Latest Features
Poll Are You Picking Up Star Wars Outlaws On Xbox This Month?
Or maybe playing it via Ubisoft Plus?
Although August has felt a little quiet for major new Xbox releases (don't worry, we've got plenty next month!), it's ending things in a big way with the likes of Age of Mythology: Retold, Visions of Mana, and of course, Star Wars Outlaws. Yes, Ubisoft's first crack at a Star Wars adventure is a little over a...
Gamescom 2024 Five Xbox-Related Events You Don't Want To Miss
The biggest showcases and livestreams for Xbox fans this week
It's almost time for Gamescom 2024! Europe's biggest gaming convention begins this week in Germany, and we're expecting plenty of announcements and fresh reveals for a large number of upcoming Xbox games. With that in mind, we've picked out five Xbox events that you don't want to miss...
Poll What Do You Think Of Mafia: Definitive Edition On Xbox Game Pass?
The 2020 remake has arrived on XGP
The big Xbox Game Pass release (in fact, the only Xbox Game Pass release) of the past few days ended up being Mafia: Definitive Edition, which is a stunning remake from 2020 of the original title in the series that debuted in 2002. Back at the time of launch, the critics had some very nice things to say about this...
Feature These 10+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (August 19-23)
Every new release heading our way
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for August 19-23! Things are looking pretty quiet for new releases over the next few days, with the biggest highlights being Quantic Dream's Dustborn, gory survival horror game Pneumata and the new tennis title, TIEBREAK: Official Game of the
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 17-18)
We're going back to some classic DOOM
Welcome to the weekend! If you're looking for things to do on Xbox over the next couple of days, don't forget we've got some great recent Xbox Game Pass titles, a bunch of Free Play Days offerings, and hundreds of discounts as part of the Xbox End of Summer Sale - including a pretty cool dis
Poll Are You Buying Forza Horizon 4 Before It Gets Delisted On Xbox?
It's down to a great price right now
A few months ago, it was announced that the superb Forza Horizon 4 would be getting delisted across Xbox and PC this December, similar to what happened with Forza Horizon 2 and 3 along with the old Forza Motorsport games. Since then, the game has been discounted on a couple of occasions - including right now as...
Talking Point What Improvements Would You Like To See Made To The Xbox Store?
We have a few ideas in mind
The Xbox Store (or the "Microsoft Store" if you want to call it that) is a place that we're constantly browsing on a near-daily basis here at Pure Xbox, and it's obviously a crucial part of the console (and PC) experience for all players. This is the place you go to buy new games, buy them on discount, check out the Free...
Talking Point Have Xbox Series X|S Dynamic Backgrounds Lived Up To The Hype?
What do you make of them?
One big new feature for Xbox gamers this generation has been the dynamic background option for Series X and S consoles. Microsoft, along with various third parties, regularly drops free dynamic backgrounds for us to enjoy, but do you actually use them? Or, are they a bit pointless with the current Xbox dashboard? In...
Interview Copa City - FIFA Meets Cities: Skylines In This New 'Football Tycoon' Simulator
Kicking off for Xbox on day one!
When Copa City made its debut at the PC Gaming Show a couple of months ago, we were immediately intrigued. Described as the "first football tycoon" game, the idea is to manage everything leading up to a big football / soccer event rather than actually playing the sport itself - think EA Sports FC mixed with a heavy...
Soapbox If You Like GTA, You've Got To Try Mafia: Definitive Edition On Xbox Game Pass
Take to the streets of Lost Heaven this week
So far in August we've had a fairly light month for Xbox Game Pass — Crash Bandicoot aside — but tomorrow marks a major addition to the library in the form of Mafia: Definitive Edition - and I say it's a must play on the service, especially for fans of GTA. For those of you who
Poll What Do You Think Of Crash Bandicoot On Xbox Game Pass?
A smashing blast from the past?
So, we've given you all a couple of days to try out the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy on Xbox Game Pass, and now we're keen to hear your thoughts on this classic remastered collection from a few years ago! Here at Pure Xbox, we're big fans of it — this writer waxed lyrical about the game e
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (August 12-16)
Including quite a few big releases!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for August 12-16! We've got a few big releases on the way over the next few days including Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Madden NFL 25 and the free next-gen upgrade for Hunt: Showdown, while the major Xbox Game Pass addition is the fantastic Mafia: Definitive Edition from a few years...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 10-11)
Have you tried Creatures of Ava on XGP yet?
Welcome to another weekend! As usual, there's plenty to enjoy on Xbox over the next couple of days including a bunch of new Xbox Game Pass titles, various Free Play Days offerings and a wide selection of great discounts. Here's what we're playing th
Talking Point Is Local Co-Op On Xbox Still Important To You In 2024?
It's becoming less prominent
These days, online multiplayer is a massive part of gaming. The ever-growing live service sector has fuelled that notion even more so in recent years, with lots of modern games featuring some sort of online gameplay - even if 'campaign' is the focus. As a result, local multiplayer is a bit of a dying thing in the...
Talking Point Next Month Marks The 15th Anniversary Of Halo's Weirdest Console Release
ODSTs unite!
Looking back at all of these Xbox 360 anniversaries these days is starting to make us feel hella old, but today's revelation was a particularly hard punch to the gut. In just over a month's time, Halo 3: ODST will be 15 years old - so here's a timely tribute to what is probably Halo's weirdest console release. Launched back in...
Preview Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 - One Of The Best Co-Op Shooters We've Played This Decade
For Ultramar!
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is without question one of the finest co-op shooters we’ve played in the past decade. If teaming up with your friends to brutalise hordes of Tyranids sounds like your bag, then you’ll likely join us in our new obsession. From its grand vistas to the tiniest details, every inch of this sci-fi spectacle...
Soapbox Activision Is Bringing One Of The Best Remasters Ever To Xbox Game Pass
Vicarious Visions did an unbelievable job on this
Back in mid-2017, I was so excited for the arrival of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. The potential of reliving these three iconic PS1 games on modern hardware was an enticing one, but at the same time I wondered whether Activision and developer Vicarious Visions would somehow drop the ball...
Talking Point How Would You Feel If Xbox's Major Fall Release Is Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6?
Will Indy make it this year? Are you fussed if not?
Avowed has officially been delayed. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle doesn't have a release date yet. Most of Xbox's other releases this year are DLC packs, aside from Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 of course. So, how wou
Interview Kena: Bridge Of Spirits - Blending Eastern And Western Themes In A New Xbox Adventure
"Kena was a labor of love for our indie team"
This month marks the arrival of former PlayStation exclusive Kena: Bridge of Spirits on Xbox consoles, and truth be told, we've been very intrigued by the title ever since it launched on PS4 and PS5. After such a long wait for the Xbox release, we sat down with the team at Ember Lab to get a better idea...
Feature 10 Exciting Xbox Indie Games To Look Out For In August 2024
Another month of fantastic new indie releases!
We've already highlighted some of the biggest new releases of August 2024 here at Pure Xbox, but what about the indie games? As usual, we've got plenty to pick out, including some upcoming day one releases for Xbox Game Pass. Although the ten titles below caught our attention the most, there are plenty...
Pick One What Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Game In July 2024?
MW3? Flintlock? Kunitsu-Gami? Tell us!
Another month is in the books for Xbox Game Pass, and July ended up being a pretty eventful one in the end! The highlight for many, of course, was the first ever Call of Duty title on the service in the form of Modern Warfare 3. Before that though, there were some big day one releases on Xbox Game Pass in...
Feature These 10+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (August 5-9)
Including another day one Game Pass release
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for August 5-9! We've got the likes of SteamWorld Heist 2, Deathbound and Volgarr the Viking 2 heading our way here, while Xbox Game P
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (August 3-4)
How about the second UFL beta?
Welcome to the weekend! There's plenty to enjoy on Xbox over the next couple of days, including some recent Xbox Game Pass additions, a bunch of Free Play Days titles, a UFL beta and lots of discounted titles via the Xbox Sto
Feature All New Xbox Games Coming Out In August 2024
Star Wars Outlaws, Kena: Bridge of Spirits & more!
Welcome to our roundup of all new Xbox games coming out in August 2024! Below, we've listed every Xbox game with an August 2024 release date, including all confirmed Xbox Game Pass releases so far. The big highlight of the month from a new releases perspective is surely Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws,...
Feature Star Wars Outlaws Hands On Preview - An Undeniable Star Wars Adventure Despite Its Flaws
Star Wars Outflaws
Massive Entertainment’s upcoming action-adventure game, Star Wars Outlaws, launches on Xbox consoles August 30th. Thanks to the kind people over at Ubisoft, we’ve had the chance to play the game on two separate occasions. The first was at Summer Game Fest, which took place inside an immersive Star Wars Cantina bar. With...
Poll What Do You Think Of Call Of Duty: MW3 On Xbox Game Pass So Far?
Give us your first impressions
It was a long time coming, but the first Call of Duty game finally arrived on Xbox Game Pass earlier this week! Yes, Modern Warfare 3 is now officially available to Game Pass subscribers across console and PC (but not xCloud). We're sure that many Xbox fans have been trying out MW3 over the past few days - even if...
Feature These 10+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (July 29 - August 2)
Including the debut of a Star Wars classic!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for July 29 - August 2! We've got plenty of interesting releases on the way over the next few days, including a couple that were part of our "exciting indies" roundup for July 2024. The big highlight is arguably Star Wars: Bounty Hunter though, which finally arrives on...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 27-28)
Getting into the Olympic spirit?
Welcome to the weekend! If you're looking for things to play over the next couple of days, we've got the obvious addition of Call of Duty: MW3 to Xbox Game Pass, various Free Play Days titles, a handful of betas that are currently running on the platform, and hundreds of fantastic deals that remain available in the
Feature Last Orders! What Are You Getting Before The Xbox 360 Store Closes?
July 29th is just around the corner
Here we go then, folks! We know we've mentioned this a ton recently, but after Monday, you won't be able to buy anything on the Xbox 360 store again! This weekend marks your last chance to grab whatever you want before it closes. The Xbox 360 store closing date is July 29th, 2024, after which it'll permanently go...
Feature Best Xbox Call Of Duty Games: All 22 Games Ranked By Your Votes
It's been 19 long years!
We're definitely in a Call of Duty mood at the moment with the arrival of Modern Warfare 3 on Xbox Game Pass and Black Ops 6 heading to the service later this year, so now feels like a good time to look back at the series on Xbox! A few months ago, we asked for your favourite Call of Duty game on Xbox to date, and using...
Feature Four Years Later, People Are Still Getting Confused By Xbox's 'Horrible' Console Names
What are your thoughts on them?
When Phil Spencer announced back in late 2019 that the next Xbox console would be known as the "Series X", it immediately sparked conversations over whether the naming convention had become too confusing. After all, we already had the Xbox One S and Xbox One X, and by late 2020 we also had the Xbox Series X and Xbox...
Hands On Call Of Duty MW3's Campaign Is Here For A Good Time, But A Short Time
Modern Shortfare
Update (Tue 23rd Jul, 2024): With Call of Duty: MW3 joining Xbox Game Pass this week, we thought we'd share some of our older coverage to give you an idea of what to expect. Below, you'll find our original "hands on" of the MW3 campaign from last November, which highlights what you can look forward to from a single-player...
Talking Point Have You Ever Bought A Controller From Xbox Design Lab?
If so, are you happy with it?
Back in the day, we used to love getting special edition Xbox controllers - especially game themed ones. During the 360 and early Xbox One days there were some amazing official pads out there, but once Xbox Design Lab became a thing, the program sort of took over as the de facto limited edition controller factory for...
Talking Point What Are You Buying In The Xbox Summer Sale This Year?
We're tempted by a bunch of things
We're now a few days into the big Xbox Summer Sale for 2024 (also known as the "Xbox Ultimate Game Sale 2024"), and we're definitely finding ourselves tempted by a whole range of great deals that are available until July 31st. Some of those include recent AAA titles such as Alan Wake 2 and Suicide Squad: Kill The...
Poll What Do You Think Of 'Flintlock: The Siege Of Dawn' On Xbox So Far?
How are you finding it?
It's been a few days now since Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn made its debut for Xbox Game Pass on July 18th, and considering the game's opening weekend has now passed, we'd like to know how the Pure Xbox audience is feeling about this Game Pass action RPG. We had mixed feelings on this one during our re
Talking Point How Hyped Are You For Indiana Jones On Xbox Series X|S?
It's definitely the big release of 2024 for us
We've passed the halfway point of 2024 now, and we're very much looking ahead to what's in store for us during the latter part of the year. There are absolutely tons of fantastic-looking games on the horizon, but we'd probably still single out Bethesda's Indiana Jones and the Great Circle as our most...
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (July 22-26)
Hopefully along with some Game Pass titles...
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for July 22-26! Although we haven't got any confirmed Game Pass titles yet, we do have over 20 new releases heading our way including F1 Manager 2024 and the new version of 7 Days to Die. That said, the last time we checked, 7 Days to Die hadn't yet passed...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 20-21)
There's plenty to choose from on XGP!
Welcome to the weekend! We're spoilt for choice on Xbox at the moment, with lots of new Game Pass additions, some excellent Free Play Days titles, a Throne and Liberty Beta, the new free-to-play release of
Talking Point Do You Think This Generation Will Be A Short One?
Shutting up shop early
So, we're almost at the four-year mark of the Xbox Series X|S generation, and if the last few console cycles are anything to go by, we should be around the halfway mark right now. Xbox 360 lasted eight years, Xbox One lasted seven, but what about Xbox Series X and S? Will they go the distance and turn in similar numbers?...
Interview The Precinct - A Mix Of Police Simulator And Old-School GTA
"There is a lot for players to uncover"
It's ridiculous how many amazing indie games we're getting on Xbox this year, and The Precinct looks set to be another one in the near future! This mix of Police Simulator and old-school GTA is being brought to us by the team behind 2019's American Fugitive, and it looks to be shaping up extremely well based...
Talking Point If You Had To Limit Yourself To Three Xbox Games, What Would They Be?
Our own "Desert Island Discs" scenario
Over here in the UK, we have a popular BBC radio series called Desert Island Discs in which celebrities choose a selection of songs that they'd bring with them to a desert island - it's just a way of asking for their favourites basically. So, how about we do the same with Xbox games? For this weekend's...
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (July 15-19)
Including five Game Pass titles!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for July 15-19! We've got a very busy few days ahead, with some particularly big Xbox Game Pass releases on the way including Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess! Here's what's coming to Xbox next week:
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (July 13-14)
How about Neon White on Xbox Game Pass?
Welcome to another weekend! We've got a bunch of new Xbox Game Pass titles to enjoy over the next couple of days, along with more Xbox Free Play Days additions and a special "Teaser" sale ahead of the Xbox Summer Sale 2024! Here's what we're playing this weekend: Fraser Gilbert, Editor: I'll tell you what...
Talking Point Two Months On, Did Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Live Up To The Hype?
It was such a long wait...
It's weird that we're not talking about Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 as much anymore. Pure Xbox was on an indefinite hiatus when the game was first revealed back at The Game Awards in 2019... it's been that long since it was revealed! And of course, the past few years have built more and more hype for Ninja Theory's latest...
Talking Point Do You Ever Pre-Order Xbox Games Anymore?
Are your buying habits changing?
Earlier today, reports started to swirl about the biggest UK games retailer stopping in-store pre-orders in 2024, and the news has got us thinking about the practice and whether it still has a place in gaming these days. At one time, pre-ordering new games felt like a much more worthwhile thing to go out and do...
Reaction Microsoft's Constant Tweaking Of Xbox Game Pass Is Becoming Exhausting
Just pick a plan and stick with it
So, Xbox Game Pass is changing again. Following last year's introduction of Game Pass Core comes a fresh replacement for 'Console' Game Pass in the form of Xbox Game Pass Standard - which sits just underneath Game Pass Ultimate. Keeping up? Yeah... it's all becomi
Talking Point Have You Ever Bought Any Official Xbox Merchandise?
If so, was it worth the money?
On quiet Tuesdays like this, all kinds of conversations come up at Pure Xbox HQ, and today the topic is official Xbox merchandise. Specifically, we're interested in knowing if you personally have ever bought anything like this. Obviously we're not talking about controllers or consoles here. Instead, we're referring to...
Soapbox I Miss The Type Of Pick-Up-And-Play Games We Got On Original Xbox
Waking up to a new realisation
This past weekend, I took a couple of days off work for a short break, but as I've recently learnt in life, Xbox soon finds me again in some fashion. This time out, a browse of a retro game shop saw me picking up gunboat warfare title Blood Wake on the original Xbox, and it's making me miss this era so bloody much...
Talking Point Is There A Place For 'Snap Mode' On Xbox In 2024?
Not gonna lie, we actually miss it
It's been over 10 years since Xbox introduced a new feature called "Snap Mode" that would allow Xbox One owners to watch TV or access apps at the same time as playing their favourite games, and it's still being talked about to this day. That's despite the fact that Snap Mode hasn't existed for ages now - the...
Feature 'Blur' Is An Xbox 360 Classic That Deserves Backwards Compatibility
Alas, it'll probably never get it
If you're a fan of racing games and you were playing them back in the Xbox 360 days around 2010, you'll probably remember the so-called battle between Blur and Split/Second. Both of these fantastic racers were released around the same time, and both of them ultimately never got as much appreciation as they deserved...
