out and quietly announced Xbox Developer Direct 2026 - featuring Fable and Forza Horizon 6 developer Playground Games. We certainly expected this event to go ahead next mo
Poll How Would You Grade The Game Awards 2025?
Did you enjoy the show?
The dust is now beginning to settle on The Game Awards 2025 showcase! If you haven't had a chance to watch it yet, you can catch the full thing over at our live coverage page, and we've also provided a separate recap of everything that happened as part of the show. So, all things considered, what grade would you give the...
Poll What Do You Think Of Lost Records: Bloom & Rage On Xbox Game Pass?
Have you had a chance to try it yet?
It's been just over a week now since Lost Records: Bloom & Rage arrived on Xbox Game Pass following its initial release back in February of this year, and we're keen to hear how you've been getting on with it so far. This is one of those strange examples where nobody on the Pure Xbox team has managed to spend...
Talking Point Four Years On, Did Halo Infinite Ever Live Up To Expectations?
With major updates done, what's your final verdict?
Xbox has reminded us that Halo Infinite launched four years ago today (the full campaign version anyway), so we want to check in with the Pure Xbox community on your feelings about this particular series entry almost half a decade later, especially with the game's major updates now wrapping up...
Opinion Backwards Compatibility Still Adds So Much Value To Xbox Series X|S In 2025
10 years after back compat was first announced!
I've just been doing a little storage space cleanup on my Xbox Series S today, removing some bits and pieces I just don't have the time for at the moment and installing one or two older titles that I fancy dipping back into sometime this week. And, once again it struck me that backwards compatibility...
Poll What Are Your First Impressions Of Routine On Xbox Game Pass?
Enjoying the new sci-fi adventure?
Our latest day one Game Pass release has been out for a few days now in the form of sci-fi horror game Routine, after what was a rather lengthy development period for the Lunar Software title. So, are you enjoying the game on XGP after all this time? We introduced this one as an Xbox Game Pass title back in 2022,...
Feature These 30+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (December 8-12)
Including five Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for December 8-12! Even though it's getting close to Christmas, there's still a lot to talk about in terms of new releases right now, with the likes of Terminator 2D: No Fate, Thank Goodness You're Here!,
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (December 6-7)
Kicking back with some Marvel Cosmic Invasion?
It's another weekend, folks! We've seen some fairly steady Xbox activity this past week as we approach our first December weekend - with plenty to play over the next few days such as Marvel Cosmic Invasion, Octopath Traveler 0, Routine and more on the platform. Here's what we're playing this weekend:...
Talking Point Have You Received The Free Upgrade For Red Dead Redemption On Xbox?
How's it all shaking out for you right now?
It's no secret that today's Red Dead Redemption rollout hasn't exactly gone to plan, at least on Xbox. The game went live at midnight local time as was somewhat expected, but Rockstar's free upgrade path isn't working in the way folks expected right now - and we haven't had any official updates from th
Feature 12 Exciting Xbox Indie Games To Look Out For In December 2025
12 games to celebrate the 12th month!
Welcome to the final month of the year! With that in mind, we thought we'd put together one final list of exciting indie games to look out for - 12 games to celebrate the 12th month. And to be honest, it's still hard to nail the list down! There's so much good stuff to look forward to here, including the...
Hands On Red Dead Redemption For Xbox Series X Makes A Great First Impression
The version I've always wanted
For whatever reason, I didn't play much Red Dead Redemption for the first decade of its life. It was only really when Red Dead Redemption 2 came out in 2018 that I felt like it was time to go back, and by that point it was playable with backwards compatibility on Xbox One, Series X and Series S - albeit with the...
Feature All New Games Coming To Xbox In December 2025
Release dates for every December Xbox launch
Welcome to our roundup of all new Xbox games coming out in December 2025! Below, we've listed every Xbox game with a December 2025 release date, including all confirmed Xbox Game Pass titles for December 2025 so far. Without further ado, here are all the new games coming to Xbox in December 2025: The...
Poll What Do You Think Of Banishers: Ghosts Of New Eden On Xbox Game Pass?
Have you been playing it this week?
We've had a few games arrive on Xbox Game Pass this week, and arguably none bigger than Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden - an action-RPG from 2024 that's proved very popular over the past couple of years. Here at Pure Xbox, we played this one all the way back at launch in February '24, gi
Feature These 30+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (December 1-5)
Including a massive free upgrade for RDR!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for December 1-5! We've got some big games on the way over the next few days, including the current-gen upgrade for Red Dead Redemption, Octopath Traveler 0 and DLC for Elden Ring Nightreign, while all three
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 29-30)
How about a track weekend?
Welcome to your final weekend in November! If you're not stuck doing all of your Christmas shopping this weekend, maybe you're passing the time with some Xbox over the next few days? Here's what we're playing this weekend: Ben Kerry, Staff Writer: Fellow colleague Fraser has mentioned this new A.I.L.A horror game to me...
Talking Point Are You Looking Forward To Any December Xbox Releases As 2025 Wraps Up?
Any planned pickups for next month?
November 2025 is now coming to a close, and we've seen pretty much all of the month's big releases at this stage - from Football Manager 26 to Black Ops 7 and more. We've still got one month of the year left though, and we want to know if any December releases are sticking out to you right now on Xbox. After...
Talking Point Will You Be Revisiting Red Dead Redemption On Xbox Next Week?
It's almost free upgrade time!
In just a few days' time, one of the best games of the Xbox 360 generation will be making a comeback on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in the form of a free upgrade that's dropping on December 2nd, 2025. That game is of course Red Dead Redemption, which has been playable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S...
Talking Point Did You Expect More From Xbox 360's 20th Anniversary?
Red ring of meh
Well, that's it, Xbox 360's 20th birthday has come and gone. As you probably saw, over here at Pure Xbox we didn't forget about the anniversary - with multiple features and
Feature Six New Improvements Revealed For ROG Xbox Ally, With Lots More To Come In 2026
"This is just the beginning."
Today, we've seen Team Xbox highlighting a major new optimisation feature for the ROG Xbox Ally in the form of "Default Game Profiles", but this is far from the only improvement that's been added to the handheld device(s) recently. In addition to various updates that were implemented last week by ASUS, we've also got...
Talking Point What Do You Think Of Silent Hill 2 On Xbox So Far?
Worth the wait?
Right at the tail end of last week (and bizarrely not within November's Xbox Partner Preview event), Konami and Bloober Team finally revealed Silent Hill 2 for Xbox. In fact, the game shadow dropped on Series X and S on the very same day, with a generous 50% launch discount to boot. So, with this one being live and playable on the...
Talking Point What Have You Bought In The Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025 So Far?
Or what are you planning to buy?
The Xbox Black Friday Sale 2025 officially begin last week instead of this week, with the highlight being over 2000 games that have been discounted on the Xbox Store until the first few days of December. We've spent the past few days trying to round up a bunch of deals for you -= the best ones, the backwards...
Poll Which Is Your Favourite Xbox 360 Launch Title?
The lineup is 20 years old today!
The Xbox 360 is 20 years old today, and we have some fantastic memories of Microsoft's sophomore system from way back in 2005. The console was incredible (RROD aside), the controller was an amazing evolution of the OG Xbox effort - and all-in-all, we we very happy with the experience back in the way. However, we...
Feature These 30+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (November 24-28)
Including some exciting Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for November 24-28! We've got some interesting stuff on the way over the next few days including first-person horror game A.I.L.A, Forza Motorsport rival Project Motor Racing and two exciting Xbox Game Pass titles - the excellent
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 22-23)
How about some The Crew Motorfest on XGP?
Welcome to another weekend! It's been a busy week in Xbox land with the Partner Preview showcase the other day - and we've had several Xbox Game Pass drops in recent days along with the surprise arrival of Silent Hill 2! Oh, and happy birthday to
Poll How Important Is The Xbox Play Anywhere Program To You?
Has it influenced your buying decisions?
Yesterday, in our live thread for the Xbox Partner Preview showcase here at Pure Xbox, there was a bit of discussion about Xbox Play Anywhere and how important it's become to Microsoft in recent times. A few members of the PX community asked if we could put a poll together on it in the future, and so we're...
Talking Point Do You Have Any Plans For Xbox 360's Big Birthday Weekend?
Dusting off the old machine? Playing some back compat classics?
This weekend, Xbox 360 will be 20 years old, and we've started the celebrations early here at Pure Xbox. I've been drifting about a lot in Project Gotham Racing 3,
Hands On Perfect Dark Zero Is A Bizarre Time Capsule Of The Early Xbox 360 Days
The name's Dark, Joanna Dark
As we celebrate the Xbox 360's 20th anniversary this week, I've been going back to one of its launch titles in the form of Perfect Dark Zero to see how it holds up and whether its mixed reaction over the years has been justified. My personal history with Perfect Dark is a little muddled - the first memory I have of the...
Poll How Would You Grade November's Xbox Partner Preview Event?
Did you enjoy the show?
The dust is now beginning to settle on the Xbox Partner Preview showcase for November 2025! If you haven't had a chance to watch it yet, you can catch the full thing over at our live coverage page, and we've also provided a separate recap of everything that happened as part of the show. So, all things considered, what grade...
Feature Seven Things We Miss About The Xbox 360 Era In 2025
As we rapidly approach its 20th anniversary
It's almost time for the 20th anniversary of the Xbox 360! We'll be celebrating that milestone this Saturday (November 22nd), and in the meantime we thought we'd look back two decades to see what we miss about the 360 era in 2025. While Xbox has grown and evolved in so many great ways since 2005, there...
Opinion This Xbox 360 Launch Game Is Still One Of The Best Console Racers Ever
It never gets old!
Hey, it's me, Ben here - and I'm going to talk about PGR again, okay?! It's been at least a year since I've climbed out from under my rock to talk about one of my favourite racing series ever, and with the Xbox 360's 20th anniversary coming up, I just can't help myself once again! This time, I'm going to focus on Project Gotham...
Talking Point Do You Think GTA 6 Will Actually Launch On Xbox A Year Today?
November 19, 2026 is the new date... or is it?
Earlier this month, we got the somewhat inevitable news that GTA 6 has been delayed again. Yep, Rockstar Games has given us another date for its upcoming open-world epic, with November 19, 2026, now circled on the calendar. The question is, do we actually think it'll launch on that day - exactly a year...
Feature The Crew Motorfest Races Onto Xbox Game Pass This Week, And You Don't Want To Miss It
Real competition for Forza Horizon 5!
Today's Xbox Game Pass roundup has delivered some lovely upcoming additions - which we're very grateful to see given that the post-Black Ops 7 XGP lineup was looking a little thin. One game that's really standing out to us here is The Crew Motorfest; Ubisoft's 2023 racer set in open-world Hawaii. At the time of...
Hands On Black Ops 7 Is Amazing On The ROG Xbox Ally X, As Long As You're Not Offline
Good luck playing this on a plane
I mentioned last week how I've spent the past month barely turning on my Xbox Series X at all because of the ROG Xbox Ally X, and therefore all of my time with Black Ops 7 has been spent on the new premium handheld device so far. It was revealed ahead of launch how Call of Duty: BO7 was being optimis
Poll What Are Your First Impressions Of Black Ops 7 On Xbox Game Pass?
Happy with the new Call of Duty?
We're still working away on our full Black Ops 7 review here at Pure Xbox, having delivered our initial campaign thoughts late last week. We weren't shy in saying that we didn't exactly have a great time with Black Ops 7's story mode - but we're now checking in to see what you think of the new Call of Duty ga
Talking Point Xbox Is 24 Years Old Today, What Do You Expect From Next Year's 25th Birthday?
A big anniversary is coming in 2026
Today is November 15th, 2025 - which means Xbox is officially 24 years old! Yep, Microsoft brought the OG Xbox and its accompanying games lineup to market almost a quarter of a century ago to this day; with The Rock and Bill Gates introducing it to the world back in 2001. We of course want to wish the system (and...
Feature These 40+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (November 17-21)
Along with a couple of Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for November 17-21! We've got another very busy few days ahead for new releases, with highlights including SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide, R-Type Delta: HD Boosted,
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 15-16)
Is a COD weekend on the cards?
It's time for another weekend! It's been a busy old week in the world of gaming again — especially with Valve announcing a slew of new hardware — but we're here to talk about games this weekend, with Black Ops 7 leading the charge on Xbox Game Pass. Here's what we're playing over the next fe
Crap Ops
Where do I even start with the Black Ops 7 campaign? Following last year's fantastic effort led by developer Raven Software, Black Ops 7 contains a messy, stitched-together story mode that barely constitutes as a Call of Duty campaign whatsoever. Intrigued? Well, I'll do my best to explain what's going on here, but the long and short of it...
Feature Xbox Series X|S: How Their Prices Have Changed Over The Past Five Years
It's been a weird console generation
It's typically the case that whenever a console generation begins and a new batch of systems are released into the world, you'll save a bit of money by waiting as long as you can - hold off until there's a discount you can't pass up. That's happened at times during the Xbox Series X, Series S and PS5 era, but...
Talking Point What Does The 'Steam Machine' Mean For Xbox's Next-Gen Console Plans?
Multiple ways of looking at it
Following Valve's big hardware announcement earlier today, we've noticed a lot of chatter on social media about how the Steam Machine could cause major problems for Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo, and particularly in terms of Xbox. A few weeks ago, it was suggested that the next Xbox console would potentially...
Reaction As Gran Turismo 7 Gets A Major 2025 Expansion, Forza Motorsport Deserved More
The Xbox racer is on hiatus
Last night, we were tuning into Sony's State of Play event to see what Xbox-related announcements would show up, as you do. Thankfully, there were quite a few relevant reveals, but one of the most interesting trailers of the evening was for a new Gran Turismo 7 expansion. GT7 Power Pack adds a bunch of cool stuff like...
Feature A Month Later, The ROG Xbox Ally X Has Totally Changed My Gaming Habits
And it might be where the next Xbox console is headed
In a few days' time, it will have been exactly a month since we published our review of the ROG Xbox Ally X handheld here at Pure Xbox, and it's actually been about six weeks since I first started using it as my main gaming device. And I'll be honest, I've barely turned on my Xbox Series X over...
Poll Now That The Dust Has Settled, Which Xbox Game Pass Tier Are You Subscribed To?
Or did you cancel your subscription?
Just over a month ago now, Microsoft dropped a bombshell with its overhauled Xbox Game Pass plans. At the start of October, the company introduced a new tier in the form of Game Pass Premium, while bumping up the prices of PC and Ultimate; the latter with its new
Feature It's A Big Birthday For The Xbox Series X, So Let's Look Back At Our Review From 2020
What we said then, and what we think now
Pure Xbox was in an interesting place back in 2020 - we'd just relaunched the website in March of that year after multiple years on hiatus, and then the COVID pandemic arrived around the same time, causing havoc around the world. For the folks at Microsoft, they had an Xbox Series X launch to plan for, and...
Feature Five Years On, Xbox Series S Is Still A Fantastic Place For Current-Gen Gaming
And will remain relevant for many years to come
Does anyone else remember 'Project Lockhart'? Casting our minds back to early 2020, about six months before Xbox Series X launched, Lockhart was this mysterious entry-level console that still hadn't been officially revealed. It dominated the headlines for months, before Microsoft officially unveiled it...
