Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 23-27)
Prepare for a BIG week ahead!
Guide These 50+ Activision Blizzard Games Could Be Heading To Xbox Game Pass
The takeover is complete, so it's almost time!
News Six Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In November So Far
An early look at what's to come
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 30 - November 3)
Including four Game Pass launches!
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In November 2023
The full list of confirmed games so far
News - October, 2023
Tuesday31st Oct 2023
News These Nine Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (November 2-14)
The latest official roundup of new titles
Microsoft has announced the first batch of Xbox Game Pass titles for November 2023! This list includes previously announced additions such as Like a Dragon Gaiden and Football Manager 2024 alongside surprise launches like Spirittea. Oh, and don't forget,
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 31)
Update: We have a surprise third addition!
[Update - 1:15pm] Microsoft has just dropped its latest Xbox Game Pass roundup, and one more title has been added for October 31st. That'll be strategy RPG Wartales, which launches today. [Original Article - 11am] October's final Xbox Game Pass drop is here! We have two games coming to the library on the...
Review Robocop: Rogue City (Xbox) - A Slice Of 1980s Nostalgia That Feels Purposefully Old School
This tin man's got heart
There's just something about RoboCop. Maybe it's an age thing, maybe you just had to be there, but the ultra-violent tin cop sits alongside the likes of Knight Rider, Terminator and lots of other 1980s goodies as a property that immediately gets our excitement levels right up to the max as soon as it's mentioned. We'll sit...
News Another Seven Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass Soon (November 15)
Your latest set of departures
Microsoft has revealed another seven games set to leave the Xbox Game Pass library in mid-November 2023. There's a fair old mix in today's roundup, with some bigger games leaving alongside a few Game Pass indies. <related ids="157698"> Here's what's leaving Xbox Game Pass in mid-November 2023: Xbox Game Pass:...
News Alan Wake 2 'Excellent' On Xbox Series X & The Best Console Version, Digital Foundry Concludes
"Xbox Series X improves on PS5 performance"
Digital Foundry's technical verdict on Alan Wake 2 for Xbox Series X|S is here, and it's pretty good news all round. The tech-focused outlet deems the Xbox Series X version the best console release so far, while Series S fares rather well for a less-powerful machine too. To sum things up, Xbox Series X...
Review Jusant (Xbox) - Not Quite The 'Peak' Of Xbox Game Pass, But Still A Fun Adventure
Ready for a climb?
Jusant describes itself as an action-puzzle climbing game with "meditative vibes", and when you combine that with the talented Life is Strange and Tell Me Why studio DON'T NOD, the concept has long sounded like a winning formula to us. But what about the execution? In a year that's been overflowing with new Xbox releases and "day...
News Xbox Series S 'xScreen' Getting Carbon Black Version To Match 1TB Model
"Coming soon"
If you've ever fancied playing your Xbox Series S on the go, but don't want to resort to cloud tech or other alternatives, the 'xScreen' is well worth a look. What do you do though if you own the recently released Carbon Black 1 TB model of the Xbox Series S and want things to match? Well, the good news is a Carbon Black version of...
News Alan Wake 2's First 'Xbox Series' Update Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Download it today!
Alan Wake 2 made its debut on Series X|S last week, and now to follow this, Remedy has released its very first patch for all versions of the game including Xbox. It's also shared "update notes" on its official website but it's pretty vague. According to the Xbox section, there are some bug fixes, and multiple other issues have...
Deals 300+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 31 - November 7)
Featuring a 'Best Rated Games' sale
Xbox's latest set of digital deals is now live, and we have hundreds of discounts to gaze over this week! Headlining the promotions this time out is a 'Best Rated Games' sale, alongside a 'Game Pass Family Time' promo and our usual array of spotlight sales & specials. So, we've picked out some of the top...
News Xbox's Plan To Block 'Unauthorised' Accessories Has The Fighting Game Community Concerned
"This is essentially a death sentence"
Yesterday, news broke about Microsoft initiating a new policy as of next month where Xbox consoles will block all "unauthorised" accessories. There's a mixed reception to this so far, but one group that isn't taking it too well is the fighting game community (FGC). FGC is potentially one of the communities...
News Codemasters' EA Sports WRC Gets Free Trial Today On Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
Thanks to EA Play
EA is now officially the WRC license holder, and the company's first release from developer Codemasters is almost here. EA Sports WRC arrives for Xbox Series X|S on November 3rd, and Game Pass members can try the game out for absolutely free - starting today! Yep, thanks to a new EA Play trial, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can...
News Gears Of War Needs A 'God Of War-Like Reboot', Says Original Lead Designer
Cliffy B weighs in on the state of Gears
Cliff Bleszinski has always been synonymous with the Gears of War franchise - the original trilogy's lead designer was the primary public figure for those games during the Xbox 360 days. Since then, 'Cliffy B' has been off doing his own things, but he's always happy to talk Gears, and in a new interview with...
News Age Of Empires IV Details Another New Civilization Arriving In The Next Expansion
"The Sultans Ascend" launches 14th November
Age of Empires IV has been bolstered with all sorts of content updates since it originally launched on Windows PC in 2021, and next month on 14th November, it will be getting a new paid expansion, "The Sultans Ascend". This adds new civilizations including the Japanese and Byzantines, and the development...
Video Avatar: Frontiers Of Pandora Impresses In New Open World Preview
Coming to Xbox in December!
We've been looking forward to Massive Entertainment's upcoming Avatar game for ages at this point, so, we absolutely leaped at the chance to try out Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora early at a recent Ubisoft preview event. As you can see up above, we sent our video producer Craig along to the virtual event; spending two to...
Monday30th Oct 2023
Soapbox 10-Year Old FPS Remains One Of The Best On Xbox Game Pass
The servers are populated, too!
Rarely does a video game stay in my regular rotation as often as this one, so I thought I'd take some time today to remember its anniversary. Even long-tail multiplayer offerings that are supported for ages typically lose my attention after a couple of years, but there's something about DICE's debut Xbox One title...
News Starfield's Monthly Active Users For September 2023 Only Beaten By One Game On Xbox
Any guesses as to which?
It's looking like Starfield has been a huge success for Xbox and Bethesda pretty much across the board. The game boosted Xbox console sales in the UK for the month of September, set a record for new Xbox Game Pass subscribers last month, and it seems to be doing incredibly well at keeping people playing as well.
News Xbox's Latest Dynamic Background Arrives To Coincide With New EA Launch
Enter the arena
Microsoft's dynamic background collection for Xbox Series X|S has been growing as of late, and publisher EA has just added another customisation option for current-gen Xbox players. The company's latest iteration of UFC quietly arrived late last week, and to coincide with the game's launch, EA has dropped a UFC 5 background for Xbox...
News Sony Exec Describes Game Pass And PS Plus As 'Very Different' Offerings
What happened to Sony's service being a direct competitor?
Xbox Game Pass has been a massive game changer for Microsoft, Xbox's studios and its fans with "day one" releases. PlayStation's senior vice president Eric Lempel was recently asked for his own thoughts on how Xbox Game Pass was able to release first-party titles "day one" on the service,...
News Ubisoft Ending Online Services For Three Xbox 360 Titles Early Next Year
Assassin's Creed & Splinter Cell listed
Ubisoft has today announced it will be decommissioning some "additional online services" for older games and three Xbox 360 titles are listed. These games include Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed Liberation HD and Splinter Cell: Conviction. The online services tied to these games will terminate on 25th...
News As Dead Space Hits Xbox Game Pass, Original Producer Says He'd Like To Remake More
"I would redo Dead Space 3 almost completely"
One of October's biggest Xbox Game Pass arrivals has ended up being the Dead Space remake, which came to the library last week on October 26th. EA Motive's re-imagining of the first game in the series was incredibly well-received back in January, but if the game's original producer had any sway, he'd...
News Xbox Game Pass Release Exoprimal Gave Capcom A 'Large' Digital Revenue Boost
Microsoft's service helped the game reach even more players
One of the surprises from Capcom this year was the multiplayer dinosaur shooter Exoprimal, which made its debut on Xbox Game Pass earlier this year in July. In Capcom's latest financial results, it's now revealed it got a significant increase in "digital license revenue" due to the...
News Capcom Has A Major Unannounced Game Releasing Before The End Of March 2024
Take a guess
Capcom might be getting towards the tail end of its current fiscal year, but according to a Q&A on the company's Japanese website, it's still got a "major" unannounced title arriving before the end of March 2024. There are no specific details about what exactly this game is and the only hint Capcom provides is that it will...
News Party Animals Halloween Event Creeps Onto Xbox Game Pass Alongside Update 1.2
Here are the full patch notes
Party Animals developer Recreate Games has delivered a scare-filled Halloween event for its recent Xbox Game Pass brawler. Available now alongside patch 1.2, the Halloween update brings a new map, ghost-themed outfits, pumpkins decorations, new store items and more to the title. Here's a sneak peek at the new ghostly...
News Remedy's Sam Lake Wants To Make A 'Crazy, Huge Budget, Dark Gothic Fantasy' Game
"Would I ever do anything else?"
Well, Alan Wake 2 has officially landed and to be quite honest, its initial reception has probably exceeded our expectations. Remedy fans new and old seem to be loving this one, and talking to GQ Magazine, the studio's creative director has dropped a few hints at what he'd like to work on next. Of course, we know...
News Elden Ring Dev Undergoing 'Large-Scale Recruitment' For Future Projects
What's next for FromSoftware?
FromSoftware was really on top of its game when the Japanese developer dropped Elden Ring in early 2022, and it seems the team is now building up for future projects beyond its upcoming ER expansion plans. As spotted by IGN Japan, the dev is ramping up development in a big way, with lots of roles opening up across the...
Sunday29th Oct 2023
Feature 10 New Xbox Games To Look Forward To In November 2023
All the release dates you need to know
Welcome to our roundup of all new Xbox games coming out in November 2023! Below, we've listed every Xbox game with a October 2023 release date, including all confirmed Xbox Game Pass releases so far. In the video above (as well as in the list below) we've also highlighted 10 of the biggest new Xbox games...
Saturday28th Oct 2023
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 30 - November 3)
Including four Game Pass launches!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for October 30 - November 3! We've got a few big launches on the way in the form of Robocop: Rogue City, EA Sports WRC and Gangs of Sherwood, along with four new
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In November 2023
The full list of confirmed games so far
Looking for a complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in November 2023? It can be pretty difficult to keep track of all the comings and goings in the world of Xbox Game Pass every week, so we've put together this handy guide to provide an overview of what's coming to Xbox Game Pass in November, as well...
News Halo Infinite Gets A Minor Patch This Week, Here's What's Included
Update: The full patch notes have arrived
Update [Sat 28th Oct, 2023 04:30 BST]: As promised, 343 Industries has now shared the full patch notes for this most recent Halo Infinite update. Here they are in full (via Halo Waypoint): Halo Infinite Patch (26th October 2023) RESOLVED ISSUES The following changes were made in the October 26, 2023,...
News Microsoft Increasing Xbox Series S Price In Brazil
It's now in the same price bracket as PS5's digital model
The Xbox Series S has proven to be a huge hit for Microsoft this generation, bringing in sales from many consumers who may not have even considered the high-end Series X model. Unfortunately, though, it seems customers located in Brazil will soon have to pay more for this particular unit. As...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 28-29)
Alan Wake 2 anyone?
It's time for another weekend of gaming! We've been treated to some really good stuff on Xbox this past week, including the arrival of Alan Wake 2 and the addition of Dead Space Remake onto Xbox Game Pass - both in time for Halloween! Here's what we're playing this weekend: Ben Kerry, Staff Writer: All of this week's spooky...
Guide BlizzCon 2023 Kicks Off Next Week, Here's The Full Broadcast Schedule
It's now part of Microsoft's gaming division
With Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard complete, we can finally move onto the fun stuff like Blizzard's annual event, BlizzCon. The official convention is returning live this year between November 3-4 and if you are wondering what will be on display, Blizzard has now unveiled the full...
News Forza Motorsport Update 2 Coming Mid-November, Here Are The Early Patch Notes
"Thank you for your continued patience"
Forza Motorsport made its debut on Xbox earlier this month, and already the team at Turn 10 Studios is looking toward the second update for the game targeting a mid-November release. This update is the "first content update" and will include an additional track location (Yas Marina), and will also feature...
Friday27th Oct 2023
"Drop into two painstakingly-recreated Battle Royale maps"
For quite a while now we've known that one of Xbox's biggest goals with its Activision Blizzard acquisition is to grow in the mobile gaming space, and a new Call of Duty blog post shows us a little bit about why that goal is already coming into view. As part of the Call of Duty franchise's...
Review Alan Wake 2 (Xbox) - Remedy's Best Game Yet And A Big Improvement On The Original
He's still a writer...
Editor's Note: The majority of our Alan Wake 2 review time was spent playing the PC version of the game. We have also tested the Xbox Series X version out for a short time, and have noted our Xbox performance impressions towards the end of the review. Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake is an adventure that this particular...
News Disney Dreamlight Valley No Longer Going Free-To-Play, 1.0 Launch Date Revealed For Xbox
"We maintain our promise to keep delivering free content updates"
Disney Dreamlight Valley has been in a form of early access for some time at this point - in fact, we checked the game out when its early launch first arrived on Xbox Game Pass in September 2022. At that stage, the plan was always to make the game free-to-play at some stage, however,...
News Activision Blizzard Documents Its 44-Year History With New Infographic Featuring Xbox
"We begin an exciting new chapter"
It's been an exciting period for Microsoft and Xbox with the finalisation of the Activision Blizzard (and King) acquisition. Now, as part of this, Activision Blizzard has released a huge infographic documenting the entire history of both companies, the eventual merger, and joining team Xbox. Throughout it, there...
News Publisher Thunderful Reiterates Positives Of Xbox Game Pass Releases
Enabling developers and creating "great business"
We've heard debates about Xbox's Games Pass model and how sustainable it is, but one company that's all in is The Gunk publisher Thunderful Games. In a new interview with Windows Central, Thunderful's Chief Games Officer (and former ID@Xbox guy) Agostino Simonetta has reiterated how this relatively...
Talking Point Somehow, It's Been Five Years Since The Launch Of Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar's finest moment?
We often use game anniversaries as a chance to look back at some of our favourite Xbox titles over the years, and we must admit, this one has definitely snuck up on us a bit. Yep, it's been a whole five years, half a decade, since Rockstar unleashed Red Dead Redemption 2 onto our gaming screens - and to be honest we've...
News Stalker 2 & More Xbox Titles To Feature At Paris Games Week 2023
The event takes place next month
Xbox has detailed some of its plans for Paris Games Week 2023, which takes place early next month. For now, the team has discussed some of the games it will be bringing to the show floor, where fans in Paris can go hands on with the latest Xbox titles - and even sample some unreleased projects. Perhaps the biggest...
News Ubisoft Delays Large-Scale Game, Reports Suggest It's Star Wars Outlaws
The new title was previously confirmed for 2024
There's some big news on the Ubisoft front today, with the company revealing in its latest financial report that it has delayed a "large game" that was scheduled to launch early next year. While there's no specific title mentioned, there are suggestions it's the anticipated Star Wars Outlaws game by...
News Xbox's October Update Includes Keyboard Mapping For Controllers
And import game captures to Microsoft Clipchamp
Xbox will finally be rolling out its update that allows keyboard buttons to be mapped to Xbox controllers in its October update. This feature was originally announced back in July, but if you did miss it, Xbox owners will now be able to map controller buttons for the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller...
Video Here's 15+ Minutes Of Alan Wake 2 Running On Xbox Series S
This version only has one performance mode
Alan Wake 2 is officially out in the wild on Xbox, which means a few of us here at Pure Xbox HQ have been putting some time into Remedy's new survival horror adventure. And, since there's been some drama surrounding the game's performance on Xbox Series S, and how that version
News Ubisoft's Pirate Game Skull & Bones Gets New Release Window, Again
It's now expected between January and March 2024
If the reports are true and Star Wars Outlaws is Ubisoft's "large game" pushed out of an "early 2024" release window, it seems we might already have another Ubisoft title to fill the same launch period. According to the video game company's latest earnings report, an update on Skull and Bones says...
News Apex Legends Adding Cross-Progression At The End Of October
A welcome update
Respawn Entertainment has shared some welcome news with the community of Apex Legends. The free-to-play battle royale will finally be getting cross-platform progression on 31st October. This update will arrive alongside Season 19 and the newest Legend Conduit. This cross-progression update will include account merging - with all...
Thursday26th Oct 2023
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 26)
Dying in space
We have a huge Xbox Game Pass drop today! Three titles will be added to the service throughout the day, including EA Motive's Dead Space remake - coming to Game Pass Ultimate via the EA Play library. So, without further ado, we'll drop a quick summary of all three new Game Pass additions down below. Dead Space (Xbox Series X|S,...
News Co-Op Action Adventure 'Gangs Of Sherwood' Gets Last-Minute Delay
"Please accept our thanks in advance for your understanding"
We've been quite impressed by what we've seen from Gangs of Sherwood so far, and we were definitely looking forward to getting hands on with the game in just a few days here. However, unfortunately, the title has seen a last-minute delay, and is now due out at the end of November...
Friday27th Oct 2023
News Here's A Look At Microsoft And Xbox's New Gaming Leadership Structure
See for yourself
It's been another big week for team Xbox with the latest announcement of a Microsoft reshuffle which sees some familiar faces promoted. Perhaps the biggest changes apart from Activision Blizzard, are the promotions of two execs. As noted in the initial announcement, Matt Booty is now 'president of game content and studios'...
Thursday26th Oct 2023
Roundup Here's What The Critics Are Saying About Alan Wake 2
The game is out on Xbox tomorrow!
It's finally time! After more than 12 years of waiting since the original game, Alan Wake 2 hits digital store shelves tomorrow, and just before launch, some early reviews are starting to go live. <related ids="157441"> Here at Pure Xbox HQ we're still working away to bring you an Alan Wake 2 review on Xbox...
News Microsoft Reshuffle Makes Huge Changes To Team Xbox, Matt Booty & Sarah Bond Promoted
We have a new structure in place at Xbox
Xbox is in the midst of making massive changes to its leadership structure, as a result of recent acquisitions like that of Bethesda Softworks and Activision Blizzard. As detailed by The Verge, multiple Xbox execs will hold new roles after the company reshuffle, including familiar faces like Sarah Bond and
Guide Alan Wake 2 Release Date, Release Times & Download Size On Xbox Series X|S
Everything you need to know for tomorrow's launch
Alan Wake 2 is almost here! With more than a decade of waiting since the original game released, you'll probably be keen to get this one ready to go for launch. So, with that in mind, here's everything you need to get prepped for Remedy's big new release. Below, you'll find all the release dates,...
News Forza Motorsport Reportedly Racing Ahead With New Launch Records
Game Pass supposedly played a huge role
Turn 10's next generation of Forza Motorsport launched on the Xbox earlier this month and it may have potentially smashed the "day one" player count of previous entries in the series. This data comes from TrueAchievements, with the Xbox achievement tracker website sharing its own member data, which reveals...
Roundup Here's What The Critics Are Saying About Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1
Have you been playing it on Xbox?
Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 is out in the wild, and the critics are now sharing their own thoughts. Reviews have been spread across multiple platforms so far, but they still provide a general idea of what to expect if you haven't already got hold of this new collection. So, let's get right into it:...
News RoboCop: Rogue City Warns There Will Be Trouble If You Fail to Comply
Insert schlocky one-liner here
The explosive-looking Robocop: Rogue City smashes onto Xbox platforms on 2nd November, and we were warned of the trouble that could potentially follow in a new trailer shown off at the Xbox Partner Preview event earlier today. Players step into the armoured boots of Alex Murphy, AKA RoboCop, part man, part machine,...
News Xbox's New Marketing Campaign Is Producing Some Amazing Adverts In Europe
You won't miss these!
A week ago, Microsoft launched a brand-new Xbox marketing campaign - right after the company confirmed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Well, as it turns out, that campaign isn't limited to TV & YouTube ads (and giant s
News Obsidian's Sci-Fi RPG The Outer Worlds Surpasses Five Million Sales
Phil Spencer congratulates the team
Obsidian is one of the many talented studios working under the Xbox banner, and it appears its 2019 sci-fi action RPG The Outer Worlds has now shifted more than 5 million copies. This information comes from publisher Private Division, congratulating the team on four years and all of the sales. Xbox boss Phil...
News Still Wakes the Deep 'First Look' Gameplay Adds Some Cosmic Horror to the Mix
Sink or swim
Still Wakes The Deep is a narrative first-person jaunt through a potentially haunted oil rig, or at least one experiencing a serious cosmic disturbance. We got a better look at gameplay during the Xbox Partner Preview event earlier today, and this psychological horror title is due out in early 2024. Developed by The Chinese Room, the...
News Remedy Dev Thanks Epic Games For Being 'Nothing But Supportive' On Alan Wake 2
"They let us make the game we wanted"
Well, the early reviews are in, and it's safe to say that Alan Wake 2 has gone down very well indeed with most critics so far. In the wake of Remedy's review embargo lifting today, the team's communications director has thanked publisher Epic Games - and their comment gives us some insight into why Alan Wake 2...
News Layers Of Fear Dev Celebrates 15th Birthday With Free Final Prologue Chapter
Available to existing owners on Xbox Series X|S
To mark its 15th Birthday, Bloober Team (Scorn), is celebrating with a "new and free" chapter of Layers of Fear. The catch is, that you'll need to be an existing owner of Layers of Fear to gain free access. In this "final prologue" chapter, you'll take the reins of a cursed Hollywood production as you...
News PowerWash Simulator Studio Unveils New 'Lightning-Paced' Action Adventure
Another Xbox Partner Preview
During Xbox's' Partner Preview' showcase one of the indies unveiled was Ikaro: Will Not Die. It's described as a "lightning-paced action adventure" featuring rogue-lite elements, and perhaps most interestingly it's being developed by the PowerWash Simulator team FuturLab. This "unique indie" is created in partnership...
News Spirittea Pours Generous Gameplay Measure, 13th November Release Brewing
Just a little Spiritteaser
Spirittea is a cosy life sim that cites Stardew Valley and Spirited Away as influences, telling the tale of a writer who has escaped to the countryside searching for inspiration for their next book. It starts a new life on Xbox Series X and S on 13th November, available on Game Pass. After accidentally sipping from an...
Wednesday25th Oct 2023
News Two Games Announced For Xbox Game Pass At October's 'Partner Preview' Event
Two titles have just been confirmed for Game Pass in 2024!
Today's Xbox 'Partner Preview' event featured a couple of new Game Pass announcements, including a reveal for one of our most anticipated indies in the form of Still Wakes The Deep. <related ids="157328"> So, here's a quick rundown of each of the two new Game Pass additions revealed...
Feature Here's Everything That Was Revealed At The Xbox 'Partner Preview' October Event
Missed the event? Here's a recap
Missed the Xbox Partner Preview event earlier today? No worries! You can always go back and watch the on-demand version for yourself, and we've also detailed all the important reveals in this article. <related ids="157329"> The following list is everything that was revealed during the stream: <related...
News Manor Lords Launches On PC Game Pass April 2024, Xbox Release "Shortly After"
A "day one" game preview
If the two Xbox Game Pass announcements during the latest 'Partner Preview' weren't already enough, there was also a PC Game Pass date locked in during today's showcase. It's the "highly anticipated" historical city-building game Manor Lords and it will be dropping on PC Game Pass "day one" via game preview on 26th April...
Xbox technically owns the franchise now
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 may be missing out on a day one Xbox Game Pass launch this year, but it isn't stopping Microsoft from including the title as a highlight in its
News Frantic FPS 'The Finals' Is Getting A Free Open Beta This Week On Xbox
Starting tomorrow!
The Finals has been firmly on our FPS radar ever since we learnt that some of the masterminds behind the Battlefield series are at the helm, and we're in luck, because Xbox players are being treated to a free open beta for the game this week. As announced during
News Ark: Survival Ascended Is Coming To Xbox This November
Featuring cross-platform modding powered by UE5
One of the highlights of Xbox's latest 'Partner Preview' event was another look at Ark: Survival Ascended, and according to Studio Wildcard it's coming to Xbox this November. As previously highlighted, this title has been remade ground up in Unreal Engine 5 and now features improved lighting,...
Deals All 30+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 24-31)
Spooky deals, 'Fallout Day' sales & more!
We have quite a few backwards compatible classics on offer this week! Thanks to the ongoing Shocktober sale and this week's Fallout Day discounts, there are lots of old school games and DLC packs available on the cheap right now. <related ids="157377,157318"> As a result, we've rounded up all of the...
News Xbox's Leadership Team Visits Blizzard Post-Acquisition
Microsoft strives to be a "source of trust" for the studio
Following Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Phil Spencer and team Xbox have been busy doing studio tours all around the world. The latest visit was Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California and while Xbox's leadership team hasn't formally shared what exactly went on...
News Bethesda Revealed Elder Scrolls 6 Early Because The 'Pitchforks And Torches Were Out'
Todd Howard had to say it was happening
The former Skyrim lead designer and Starfield systems designer Bruce Nesmith has explained why The Elder Scrolls 6 was apparently revealed by Bethesda in 2018. While the company prefers to reveal its games as close as possible to release dates, according to Nesmith, Bethesda was supposedly feeling the...
News Starfield Launch Set Record For "Most Game Pass Subscriptions Added On A Single Day Ever"
According to Microsoft's CEO
Bethesda's new space RPG Starfield has been a huge success for Xbox since it arrived on Game Pass and multiple platforms in September. In less than a month it surpassed 10 million players and since then, it's had ongoing success in the charts. Now, in an update during Microsoft's latest earnings call for FY24 Q1, the...
Thursday26th Oct 2023
News Xbox Boss Praises Activision Blizzard's 'Amazing Teams' After A Week Of Studio Tours
Phil thinks they're "really inspiring"
Since finalising its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox's leadership team have kept themselves busy with a bunch of studio tours. Most recently, Phil Spencer and co visited Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine, California, and now in a follow-up to this, the Xbox boss has shared a brief message on social...
Wednesday25th Oct 2023
Live Watch The Xbox 'Partner Preview' October Event Here
"A fresh mix of indie games and familiar favorites"
Hello, and welcome to the Xbox Partner Preview event for October 2023! This is the first show in a new format for Xbox which plans to showcase "a fresh mix of indie games and familiar favorites" - including Xbox Game Pass titles! "You can expect to see the latest information on in-game activities...
News Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater Looks Stunning With First 'In-Engine' Trailer For MGS3 Remake
Wow!
Xbox's 'Partner Preview' event for October 2023 has just wrapped up, and we've rounded up everything revealed at the event right here: <related ids="157328"> However, we did not expect Konami to show up with some first ever in-engine gameplay from its MGS3 remake, so, we thought we'd highlight t
News Amnesia: The Bunker Gets Huge Halloween Update On Xbox Game Pass
Featuring new difficulty options, custom modes & more!
Amnesia: The Bunker marked the return of Frictional's frightening horror series when it arrived on Xbox Game Pass back in the summer, and now, it's getting a major update to coincide with a much spookier time of the year. Ahead of Halloween at the end of the month, the team is bringing loads of...
News Xbox Gaming Revenue Up 9% YoY In Latest Earnings Report
Hardware revenue had a decline of 7%
Microsoft has released its earning results for FY24 Q1 and Xbox's gaming revenue is up by 9% year-over-year. Xbox's content and revenue services in this latest quarter grew, this time by 13%. It's driven by the growth of the Xbox Game Pass service and first-party content. Xbox hardware revenue had a decline of...
Poll How Would You Grade The Xbox 'Partner Preview' October Event?
What did you think of the format?
The dust is now beginning to settle on the Xbox Partner Preview event for October 2023! 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. <related...
News Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Has A New Animal Crossing-Style Island Mode
"Welcome to DonDoko Island"
During Xbox's latest 'Partner Preview', Sega showed off a new mode for Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and the general consensus online seems to be it's kind of like Animal Crossing. Dondoko Island will see Ichi managing his own resort while mixing in all the other features of this "exciting and emotional" narrative RPG...
Tuesday24th Oct 2023
News Forza Motorsport Update 1.1 Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Hotfix resolves "infinite loading screen"
After a relatively smooth launch earlier this month, Forza Motorsport has now received a small update to further enhance the overall racing experience. Here are the patch notes for 'Update 1.1' courtesy of the official Forza Motorsport support page - revealing "stability" has been improved, with the fix...
News Cities: Skylines 2 Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 24)
The console version is coming at a later date
Welcome to another Xbox Game Pass drop, folks! Today's arrival comes in the form of Cities: Skylines 2 from Paradox Interactive - although this is just the PC version for now as the console release was recently delayed. <related ids="156120"> Anyway, with the console version coming to Xbox Game...
News Microsoft 'Doubling Down As A Game Producer' After ActiBlizz Deal, Says CEO
"Now we'll be one of the largest game publishers"
After Microsoft closed its Activision Blizzard deal earlier this month, Xbox Game Studios has grown exponentially. As you can see here, the amount of studios now under Microsoft's wing is kind of mind-blowing, and the company's CEO is relishing the opportunity to start producing more games. Speaking...
News Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 To Fix Multiple Issues Post-Launch
Konami reveals what's on the way
This week sees the arrival of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 on the Xbox and multiple other platforms, and ahead of launch, Konami has revealed a "number of issues" will be getting some post-launch fixes. In a list provided to IGN, Konami revealed how it had a number of updates planned. Here's the full...
News 800+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales As 'Shocktober' Deals Continue
Time for a Halloween treat?
Xbox's Shocktober Sale continues this week with lots of spooky offers available on Xbox titles. This year's version of the sale went live last week, and it's now joined by other promotions this week, including "Franchise Hits", "Publisher Spotlight", "Sales & Specials", "Bandai Namco" offers and of course, the...
News Forza Motorsport Is Out Now, But The Forza Horizon 5 Community Continues To Grow
Playground Games has hit another massive milestone
Xbox developer Turn 10 has finally delivered its next-gen vision for Forza Motorsport, but that isn't slowing down the juggernaut that is Forza Horizon 5. Despite the latter being out for almost two years at this point, the player base continues to grow - and it's just hit a new milestone. As you...
News Metal Gear Solid 4, 5 & Peace Walker Could Form Another 'Master Collection' On Xbox
Part 2 looks likely
Konami is bringing its Metal Gear series back into the limelight today with the release of Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection - Vol 1, however, it doesn't seem to be stopping there. Alongside the team's already-announced remake of MGS3, it looks like another collection of
News Starfield Dev Proud Of The Game's Launch Despite Being 'Stressed For 2 Years Straight'
"Goddamn am I proud of what we achieved"
Starfield was in the works for a long time over at Bethesda Game Studios — long before Xbox bought the company — and it seems the game's protracted development period wasn't always easy to deal with. In a recent Twitter thread, BGS Design Director Emil Pagliarulo reflected on Starfield's development, and...
News Halo Infinite Custom Battle Royale Impresses Thanks To Forge Mode Tools
This is one mighty impressive user creation
Pretty much since the launch of Halo Infinite we've heard rumblings about a battle royale mode potentially being in development over at Xbox, but if you're itching to play a Halo BR right now, it might be worth turning to this new Forge Mode creation. As YouTuber jackfrags has demoed up above, '
Video 13 Spooky Xbox Game Pass Titles To Try Out This Halloween
Trick or treat season is here
Halloween night is exactly one week away today, and what better way to celebrate the occasion than playing some spooky Xbox games, right? We love a good horror movie marathon don't get us wrong, but scary video games are just so immersive! And so, our video producer Craig has thrown together a lovely little video...
Monday23rd Oct 2023
News Alan Wake 2 Dev Reassures 'Worried' Fans About Xbox & PS5 Versions
"We've taken great care"
There's been a lot of talk recently about how well Alan Wake 2 will run on consoles when it arrives later this week (the release date is October 27th), but we've been reassured it should be a great experience across the board. This comes courtesy of Remedy Communications Director Thomas Puha, who advised Alan Wake fans...
News BG3 Is Still Planned For Xbox Before End Of 2023, Confirms Developer
"This has been said a few times"
We know that so many Xbox fans are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Baldur's Gate 3 on Series X and Series S in the near future, and Larian Studios is continuing to suggest it'll be with us before the end of 2023. Just a few days ago, Larian's Director of Publishing, Michael Douse, advised that it's still the...
News Xbox Announces 'Partner Preview' Event Taking Place This Week
"We are delighted to announce our next broadcast"
We've got an Xbox event taking place this week! This is what's officially known as the "Partner Preview" broadcast, and it'll apparently showcase around 20 minutes of "trailers and new gameplay footage". The focus of the event is third-party games, and it's already been confirmed we'll hear nothing...
News Xbox Receives Multiple Nominations For Golden Joystick 'Ultimate GOTY' Award
Voting is open right now!
Awards season is upon us, and ahead of the prestigious Golden Joystick Awards taking place in London on November 10th, the nominees have finally been revealed for the "Ultimate Game of the Year" category. The good news is that Xbox is in here multiple times! The likes of Starfield, Forza Motorsport and Hi-Fi RUSH all make...
News 'Fallout Day Sale' Now Live On Xbox, Featuring Steep DLC Discounts
Crawl out through the fallout, baby
Slightly ahead of Xbox's typical digital deals roundup each and every Tuesday, a new Fallout-flavoured promotion has just gone live on the Xbox Store. These discounts mostly include Fallout games and their respective DLC packs - although Skyrim also manages to barge its way into the promo as well. Anyway, seeing...
News Far Cry Spin-Off 'Project Maverick' Reportedly In Development At Ubisoft, Alongside Far Cry 7
"Its multiplayer game is called Project Maverick"
Up for some more Far Cry soon? Well, you could be in luck! According to a new report from Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson, Ubisoft has got that much Far Cry on its plate that it's decided to split its next entry into two entirely different releases. Yep, Ubisoft Montreal is reportedly developing both...
News Microsoft & People Can Fly Project Confirmed As 'Triple-A Game' Via New Job Post
"A Triple-A game developed in collaboration with Microsoft"
Earlier this summer, we caught wind of a brand-new project in the works between Microsoft and People Can Fly, thanks to a Polish business site that spotted the collaboration. While the Xbox owner hasn't officially confirmed the title since, a new job post from People Can Fly once again...
News Battlefield 2042 Has More People Playing Now Than During Its Launch Window
It's available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate too!
Battlefield 2042 is experiencing something of a resurgence, if new PC player counts are anything to go by. The futuristic EA FPS, which is almost two years old at this point, hit a new peak player count on Steam recently - and it has continued to match its launch window numbers since. On October 12th,...
News Square Enix Confirms Early 2024 Launch For Final Fantasy 14 Beta On Xbox
"Mark your calendars Xbox fans!"
Ever since Phil Spencer & co. worked towards a much closer partnership with Japanese developer Square Enix, Xbox fans have been eagerly awaiting news on Final Fantasy 14 and its rollout on Xbox Series X and S. Well, Square Enix has narrowed down a release window for the MMORPG's upcoming open beta - ahead of the...
News Amazon Reveals April 2024 Release Date For Fallout TV Show
"PLEASE REMAIN CALM"
We've got a date for the Fallout TV show! It's been announced today that it'll be available starting April 12th, 2024 on Amazon Prime Video. The news was announced in a little teaser on social media earlier today: Not much has been revealed about the Fallout TV show just yet, but we did get a quick "Beyond The Game" teaser...
News Lords Of The Fallen Console Crossplay Goes Live Today As Game Hits Impressive Sales Milestone
"The seven-figure milestone has been reached"
Lords Of The Fallen may have suffered from a bit of a rough launch on Xbox, but the team has been quick to implement updates so far - and a new feature is arriving today. Yep, CI Games is adding crossplay between Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PlayStation 5 today, while PC to console crossplay will...
Saturday21st Oct 2023
Feature These 20+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 23-27)
Prepare for a BIG week ahead!
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for October 23-27! We've got some big releases on the way over the next few days including Metal Gear Solid's Master Collection and Alan Wake 2, along with four Xbox Game Pass additions highlighted by Dead Space on EA Play and
News With Just Two Months Left, These Are The 10 Highest-Rated Xbox Games Of 2023
Will anything crack the top 10?
It's time for another look at the Metacritic rankings for 2023! With just two months left in a year that's been absolutely jam-packed with incredible Xbox releases, it'll soon be time to crown an overall Game of the Year. Before then, we thought we'd take this opportunity to glance at the highest-reviewed games...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 21-22)
Any Like a Dragon: Ishin on Xbox Game Pass?
It's time for another weekend! As usual, this past week treated us to more Xbox Game Pass titles, a variety of Free Play Days offerings, some big releases including Sonic Superstars, and a massive Shocktober
Video Senua's Insane 'Level Of Realism' Detailed In New Hellblade II Dev Diary
Launching on Xbox in 2024
If you weren't already excited for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, Ninja Theory has now released a new development diary showcasing the insane "level of realism" and attention to detail that's going into this second entry. This video focuses on how the team has gone about crafting the protagonist Senua in the next game, with a...
Talking Point Which Xbox Game Would You Love To Play Again For The First Time?
Halo? Gears? Tell us!
Over the past 23 years of Xbox, we've been fortunate enough to experience some absolute classics from Halo: Combat Evolved to Gears of War, and many of us have cherished memories of these games that we'd love to relive again. Alas, it's never quite the same the second time around, especially in linear single-player games where...
Friday20th Oct 2023
News Less Than 1% Of Xbox Players Own The Coveted 'Day One' Achievement
Are you one of them?
Hands up, who remembers the "Day One" Xbox achievement? This was a reward that you received for owning the Day One Edition of the Xbox One back at launch in 2013, accessible via a code inside the box. The achievement has seemingly been made private by Microsoft these days, so it's not easy to find even if you do own it. If...
Guide Xbox Game Pass: All Games Coming Soon In October 2023
The full list of confirmed games so far
Looking for a complete list of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in October 2023? It can be pretty difficult to keep track of all the comings and goings in the world of Xbox Game Pass every week, so we've put together this handy guide to provide an overview of what's coming to Xbox Game Pass in October, as well...
News Nintendo Boss Showers Praise On 'Great Relationship' With Xbox & Microsoft
"We consider them to be partners in many, many ways"
We've seen a nice partnership developing between Xbox and Nintendo over the past few years, with multiple Xbox games making their way over to the Switch such as Minecraft and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and now in a new interview with Inverse, Nintendo's Doug Bowser has showered praise on that...
News Digital Foundry Host Discusses Missing 'Resolution Boost' Program For Xbox One Games
"It never actually came out"
Microsoft has pioneered plenty of system-level enhancements for Xbox this generation - FPS Boost instantly comes to mind with its frame rate improvements across select Xbox 360 and Xbox One titles. However, some of the team's plans for Xbox Series X|S seemingly never materialised, including its 'Resolution Boost'...
News 343 Shares New Look At Remade Halo 3 Maps For Upcoming Halo Infinite Mode
Are you excited for 'Halo 3 Refueled'?
'Halo 3 Refueled' is a new Halo Infinite multiplayer mode arriving later on during Season 5, and ahead of its addition next month, the team at 343 Industries has showcased a bunch of new images featuring its selection of remade maps. We have classics like Guardian, High Ground, Narrows and The Pit here - and...
News Phil Spencer & Co. Given 'Sweet Welcome' As They Visit Candy Crush Developer King
One of the new ActiBlizz teams welcomes Xbox
Phil Spencer and the Xbox leadership team have wasted no time in the wake of Microsoft's huge Activision Blizzard deal. Shortly after the Xbox owner acquired the mega-publisher, Phil & co. have been to visit King Games - the team behind the mobile hit Candy Crush. As posted to Twitter, King has...
News Thanks To Starfield, UK Xbox Sales Enjoyed A Huge Increase In September
"A big Starfield-shaped boost"
We've finally got some details on the UK sales figures for September courtesy of GamesIndustry.biz, and it's definitely good reading for the team at Xbox - mainly due to the very successful launch of Starfield! According to the outlet, sales for the Xbox Series X and S increased month-on-month by a whopping 136% in...
News Josh Sawyer Reveals The Obsidian Game He'd Revisit With A 'Baldur's Gate 3 Budget'
Between Pentiment 2, Pillars of Eternity 3, or Fallout New Vegas 2
Xbox's Obsidian Entertainment is already hard at work on Avowed, but this is a dev team that seems to always have multiple projects spinning up at once, and the studio's design director has hinted at one Obsidian series he'd like to revisit - given the right budget. Speaking with...
News Giant Animated 'XSphere' Showcases Xbox Games Lineup In Las Vegas
To coincide with Twitchcon
Microsoft's latest advertising campaign for all things Xbox is in full swing as the team closes out its huge Activision Blizzard deal. Earlier this week, Xbox launched the brand-new 'Wake Up and Dream' trailer set to premiere as the main Xbox TV ad for the holiday season, and now team green has taken over Las Vegas with...
News Xbox Fans Want You To Play Signalis Before It Leaves Game Pass
"The game is a masterpiece."
We officially know of five games leaving Xbox Game Pass in late October 2023, and while Persona 5 Royal will rightfully take the headlines as the biggest of the lot, quite a few Xbox fans are also hyping up Signalis before it's removed. If you haven't heard of it, Signalis is a horror survival game in which you play as...
News Cities: Skylines 2 Receives Good Reviews, But Dev Warns Of Performance Issues At Launch
"We have not achieved the benchmark we targeted"
Next week sees the release of Cities: Skylines 2 on PC Game Pass, but sadly it sounds like a lot of players aren't going to be enjoying it to its fullest at launch. Despite some good reviews, there are also performance issues to be aware of. In a recent update, Paradox Interactive admitted that the...
Random Halo Infinite Fans Discover 'Golden Sandwich' Easter Egg In Season 5
Hidden within the new map Forbidden
Halo Infinite Season 5: Reckoning launched earlier this week on Xbox Series X|S, PC and Game Pass, and Spartans have already discovered one crazy secret hidden on the new arena map, Forbidden. This Easter Egg requires players to press a bunch of floor switches in a specific order and it then opens a secret door...
Thursday19th Oct 2023
News 'The Walking Dead: Destinies' Is A New Story-Driven Xbox Title Based On The TV Show
Update: Now confirmed for November!
Update (Thu 19th Oct, 2023): We've got an update on this one! The Walking Dead: Destinies will officially release on November 17th, available for £39.99 in the UK. A physical version will arrive in December as well. You can watch the all-new trailer above, and we've thrown some more details about the game below...
News Most Forza Motorsport Players Sticking To Single-Player, It Seems
The multiplayer stats are looking quite low
Forza Motorsport has been out in early access for a couple of weeks now; giving players plenty of time to get stuck into everything Turn 10's new Xbox racer has to offer. Despite the title containing a bunch of single and multiplayer modes at launch, most folks are sticking to single-player for now - at...
Reaction Seriously, Microsoft Doesn't Care About Using Call Of Duty To Sell Xboxes
"We have no goal of trying to use Call of Duty to get you to buy an Xbox console"
We've seen Microsoft move away from the goal of sheer console sales for years now - the team has almost given up the ghost with PlayStation and has accepted that Sony is likely to sell more systems for the time being. Having said that, the acquisition of Activision...
News Redfall's Recent 60FPS Patch Might Not Be The Last, If Bethesda Gets Its Way
Redemption Arcane
So, the biggest Redfall patch yet finally arrived earlier this month - complete with the game's long-awaited 60FPS mode on Xbox Series X and S. It's been a long time coming and we're glad it's here, however this might not be the end of road for Arkane's first Xbox-exclusive IP. According to Windows Central's Jez Corden, Bethesda...
News Diablo 4 Is Getting A Free Trial For Everyone On Xbox This Weekend
It actually starts today!
We've got a surprise addition to the Xbox Free Play Days lineup! It's been announced today that a special 10-hour free trial for Diablo 4 will be available from October 19-22 for all Xbox members - even non-Game Pass subscribers! The news was confirmed on the
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (October 19-22)
Included with Game Pass Core and Game Pass Ultimate
Update: We've got a surprise to add to the list in the form of a 10-hour trial for Diablo 4! The news about this has been covered elsewhere on Pure Xbox, so we'll link to that story below: <related ids="157173"> Original story: Your latest set of Xbox Free Play Days titles is now live! We...
News Xbox's Latest Advertising Campaign Features Starfield, Hellblade 2 & Others
"Wake Up and Dream"
Xbox has today unveiled its latest "Power Your Dreams global brand campaign", kicking things off with a live-action trailer called "Wake Up and Dream" that will be shown across global markets throughout the holiday period. You can watch the video above, which features the likes of Starfield, Forza Motorsport, Cyberpunk 2077 and...
News Paradox Announces Mutual Split With Lamplighters League & Shadowrun Developer
"We believe that a separation would be the best way forward"
We've been covering the saga of The Lamplighters League here at Pure Xbox all month, which launched on Xbox Game Pass back on October 3rd, but clearly didn't achieve the kind of success its teams had hoped for. Last week,
News Vampire Survivors Update 1.7 Brings Winter-Themed Stage & New Achievements To Xbox Game Pass
Here are the full patch notes
Developer Poncle is here with the Vampire Survivors v1.7 patch, and it sounds like a pretty major update for all players - including those on Xbox Game Pass. Packed into version 1.7 of Vampire Survivors are additions such as a new winter-themed stage, six new achievements, two new relics, a new weapon, a new character...
News Hellboy: Web Of Wyrd Is Out Now On Xbox, But It's Getting 'Mixed' Reviews
"Go toe-to-toe with a menagerie of nightmarish creatures"
We've seen a whole bunch of intriguing releases make their way to Xbox this week, and one of them is the roguelike action brawler Hellboy: Web of Wyrd - but sadly the reviews have been quite underwhelming so far. On Metacritic, the game has a 61 average score for PC
News F1 Manager 2023 Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 19)
Podium finish
We have another new title speeding onto Xbox Game Pass today, folks! Frontier's F1 Manager 2023 is now available in the Game Pass library - less than three months after launch. Here's some more info on your latest addition to Xbox Game Pass, alongside the game's launch trailer: F1 Manager 2023 (Console, PC, Cloud): "The intense...
Wednesday18th Oct 2023
News Two New '1.0' Releases Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In November
"Create the idyllic farm of your dreams"
Next month's list of Xbox Game Pass titles keeps on growing, with the announcements that Coral Island and Roboquest will both be leaving early access and launching with "1.0" versions as part of the service in November. We've already seen Roboquest on Game Pass for a while in "Game Preview" form, but now the...
News A Ridiculous Number Of Xbox Games Are Discounted By 90% This Week
Over 50 of them in all!
It's a big week for Xbox sales! The Shocktober Sale is officially now live, and we've also got various other promotions to take advantage of including a Bandai Namco sale, plenty of great Spotlight offers and a whole lot more. As a result, we've also got a ridiculous number of games that have been reduced by 90%! There are...
News Redfall Update 2.0 Analysis Shows Substantial Upgrade At 60FPS On Xbox Series X|S
The patch isn't perfect though
Here we go, folks. The team at Digital Foundry has taken another look at Redfall after Arkane delivered its huge '2.0' update — the one that introduced 60FPS on Xbox Series X and S — earlier this month. The big takeaway here is that the new 60FPS mode
News Phil Spencer Is 'Incredibly Excited' About The Future Of Xbox
He says the latest acquisition is "just the beginning"
In the same appearance on the Official Xbox Podcast, the head of Xbox Phil Spencer mentioned how he's "incredibly excited" about the future of Xbox now that Microsoft has successfully acquired Activision Blizzard as well as the mobile giant King. Reflecting on his own history as the head of...
Review Sonic Superstars (Xbox) - A Modern Take On Sonic's Classic 2D Games
Fun with friends
SEGA is back with a new Sonic the Hedgehog side-scroller and this time it’s having another crack at the “classic” experience reimagined with 3D graphics. The blue blur has been here before with games like Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and even hybrid releases such as Sonic Generations, so how does this new experience hold up? Well,...
Soapbox Gears Of War Should Return To Its Horror-Themed 'Mad World' Roots
Thinking back to original game's iconic trailer
It's that time of year where the horror fans among us start thinking about what spooky games we might play over the Halloween period, and this year, I feel a little stuck to be quite honest. I've spent some time with the likes of Resident Evil 4, Layers of Fear and Amnesia: The Bunker already in 2023,...
News It's A Big Couple Of Weeks For Theme Park Games On Xbox
Starting today with a major free update!
If you like theme park games, it's a good time to be an Xbox owner! Today sees the release of a major free update for Park Beyond on Xbox consoles, and we're also getting a new Rollercoaster Tycoon release in two weeks' time. Let's start with Park Beyond Update 2.0. This promises to bring "major...
Talking Point Did Your Xbox 360 Ever Get The 'Red Ring Of Death'?
Or were you one of the lucky ones?
Remember the Red Ring of Death? Of course you do! It was one of the biggest low-points in the history of Xbox's 22 years in existence, and the vast majority of early Xbox 360 owners ended up experiencing it at least once. The saga was documented extensively in the "Power On: The Story of Xbox" documentary a coupl
News This Diablo 4 Custom Console Is So Epic It Doesn't Even Look Like An Xbox
It doesn't work like one either, weirdly
Just as Microsoft finally acquires Diablo 4 developer Blizzard, the team announces another custom Xbox Series X console, and not only does this thing look hellish in its design - it also functions like its been plunged into the depths of hell too. Yep, weirdly, this latest Xbox Series X custom console...
News Halo Infinite Hits Highest PC Player Count In Over A Year As Season 5 Lands
The Steam numbers are up
There's quite a bit of hype building around Halo Infinite Season 5 at the moment - and that hype is already translating into a healthy PC player bump for 343 Industries and Microsoft. We're not talking astronomical numbers here, but the Steam version of Halo Infinite surpassed 15k concurrent players yesterday for the first...
Report Starfield Was The Best-Selling U.S. Video Game In September
Despite launching day one on Game Pass!
The U.S. video game sales data for September 2023 has been shared today courtesy of Circana (formerly known as The NPD Group), with the firm claiming that Starfield was the best-selling video game across all platforms last month. Circana says this is based on physical and digital purchases, and ranked by...
Roundup Here's What The Critics Think Of Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged
Speeding onto Xbox this week
Milestone's Hot Wheels Unleashed sequel hits Xbox tomorrow (October 19th) and ahead of its imminent arrival, we've had a browse at a bunch of reviews to see what the presses make of it so far. The reception seems largely positive at the moment, as Hot Wheels Unleashed 2: Turbocharged seems to successfully build on the...
Tuesday17th Oct 2023
News Phasmophobia Console Release Delayed, No Longer Planned For Xbox This Month
"We had hoped to present you with a special launch alongside the Halloween event"
There are plenty of ghost-hunting eyes locked onto the console release of Phasmophobia, but unfortunately, we have some hauntingly disappointing news today. The team behind the PC mega-hit has announced a second Xbox delay following its initial shift from August to...
News These Seven Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (October 19 - 31)
The latest official roundup of new titles
Microsoft has announced the second batch of Xbox Game Pass titles for October 2023! This list includes previously confirmed additions such as Jusant and Headbangers Rhythm Royale, as well as surprises including Dead Space! Don't forget that Like
News Step Aside Gollum, We Have A New Contender For Worst Xbox Game Of 2023
"This game... I don't know what to say"
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum will sadly always go down as a major flop, receiving terrible reviews back in May across all platforms, but it might actually be beaten to the "Worst Xbox Game of 2023" crown by one of today's new releases. Skull Island: Rise of Kong has officially made its debut, and the...
News Forza Motorsport Update 1.0 Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Featuring a wide array of fixes
It's time for Forza Motorsport Update 1.0! The patch is now rolling out to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC, containing a bunch of fixes for everything from a "washed out" visual glitch to various progression-related problems. Without further ado, here are the full patch notes for Forza Motorsport Update 1.0:...
News Five Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass In Late October 2023
Including one hugely popular JRPG
Microsoft has revealed another five games leaving Xbox Game Pass in the latter part of October 2023, and the selection includes some notable departures including the ever-popular JRPG Persona 5 Royal. <related ids="138615"> Here's the full list of Xbox Game Pass leavers for October 31st, 2023: Xbox Game...
News Former Xbox Game Pass Title 'Second Extinction' Is Being Permanently Delisted
"Thank you for being a part of this journey"
Remember Second Extinction? This multiplayer FPS was one of the very first games ever revealed for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and there was a lot of hype surrounding its early access release back in 2020. It eventually made its Xbox arrival in April of 2021, where it was also included as part...
News Phil Spencer Explains Why ActiBlizz Titles Aren't Expected On Xbox Game Pass Just Yet
"The regulatory process took so long..."
When the Activision Blizzard acquisition finally went through last week, we were all hoping Team Xbox might have a big drop of Xbox Game Pass titles from the back catalogue to throw our way in October. Sadly that didn't end up proving the case, and now Xbox boss Phil Spencer has explained why. In a
News Xbox Shocktober Sale 2023 Now Live, 900+ Games Discounted This Week
Elden Ring, Resi 4, Hogwarts & more!
It's time for the Xbox Shocktober Sale 2023! This year's version of the sale is joined by other promotions throughout the week, including "Bandai Namco", "Publisher Spotlight", "Sales & Specials" and "Game Pass Optimised" offers. We've got some big games in here such as Diablo 4, Resident Evil 4, Hogwarts...
News Turn 10 Doubles Down On Bringing 'Monthly New Content' To Forza Motorsport
"We will keep you updated on when those changes start to roll out"
Pretty much from the outset, the new Forza Motorsport has been seen as an 'evolving platform' for Xbox and Turn 10 - with the developer already naming two post-launch tracks arriving in the coming months. And in a recent 'Community Update' on the Forza website, the team further c
Bakumatsu Beatdown
Update: To celebrate the arrival of Like a Dragon: Ishin on Xbox Game Pass, we thought we'd highlight our Pure Xbox review once again - giving you a chance to see whether it's worth a download this week! <related ids="157021"> Original review (Fri 17th Feb, 2023): It’s been something of a golden era for fans of all...
Wednesday18th Oct 2023
News Phil Spencer Welcomes PlayStation's Call Of Duty Fans, Confirms No Xbox Exclusive Content
"I want you to feel part of the community"
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has been talking a bit more about Call of Duty plans in today's interview on the Official Xbox Podcast, including what PlayStation players can expect from the franchise in the future. As he's said before, Spencer reiterated that he wants PlayStation fans to feel part of the Call...
Tuesday17th Oct 2023
News Original Halo Dev Admits One Level Made The Cut That 'Probably Shouldn't Have'
And did you know the tank was almost axed?
Halo: Combat Evolved played a huge part in the success of the original Xbox and was at the time labelled one of the best games ever made, but its development was a difficult and challenging process, as the original development team reminds us. Speaking to Edge Magazine recently, Bungie co-founder Alex...
Deals All 10+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 17-24)
Get up to 90% off!
Another fresh batch of Xbox deals & discounts are now live, with over 900 titles on offer this week - including the yearly 'Shocktober' sale as we approach Halloween. In and amongst these offers are a selection of backwards compatible classics from the original Xbox and Xbox 360 eras; discounted on the digital Xbox Store...
News Xbox Boss Would Love To 'Revisit' Older Franchises More, Uses Quake 2 As An Example
"I'd love to see more things like that"
Xbox's Phil Spencer appeared today as part of the Official Xbox Podcast, where he was asked about potential plans to go and revisit older franchises now that Microsoft owns Activision Blizzard and its extensive back catalogue. In response, Spencer explained that he's eager to see what the development teams...
News Lies Of P Has Sold 1 Million Copies Already, Despite Its Inclusion With Xbox Game Pass
It's still selling very well!
Lies of P has been a bit of a hit for publisher Neowiz - as evidenced by the title reaching a mighty impressive sales milestone less than a month after launch. The team's new soulslike has just passed one million units sold - not bad for a title that launched on Xbox Game Pass. Yep, Lies of P was a day one addition to...
News Like A Dragon: Ishin! Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 17)
Now live in the library!
Another entry in the Yakuza franchise is now live in the Xbox Game Pass library! Yep, Like A Dragon: Ishin! has been added to the library today, October 17, across Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Below is our review showcasing your latest addition to Game Pass, alongside more info on the SEGA-published title. Like A...
News Xbox Head Thanks Bethesda Veteran Pete Hines For His Services
"24 years of being at the heart of Bethesda"
Yesterday, Bethesda veteran and head of publishing, Pete Hines, announced he would be retiring after 24 years of service at the company. In a follow-up to this, Phil Spencer and some others within the Xbox family have thanked Hines for his contribution to the Bethesda family over the years. Xbox and...
Monday16th Oct 2023
News 'Karma Is A B*tch'! Original Xbox Creator Talks Activision Takeover
His comments have racked up over 1M views!
This past Friday marked an important milestone in the history of Xbox as Microsoft closed the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and original Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley had some words to share following the announcement. Blackley took to Twitter to point out the "karma" involved in Activision CEO...
Rumour Halo's Next Story Campaign Is In Development On Unreal Engine
"Yes, they do have a team working on the next Halo campaign"
Earlier this year, we heard reports that 343 Industries had decided not to bother pursuing any sort of single-player DLC for Halo Infinite - instead focusing on multiplayer content post-launch. However, that doesn't mean the team hasn't started work on an entirely new Halo campaign, and a...
News 343 Reveals Exact Release Times For Halo Infinite Season 5
Here's when you can go hands on in your region
Excitement is starting to build around Halo Infinite Season 5; the game's next content drop that's set to bring lots of new goodies to Halo Infinite multiplayer. Ahead of its nearby release, 343 Industries has revealed exactly when we can all jump in and try the new content out. Halo Infinite Season 5...
News 'Halo 3 Refueled' Is Bringing An Entire Halo-3 Themed Playlist To Halo Infinite Next Month
Duke it out on 8 classic Halo 3 maps
Halo Infinite Season 5 is right around the corner, and at this month's Halo Championships event, the team revealed that a fully Halo 3-themed playlist is coming to Infinite's multiplayer suite next month. 'Halo 3 Refueled' will bring together eight Halo 3 maps into one nostalgia-powered playlist for Infinite in...
News Remedy Says It 'Didn't Make Business Sense' To Remaster Alan Wake's American Nightmare
"We did discuss that when we did the remaster"
Alan Wake Remastered brought the cult classic Xbox 360 title to modern audiences back in 2021 - where it also made its PlayStation & Nintendo debuts after previously being an Xbox and PC exclusive. However, developer Remedy didn't bother remastering the game's standalone expansion Alan Wake's...
News Police Simulator: Patrol Officers Returns With A Major 'Crime Scene' Update This Week
It's still in the "Top Paid" Xbox charts
Police Simulator: Patrol Officers is always hanging around the "Top Paid" Xbox charts in at least a few countries, so it's surely been a massive success for publisher Astragon and developer Aesir Interactive since its arrival. The updates are still rolling in as well, with a major Crime Scene Update coming...
Talking Point Which Activision Blizzard Series Do You Want To Play Most On Xbox Game Pass?
Come tell us what you're excited to play
Okay, so, the big Activision Blizzard deal is officially happening - and we're already starting to get giddy about the future of Xbox Game Pass with them on board. Sure, we know that some of the team's newer titles like Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4
News Limited Run CEO Claims Walmart May Be Dropping Physical Xbox Games Soon
"I've heard rumblings"
Last week, it was reported that Best Buy was going to stop selling physical media in 2024, and this was eventually confirmed to be the case for TV shows and movies, although video games apparently won't be affected. We're also now hearing similar things related to Walmart. Limited Run's CEO took to Twitter a few days ago to...
News Xbox Game Pass's 'Like A Dragon Gaiden' Will Launch Without English Voiceover
There's "no official date" for it yet
One of the big Xbox Game Pass releases in November is Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, but something you need to be aware of is that the English dub won't be available on launch day. Kazuma Kiryu's English voice actor Yong Yea pointed this out yesterday, revealing that the English version will...
News Bethesda's Longtime Publishing Head Pete Hines Is Leaving The Company
"I have decided my time at Bethesda Softworks has come to an end"
Wow, this is a bit of a bombshell! Head of Publishing at Bethesda, Pete Hines, is officially leaving the company following the huge launch of Starfield. Yep, Hines has been a prominent public figure at Bethesda for more than two decades, but the exec has decided it's time to retire...
News Minecraft Surpasses 300 Million Copies Sold, Announces New Star Wars DLC
"A milestone no-one could have dreamed of"
This past Sunday marked the return of Minecraft Live for 2023, and the show treated us to some cool announcements for everything from Minecraft Legends to new Star Wars DLC, along with a bunch of mindblowing statistics! In terms of that Star Wars DLC, it's called "Path of the Jedi" and will be landing on...
Sunday15th Oct 2023
News Six Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass Today (October 15)
Including this action horror-world platformer
It's October 15th, so that means we've sadly got six games leaving Xbox Game Pass today. We highlighted these earlier this month, but wanted to bring them to your attention once more - just in case you missed the original announcement! Here's the list of games leaving Xbox Game Pass later today:...
Saturday14th Oct 2023
News Six Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In November So Far
An early look at what's to come
Yes, it's still early days for October, but we're already looking ahead to November 2023 on Xbox Game Pass as well! We've got some big games confirmed for next month, and all of them are day one launches. Perhaps the two biggest highlights as things stand are Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name and...
Feature These 30+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 16-20)
Another busy week for new releases
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for October 16-20! We've got some big releases on the way over the next few days including Sonic Superstars and Hot Wheels Unleashed 2, while Like a Dragon: Ishin
News 343: Halo Infinite's New Forge AI Toolkit Is A 'Huge' Game Changer
Forgers are already praising it
Xbox Wire has shared a rundown about the Forge AI Toolkit coming to Halo Infinite in Season 5: Reckoning next week and it's being labelled a "big" deal, with the potential here considered to be huge. In brief, the new toolkit will allow Spartans to input the Campaign AI (including allies and enemy AI) into their...
Talking Point Assassin's Creed Fans, Where Does Mirage Rank For You?
And if you haven't played it, which is your fave so far?
Let's talk Assassin's Creed! The new release of Mirage has been available for over a week now, and it's clearly been a massive success for Ubisoft as the company's "biggest new-gen launch" of the generation. Here at Pure Xbox, we also had great things to say in our review, giving the game an...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 14-15)
Checking out the new Forza?
Ready for the weekend? We've got plenty of good stuff to try on Xbox over the next few days, including two new Xbox Game Pass releases, four Free Play Days offerings, and over 700 deals available on the Xbox Store right now! Here's what we're playing this weekend: Fraser Gil
Friday13th Oct 2023
Guide These 50+ Activision Blizzard Games Could Be Heading To Xbox Game Pass
The takeover is complete, so it's almost time!
Update (Fri 13th Oct, 2023): It's been nearly two years since we first published this list, and a lot has happened in the meantime! The acquisition of Activision Blizzard is finally now complete, and therefore we should be getting a large batch of ActiBlizz games on Xbox Game Pass in the relatively near...
News Xbox Says The 'Work Has Begun' To Bring Activision Blizzard Titles To Game Pass
"We know you’re excited – and we are too."
We've all been looking forward to a large slate of Activision Blizzard titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for almost two years now, and even though the deal has officially gone through, it sounds like we might need to wait a little bit longer. Following today's announcement, the official Xbox Game Pass...
News Activision Says Xbox Can 'Take Games In The Library And Remake Them' Post-Acquisition
Which Activision Blizzard game do you want remade?
Now that the Activision Blizzard deal has officially gone through, we can all look forward to the future - a future where Xbox has total control over ActiBlizz IP. The Call of Duty owner is sitting on a treasure trove of other gaming franchises, and we could even see some of them return in 'remake'...
News It's Finally Over! Activision Blizzard Is Now Officially Part Of Xbox
"Welcoming the legendary teams and franchises"
It's time! Microsoft has announced today that Activision Blizzard King is now officially part of the company, bringing the likes of Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Diablo and many more "legendary franchises" under the Xbox banner. This news
News Here's A Look At Every Xbox Studio Following The ActiBlizz Acquisition
It's a ridiculous list!
Activision Blizzard King is now officially part of the Xbox family, and that means the list of Microsoft-owned first-party studios has just grown in a massive way. If you thought it was impressive before, it's on a whole other level now! Xbox fan and creative genius Klobrille has put together a fantastic look at the new...
News Xbox Is Fixing An Annoying Issue Related To Microsoft Store Updates
This has been hanging around for a while
Have you noticed an issue with Microsoft Store updates on your Xbox console lately? In our experience, the store says it needs an update, but then takes a while to start and gets stuck at 100% for ages. If you've suffered the same thing, we've got some good news to share - the Xbox team is aware of the...
News Best Buy Will Reportedly Stop Selling Physical Media Next Year
Update: Don't worry, it won't include games!
Update: Best Buy has since confirmed that physical movies and TV shows will be affected, but fortunately video games won't be! The company will continue to sell games, as revealed in a statement to Variety earlier today. Original story: With the advent of digital-only home consoles like the Xbox...
News Lords Of The Fallen's Day 1 Patch Arrives Sooner Than Expected For Xbox Series X|S
Update: It's now available!
Update (Fri 13th Oct, 2023): Well, that didn't take long! The day one patch for Lords of the Fallen has actually arrived on launch day after all, with developer Hexworks confirming the news earlier today. We haven't got any patch notes yet, but apparently they'll be rolling out for all platforms in the near future...
News Phil Spencer Comments On What It Means To Merge Activision Blizzard With Xbox First Party
"It is incredible to welcome such legendary teams to Xbox"
Well, the megaton news we've all been waiting for has finally landed. Activision Blizzard is officially a part of team Xbox as Microsoft eventually pushes its huge merger through after almost two years of work. Now that we've waded through all of the legislation and whatnot though, it's...
News UK CMA Approves Microsoft's Acquisition Of Activision Blizzard
It's official!
Microsoft's long dispute with the UK Competition and Markets Authority over the acquisition of Activision Blizzard is finally over! The UK regulator officially approved the deal earlier today, paving the way for the takeover to go through. The CMA confirmed this was on condition of Microsoft selling cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft...
News CMA Criticises 'Tactics Employed By Microsoft' Despite Agreeing To ActiBlizz Deal
Related to the initial investigation
Although the UK Competition and Markets Authority has today agreed to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the regulator has had some harsh words to share about Microsoft's "tactics" along the way. In an official press release, CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell criticised Microsoft's handling of the...
News Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Set To Leave The Company In Early 2024
"I will do that through the end of 2023"
Although Activision Blizzard is officially a part of Xbox now (we still can't believe it either), questions remain about the future of the company under Microsoft and if there'll be any structural changes in the near future. Well, thanks to statements from both Phil Spencer and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, we...
Roundup Here's What The Critics Are Saying About Sonic Superstars
Reviews are starting to go live
A new Sonic game is out next week, folks! Yep, SEGA's Sonic Superstars launches for Xbox One, Series X and Series S on October 17th, and early reviews are now starting to go live for this latest 2D entry in the series. We're hoping to have a review here at Pure Xbox in the near future as well, but have yet to receive...
Talking Point What Do You Want To See From Xbox & Activision Blizzard?
The return of classic IP? A CoD overhaul? Tell us!
Alright, so the news is finally starting to settle that Microsoft now owns Activision Blizzard King, and we're expecting a little bit of a lull before the company comes out and reveals more of what to expect from this unprecedented takeover. It's been nearly two years since the intent to purchase...
Hands On Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Feels Like DLC Of The Nostalgic Kind
1v1 me on Rust?
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is officially this year's Call of Duty title, and ahead of launch, the team is running multiple beta tests across different platforms to gauge community feedback. The Xbox open beta is about to go live shortly, so we've been hands-on with the early access version to see how things are shaping up on the...
News Rare Xbox Achievement Up For Grabs As Double Fine Celebrates 'Rocktober 13th'
It's a Brutal Legend multiplayer meetup!
Happy Brutal Legend day! The Xbox 360 classic is now officially 14 years old, and developer Double Fine is hosting a special "Rocktober 13th" celebration to mark its birthday - which includes Double Fine founder Tim Schafer! Schafer will be dipping into multiplayer matches in Brutal Legend throughout the...
News Halo Infinite Shares Preview Of Season 5's New Arena Maps
Introducing Prism and Forbidden
Earlier this week, 343 Industries unveiled Halo Infinite Season 5: Reckoning would be launching on 17th October. The multiplayer component of the title has made a lot of changes over the past seasons and this next one will introduce new modes, customisation, a new Battle Pass, and much more. As part of this, the...
Thursday12th Oct 2023
Guide Call Of Duty MW3 Beta Dates & Release Times - When Is It Coming To Xbox?
Here's when Xbox players can jump in
A new Call of Duty game is coming to Xbox in just over a month's time in the form of Modern Warfare 3, and of course, we have an open beta for fans to get stuck into before release. The MW3 beta has multiple rounds across different systems though, so we're here to break down exactly when you can play on Xbox -...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (October 12-15)
Included with Game Pass Core and Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Free Play Days is now live for the coming weekend! We have four titles to go at this time around, including both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S versions of the latest Battlefield. Here are all of Xbox's Free Play Days titles for October 12 through October 15: Akka...
News Xbox Is Using A Licensed Board Game To Revive A Dormant First-Party IP
"It presents a valuable chance for Microsoft..."
The last time we saw a game in the Zoo Tycoon series was all the way back at the launch of the Xbox One in 2013, and now Microsoft is now finally reviving the dormant franchise in the form of a licensed board game! Created by German designers Marc Dür & Samuel Luterbacher, Zoo Tycoon: The Board...
News Xbox's Latest 'Buy 1, Get 1' Sale Revolves Around Overpriced Racers
£50 for WRC 9 anyone?
Whenever we see one of these 'Buy 1, Get 1' promotions crop up on our Xbox dashboards we feel the need to inform the Pure Xbox community of their existence, but it's quite hard to be positive about this latest roundup of offers, we must admit. Yep, a new Buy 1, Get 1 50% off sale is now live on Xbox - containing mostly racing...
Roundup Here's What The Critics Are Saying About Lords Of The Fallen
The first reviews are now live!
It's time for the first reviews for Lords of the Fallen! The game launches on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S tomorrow (October 13th), and therefore various critics have been getting hands-on over the past few days. We were hoping to bring you our own review of Lords of the Fallen here at Pure Xbox, but sadly we...
Soapbox This Five Year Old Multiplayer-Only COD Would Be A Great Get For Xbox Game Pass
A title better enjoyed together
Following the news that Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (and Diablo 4 for that matter) won't be arriving on Xbox Game Pass until at least 2024, I started to think about what other Call of Duty titles I'm excited to jump back into with a new audience on Xbox Game Pass. Whi
News Xbox Is Bringing Out A New 'Series S Starter Bundle' This Month
A little extra for your money
Good news! We've got a new Xbox Series S Starter Bundle coming to market (worldwide!) later this month. It's perhaps not as thrilling as it sounds though, as it's basically just a Series S with 3 free months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The Starter bundle includes the 512GB version of the Xbox Series S, which already...
News Microsoft Plans To Appeal As IRS Requests $28.9 Billion In Back Taxes
"Microsoft disagrees with these proposed adjustments"
There's some big news coming out of Microsoft this morning related to the IRS, with Microsoft confirming that the Internal Revenue Service is requesting $28.9 billion (!) in back taxes relating to the period between 2004 and 2013. Microsoft says it disagrees with the "proposed adjustments" put...
News Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 Xbox Series X|S Version Launching In 2024
"Big free update" & new DLC also announced
The action RPG Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 is currently celebrating its seventh anniversary, and as part of this, Bandai Namco has announced it will be bringing the game to Xbox Series X|S. There's no exact date just yet, but it's scheduled to arrive at some point in 2024. Apart from this, Bandai Namco also...
News Dead Island 2's First Story Expansion Screams Its Way Onto Xbox This November
More zombie slaying action coming soon
Dead Island 2 was a pleasant surprise when it arrived on Xbox in Spring 2023 after years and years of zombie-splattered development hell, and there's even more good news - it's almost time for the game's first major expansion as the year comes to a close. Dead Island 2 'Haus' is inbound this November,...
News 'From Space' Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 12)
Your latest Game Pass arrival
Forza Motorsport may have just graced the service earlier this week, but we have lots more confirmed for Xbox Game Pass during the month of October! The next of those additions is From Space, which is coming to the library today. Here's some more info on From Space as it makes its Xbox debut on Game Pass: From Space -...
News Assassin's Creed Mirage Becomes Ubisoft's 'Biggest New-Gen Launch' So Far
"Thank YOU for joining us on this incredible journey"
Ubisoft has taken to Twitter to thanks fans for making Assassin's Creed Mirage its "biggest new gen launch" yet, at least in terms of pure units sold. The back-to-basics entry arrived on Xbox Series X|S last week, whisking players off to 9th-century Baghdad, while stripping back many of the RPG...
Wednesday11th Oct 2023
Guide Forza Motorsport Tracks: Two Courses Confirmed As Post-Launch DLC
With the first arriving in November!
Forza Motorsport has 20 track locations at launch, and while that number is a decent amount on day one, we already have more courses confirmed to be releasing in 2023 and beyond. First off, Yas Marina is arriving as a completely new Forza Motorsport location in November 2023. We don't have an exact date just...
Guide Amazon Big Deal Days: Best Deals On Xbox Consoles, Game Pass Subscriptions And More
Update: Day 2 is here!
Update: Day 2 of Amazon's Big Deal Days sale is here, bringing new discounts and more tempting savings. Check out the best deals below! Amazon's Big Deal Days sale is finally here, giving us the chance to pick up discounted Xbox consoles, games, controllers, or even a shiny new 4K TV to make your favourite titles shine. The...
News Forza Motorsport Fan Bemoans The 'Non Stop Criticism' From The Game's Reddit Community
"Am I missing something I should be furious about?"
The new Forza Motorsport is finally now available on Xbox Game Pass, and although the critics' reviews have been superb so far (including an 8/10 here at Pure Xbox), there have been some grumbles amongst the community as well. It's pretty common to see a lot of complaints on subreddits for va
Talking Point Would You Like A Detachable Disc Drive For Xbox Series S?
Would it come in handy?
Sony finally announced its much-rumoured console revisions last night in the form of new Disc and Digital PS5 models launching this November, which made us think, what about a similar option for Xbox users? Microsoft has its very own digital console with Xbox Series S, but as of yet, you cannot add any sort of disc drive to...
News After Just One Week, Paradox Is Already Admitting Defeat With The Lamplighters League
"The commercial reception has been too weak"
Yesterday, we mentioned how the development team behind the new Xbox Game Pass release of The Lamplighters League were still working hard on patches to improve the experience, but we've now got sadder news to bring your w
News Lots Of Games Reduced By 90% In This Week's Xbox Family Sale
Bargains for some great family friendly titles!
Looking for some cheap Xbox games in this week's Xbox sales from October 10th to October 17th? As usual, we've got another selection of games that have been discounted by 90% (or more!) over the next few days, and the majority are taken from the ID@Xbox Family Sale that's ongoing until next Tuesday...
News EA Details Latest Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Patch 7.5 includes updates for Xbox Series X|S
Respawn is still hard work on Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and the new patch arrives today on Xbox Series X|S and multiple other platforms. Although it's a smaller patch, it does include several fixes. Here's the full rundown courtesy of the EA website: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Patch Notes Xbox Series...
News Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery Leaps To Xbox Game Pass This Month
"The Oscar-worthy timeless cult classic global mega indie hit"
We've got another addition to the October 2023 Xbox Game Pass lineup! Frog Detective: The Entire Mystery first arrived on PC Game Pass in October of last year, and now it's finally making its way to Xbox One, Series X and Series S. This is made up of a trilogy of games from 2019-2022 in...
News Warhammer 40K: Darktide Analysis Shows Why Xbox Series S Misses Out On 60FPS
It's a very demanding title
Warhammer 40K: Darktide finally came to console last week after a long delay from the 2022 PC release, and a new Digital Foundry tech review gives us a glimpse at why this one took the team a fair amount of time to port over. Darktide is using its own tech, which as the review points out, is quite uncommon these days for...
News Activision CEO Namedrops Guitar Hero While Discussing Xbox Takeover's 'Unlimited Potential'
"Just endless possibilities for the future"
We're getting closer and closer to a final decision being made on Xbox's takeover of Activision Blizzard, and assuming everything goes to plan, the acquisition could finally become a reality in the next few days. Ahead of that point, details from a recent internal Activision Blizzard meeting have been...
News Xbox's ActiBlizz Deal Will 'Avoid Another EU Probe', Suggests Report
Ready to go in Europe
We're still awaiting the announcement that Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard has been completed, but until then, we've got a report from Bloomberg suggesting the EU won't be creating any roadblocks over the next few days. You may recall that
News Disney Reportedly Encouraging Its CEO To Look At Acquiring A Company Like EA
But no commitments have been made
According to a new report from outlet Bloomberg, Disney CEO Bob Iger has been pressed in recent times about acquiring a "gaming giant" such as EA, in an attempt to "transform" Disney's games business. It doesn't sound like any sort of approach towards EA has been made, or even a concrete internal plan committed to...
News Forza Horizon 5's 'Day Of The Dead' Update Now Live On Xbox Game Pass
Día de Muertos brings new cars, achievements & more to FH5
Forza Horizon 5 is celebrating 'Día de Muertos' this year with its new Day of the Dead update - now live on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass of course! As you've come to expect from FH these days, the new update is jam-packed with new cars, Festival Playlist challenges, achievements and...
News Xbox's Latest Console Sweepstakes Includes A Literal Forza Motorsport RC Car
Fancy taking this for a spin?
We've covered plenty of Xbox console competitions over the last few years, but this one might just take the cake! Rather than a custom-themed console, you get a whole Forza Motorsport RC car here - one big enough to fit a Carbon Black Xbox Series S right in the middle of it! Yep, this sweepstakes competition includes...
Tuesday10th Oct 2023
News Xbox Confirms Game Captures Will Be Deleted Beginning January 2024
Back them up while you can!
A couple of weeks ago, Microsoft announced that game captures on the Xbox Network would soon be deleted after 90 days, and it's now been confirmed that this will begin taking place as of January 2024. Lots of Xbox owners have been receiving a message about this over the past few hours: "Due to a new policy starting...
Guide Forza Motorsport Is Xbox One Compatible, Thanks To Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Cloud Gaming helping out last-gen players
Forza Motorsport is now available on Xbox Game Pass for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC, but Xbox One players are also able to get access to the new racer. Xbox One players, you say? Yep, thanks to Game Pass Ultimate's cloud streaming feature, last-gen users are able to play Turn 10's next-gen...
News Two New Football Games Are Kicking Off For Xbox This Week
Featuring a brand-new IP
It's a good week to be a fan of (American) football! If the recent release of Madden NFL 24 didn't do enough to tempt your wallet, we've got two alternative football games coming to Xbox consoles this week. The first of these is available today in Wild Card Football, which takes the form of an arcade-like 7v7 experience...
Video Redfall's 60FPS Update Tested Across Xbox Series X And Xbox Series S
Redfall Update 2 is here
After months and months of silence, Arkane delivered 'Update 2' for Redfall late last week - including the game's long-awaited 60FPS mode. The new patch has been getting good feedback so far, but we wanted to check it out for ourselves and see how things are shaping up. We've not put enough time into Redfall Update 2 jus
Reaction Halo Infinite Should Focus On More Co-Op Experiences After The Return Of Firefight
The survival mode is coming in Season 5, but we want more
During yesterday's Halo Infinite Season 5 trailer, the team at 343 Industries revealed that some form of Firefight is returning to the game with 'Firefight King of the Hill'. We don't have all the details just yet on what this objective-based spin on Firefight will actually look like, but...
News The Lamplighters League Is Pushing Out Multiple Updates To Fix Crashes On Xbox Game Pass
"Hang in there, agents"
We mentioned in our review of The Lamplighters League that although we thought it was a great game, it was in needed of patching ASAP. That's exactly what the dev team is trying to do right now, specifically for the Xbox Game Pass version. A wide array of players have been taking to the web to report crashes when playing The...
Deals 700+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 10-17)
Including the biggest discount yet for Stray!
It's that time again! Xbox has put over 700 games on sale for the next week across a wide variety of promotions including "Harvest", "Wish List", "ID@Xbox Family" and "Sales & Specials". There's plenty of good stuff here! In the table below, we've picked out a few offers that we think are...
Deals All 30+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 10-17)
Time to pick up a new classic?
Xbox's latest set of digital deals is now live, and as usual, we have a selection of backwards compatible classics on offer this week. We'll drop our full deals roundup down below for all things Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and of course, you can check out every backwards compatible offer from the OG Xbox and Xbox 360...
Guide Forza Motorsport Guides: Vehicle Lists, All Courses, And Tips For Getting Started
Raceday is here
Welcome all to our Forza Motorsport guides hub! Here you'll be able to browse through plenty of tips and tricks to help you get started in Turn 10's new Xbox racer. We have full car and full track lists, a breakdown of the Xbox Series X and Series S performance modes, tips on
News Alien Hominid HD & Invasion Crash-Land On Xbox This November
"See you on the mothership"
The Behemoth has announced it will be releasing Alien Hominid HD and Alien Hominid Invasion on 1st November for Xbox Series X|S. The sequel Invasion will cost $19.99 USD (or the regional equivalent), HD is $11.99, or you can purchase both games in 'The Extra Terrestrial Bundle' for $24.99. Alien Hominid HD is...
News Forza Motorsport Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 10)
New Forza day!!
It's race day, folks! Forza Motorsport is now available in the Xbox Game Pass library following five days of early access, so we can all finally jump into Turn 10's new racer! Of course, most of us know the drill by now with Forza Motorsport, but we'll drop a brief synopsis down below anyway. Here's what to expect from Xbox's trac
News Ubisoft's Free-To-Play Shooter 'XDefiant' Looks Like It's Been Delayed, Again
Will it come out this year?
So, what's going on with XDefiant? Ubisoft's upcoming free-to-play FPS was supposed to launch this summer — following a few well-received playtests earlier this year — but its full release never materialised after the game f
Monday9th Oct 2023
Guide Forza Motorsport Release Date, Release Times & Preload Details On Xbox Game Pass
Everything you need to know
Forza Motorsport is the most highly anticipated Xbox Game Pass game of October 2023, and it'll be with us in just a few short hours! With that in mind, it's time to take a look at all the details you need to know. <related ids="156273"> Below, you'll find all the release dates, release times and preload details...
News Activision Blizzard Reveals Plans For Bringing Games To Xbox Game Pass
"We’ve been getting some questions"
It's looking very likely that this will be the week that Microsoft announces the closure of the Activision Blizzard takeover, and ahead of that point, ActiBlizz has taken to Twitter to reveal what Xbox fans can expect on Game Pass. In a nutshell, it seems we won't be getting Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 or...
News New Rumour Hints At Exciting Future For Square Enix Games On Xbox
"It actually could be just full blown everything"
It's been a few months now since Square Enix announced plans to "partner closely" with Xbox in the future, but we haven't really heard much about these plans aside from next year's arrivals of Final Fantasy 14 and Octopath Traveler 2. Speaking on the
News Xbox Execs Respond To 'Stunning' Forza Motorsport Fan Clips
The new title is out now in early access
Forza Motorsport officially launches on Xbox Game Pass tomorrow, but the new racer is already out in early access, and some fan clips posted online are starting to seriously impressive the higher ups at team green. Both Aaron Greenberg and Sarah Bond have responded to some Forza clips over the last few day
News Halo Infinite Season 5 Brings Firefight Back To The Series
Firefight King of the Hill is coming during the next season
343 Industries has just lifted the lid on Halo Infinite Season 5, and it looks jam-packed with multiplayer goodies. The new season begins on October 17, and above is just a taste of what's on the way to Halo Infinite. We're getting a returning game mode from Halo 4 in the form of...
News Redfall's Huge New Update Is Getting Impressive Feedback So Far
But will it lead to greater player numbers?
This past Friday brought us the unexpected arrival of Redfall's 2.0 update, which included the long-awaited 60FPS Performance Mode along with various other improvements to gameplay, the user interface and much more. It's still early days for this new update, but the overall feedback has been positive so...
Review NHL 24 (Xbox) - Hopefully The Start Of A New Era For EA's Hockey Games
A meaningful stride forward?
When it comes to EA Sports' NHL series, last year's NHL 23 was one of the biggest disappointments we've experienced thus far. It wasn't a bad game (which is why we gave it a 6/10 here at Pure Xbox), but it still felt like it barely made any strides forward whatsoever, and we ultimately grew tired of it very quickly. NHL...
News Starfield Update 1.7.36 Now Live, Includes FOV Sliders & Performance Improvements
Just a mini patch
It's time for another Starfield patch! Bethesda has rolled out update 1.7.36 for Starfield today, which appears to just be a small addition to the game - although it's particularly good news for anyone who's interested in FOV sliders! Yep, FOV sliders are now available in the Settings menu as of today's Starfield update, and they...
News 'Teardown' Developer Reveals Xbox Series X|S Performance Targets, Including 120FPS Support
Xbox Series X gets higher frame rate option
Earlier this year we got the news that PC mega-hit Teardown would be coming to consoles in November 2023, and ahead of the game's launch, developer Tuxedo Labs has revealed how the game will perform across Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S systems (thanks, gamingbolt). Although Teardown will have a variable...
News Assassin's Creed Mirage Seems To Have Turned Out Great On Xbox Series S
Complete with a 60FPS performance mode!
We've seen enough Xbox Series S negativity to last a lifetime in recent months with the whole Baldur's Gate 3 drama, but how about some positivity this week? Well, Assassin's Creed Mirage has just dropped, and Digital Foundry's initial look at the game has provided some lovely-looking results on Xbox Series X...
News The Crew Motorfest Is Getting A Lengthy Free Trial This Month, Alongside An Xbox Discount
The open world racer will be part of Xbox's deals of the week
We were mighty impressed with The Crew's third outing when Motorfest arrived on Xbox last month - and you too will soon be able to decide what you make of Ubisoft's new open world racer. Yep, the team is unleashing a free five-hour trial tomorrow, October 10th, and you can jump in until...
News Trepang2 Makes The 'Top Paid' Xbox Charts Following Five-Star Xbox Launch
"FEAR and DOOM ETERNAL all in one"
You may recall that back in early September, we talked about an "outrageously violent" single-player shooter that was coming to Xbox in the form of Trepang2, and that game ended up launching for Xbox last week on October 2nd. <related ids="151711"> It was a fairly overlooked release given how busy things...
News Robocop: Rogue City's PC Demo Gives Us High Hopes For The Full Xbox Release
It's been extremely popular
Over the past few days, you may have seen people talking a lot on social media about the upcoming release of Robocop: Rogue City, and that's because a free demo went live on Steam for PC that's proved extremely popular so far. You can see plenty of footage from the demo in the video above, along with some snippets down...
News The Lord Of The Rings Gollum Publisher Had Dev Apology Written By AI, Claims New Report
ChatGPT to the rescue
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum certainly drew headlines around launch back in May - not least because it was one of the worst-reviewed titles of the year and still is as we head into the business end of 2023. However, a new report sheds some light on the situation during development over at Daedalic Entertainment - including a...
Sunday8th Oct 2023
News Battlefield 2042 Season 6 'Free Access' Starts Next Week
Play for free between October 12-16
As Activision gears up for the launch of the Call of Duty Modern: Warfare 3 pre-order beta next week, EA has announced it will be hosting a "free access" period for Season 6 of Battlefield 2042. This free-to-play period will take place from 12th October until 16th October and not only allows players to try out...
Saturday7th Oct 2023
Feature These 15+ Games Are Coming To Xbox Next Week (October 9-13)
A vast world awaits
Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for October 9-13! We've got two obvious highlights coming up in the form of Forza Motorsport and Lords of the Fallen next week, but don't forget the likes of From Space (included with Xbox Game Pass),
News Here's What Might Be Leaving Xbox Game Pass In November 2023
Some early predictions!
Update (Mon 6th Nov, 2023): Microsoft has begun revealing the list of departures for Xbox Game Pass in November 2023, and therefore we've updated the table below with the latest confirmed removals. <related ids="157700"> Original story (Sat 7th Oct, 2023): What's leaving Xbox Game Pass in November 2023? Well,...
Talking Point Early Access Players, What Do You Think Of Forza Motorsport So Far?
Was it worth the extra money?
The new Forza Motorsport has now been available in early access for the past few days as part of the Premium Edition and Premium Add-Ons Bundle, and the "Top Paid" Xbox Chart shows that it's been a popular purchase so far! With that in mind, we thought we'd take this opportunity to poll the early adopters of For
News Halo Infinite Spotlights Halo 2 And Halo 3: ODST Maps Remade In Forge
"Revisit some iconic locations"
If you're looking for an excuse to boot up Halo Infinite this weekend, these Forge maps based on locations in past Halo titles might do the trick. In the latest 'Community Cartogrophy', 343 Industries has highlighted some of the fancy Halo 2 and Halo 3: ODST locations that have been "beautifully remade" in the latest...
Talking Point What Are You Playing This Weekend? (October 7-8)
How about some Assassin's Creed Mirage?
Welcome to the weekend! We're spoilt for choice on Xbox over the next few days thanks to some major recent releases (including a bunch of Game Pass titles), three Free Play Days offerings and more fantastic deals on the Xbox Store! Here's what we're playing this weekend:
Friday6th Oct 2023
News Well, The Forza Motorsport Vs. Gran Turismo 7 Comparisons Are Already Rolling In
Which do you think looks better?
We've already compared Forza Motorsport across Xbox Series X and S consoles, and we've seen the folks over at Digital Foundry compare the new title to its 2017 predecessor - but, how about we start looking at how the game stacks up to its main competition over on PlayStation? Yep, the
Random Seeing This Funky Text On Your Xbox? Here's What It Means
It's do with the Insider program
You may have noticed over the past few hours that your Xbox has begun to display a strange font on the dashboard and throughout the UI, and if that's the case, you're not alone! Fortunately, it's not something you need to worry about. This is what's known as "psuedo-loc", and it usually appears on text that has yet...
News Alan Wake 2 Dev Explains Two Biggest Challenges Of Working With Xbox Series S
"The GPU is an issue, it really is"
We're now fast approaching the release of Alan Wake 2 for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in late October, and ahead of the launch, Remedy Communications Director Thomas Puha has been speaking with IGN about what to expect from the game's 60FPS performance mode, as well as the limitations posed by the Series S...
News Redfall Update 2 Now Live, Includes Performance Mode On Xbox Series X|S
It's finally here!
The time has finally come! Bethesda has quitely pushed out a massive "Update 2" for Redfall today, which includes the long-awaited Performance Mode for Xbox Series X and Series S along with a whole bunch of additional improvements. There's a lot to dig into here including upgrades to general gameplay, combat, the UI, multiplayer...
Talking Point One Month On From Launch, How Are You Feeling About Starfield?
Has it lived up to your expectations?
Believe it or not, it's been a whole month since the long-awaited Starfield arrived on Xbox Game Pass. It's been a busy month that's flown by, but we have no doubt that in the time since launch, many of you in the Pure Xbox community have been putting plenty of time into Xbox's huge open world RPG. So... how...
News After Almost Two Years, Next Week Could Be The Finale For Xbox's ActiBlizz Takeover
As long as everything goes smoothly
For the best part of two years, we've been hearing how the Pure Xbox community is fed up of the Activision Blizzard acquisition and just wants it to either happen or not happen - and we may be getting our wish in just a few days' time. According to a source over at The Verge, Microsoft appears to be targeting...
News Ubisoft Shows Off Gorgeous Assassin's Creed Mirage-Themed Xbox Series X
One of the prettiest custom consoles we've seen!
Assassin's Creed Mirage is out now on Xbox, and to celebrate, Ubisoft France has created an absolutely gorgeous Series X system that'll rival any of the custom consoles we've seen so far. Adorned with main character Basim front and centre, and with a bunch of cool Assassin's Creed art covering the...
Random MEGA's Replica Xbox 360 Has A Cool Halo Easter Egg Inside it
"You found me"
Remember the replica 3:4 scale Xbox 360 building set that was announced by MEGA last month? Well, it's almost here and the first reviews are starting to roll in. While the system seems to be a standard assembly, there are some intricate details and features on it like glowing Xbox logos and joysticks that actually move. One other...
News Sea Of Thieves Has A New Developer Working On Season Ten Cosmetics
"We got the amazing opportunity to work with Rare"
As Rare gets closer to its Season Ten update for its pirate-themed sandbox Sea Of Thieves, a new development announcement has been made. The UK Bristol-based team Auroch Digital (Warhammer: 40,000 Boltgun) has signed on to create some "hearty cosmetics" for Sea of Thieves, which will be premiering...
News Telltale Announces Major Layoffs In The Wake Of The Expanse's Xbox Launch
The full series is available on Xbox
The full Telltale: The Expanse series is out now on all platforms, and if this week's unfortunate news is anything to go by, the title doesn't seem to have performed very well for the newly-resurrected development team. In an announcement posted to Twitter, Telltale Games has revealed that a recent round of...
Pick One What Was Your Favourite Xbox Game Pass Game In September 2023?
If it was Starfield, what else did you enjoy?
It's time for another round of Pick One! As we enter the weekend, we're taking a look back at a huge month for Xbox Game Pass in September 2023, which included one of the biggest Xbox first-party releases of all time in Starfield! That was definitely not the only highlight either, as the month also...
News DREDGE Is Getting A New Expansion This November, And It's Pretty Cheap On Xbox
Containing a whole new biome and more
Indie fishing sim DREDGE became a pretty big hit when it first launched earlier this year, and after a bunch of free updates in the months since, the team has announced a new premium expansion for the title. 'The Pale Reach' brings a winter-themed add-on to Xbox (and other platforms) this November, and here's a...
Thursday5th Oct 2023
News Microsoft Unveils New 'Heritage Collection' Of Xbox 360 Merch
"We went back to 2007 and brought you something"
The Xbox social media team ended up causing a stir yesterday with the announcement of new Xbox 360 merchandise! This round of new clothing items are all specifically based on the console itself along with Halo 3. All of these items have been included in the "Heritage Collection" on the Xbox Gear...
Guide Forza Motorsport: How To Fix 'Washed Out' Graphics Bug On Xbox
Turn 10 is aware of it
If you're playing the new Forza Motorsport on Xbox and you've noticed some washed out graphics, there's a reason for that! Unfortunately the launch version of the game includes a bug that sometimes causes this to occur. The good news is that it's nice and easy to fix. Here's how to do it: Choose the display settings you...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (October 5-8)
Included with Game Pass Core and Game Pass Ultimate
Microsoft has revealed this week's Xbox Free Play Days titles - and we're in for a treat this weekend! There are three games to play for free this time around, including a very recent release in Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy and Bandai's popular JRPG Tales of Arise. Here's the full Xbox Free...
News Commandos: Origins Marks A 'Triumphant Return' On Xbox Game Pass In 2024
"The iconic real-time stealth tactics game series"
We've got another game to add to the Xbox Game Pass in 2024 list! Commandos is making a "triumphant return" next year in the form of Commandos: Origins, and it'll be available day one on XGP for Xbox Series X, Series S and PC. Commandos: Origins is set during the World War 2 era and is centred...
News Cyberpunk 2077 Update 2.01 Now Live, Here Are The Patch Notes
Including performance improvements for Xbox Series X|S
It's time for another Cyberpunk 2077 update! Patch 2.01 is now live across Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S (as well as PS5 and PC), and it includes a bunch of fixes for issues that were present across all platforms. Notably, there are also "performance improvements" in Phantom Liberty...
News Digital Foundry's Lies Of P Review Points Out One Clear Performance Mode Winner On Xbox
"Only 60FPS cuts the mustard"
In and amongst a stacked September on Xbox Game Pass, new soulslike Lies of P arrived and since then, the team at Digital Foundry has been hard at work looking at all three of the game's performance modes on Xbox Series X and S. Amazingly, both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S contain all t
News Forza Motorsport Is Officially Available In Early Access On Xbox & PC
Jump in five days early!
It's time to go racing! Yep, Turn 10's Forza Motorsport reboot is now officially available in early access ahead of its standard Xbox Game Pass launch next week. If you're wanting to go ahead and dive in now, you have a few options for playing early. There's the Premium Edition of the game which is avail
News Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition Rating Reportedly Surfaces Online
CDPR said it's done with the "last big updates"
A few hours before today's version 2.01 update for Cyberpunk 2077 went live, a new PEGI rating was reportedly spotted online, although it no longer appears to be public on the classification board. This time it's for "Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition" which has led to speculation that there'll be some...
News Chants Of Sennaar Nominated For 'Xbox Game Of The Year' At Golden Joystick Awards
"We're absolutely ecstatic"
It's almost that time again! We're finally starting to see some Game of the Year lists cropping up, and we'll be getting a whole bunch of them at the 41st annual Golden Joystick Awards taking place on November 10th in London. Multiple categories at the Golden Joysticks are now available to vote for, including the Xbox...
News Activision Unveils Free MW3-Themed Map For Call Of Duty: Warzone
Dropping into Urzikstan
To coincide with the launch of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Activision has unveiled a brand-new large scale map coming to its popular battle royale - Call of Duty: Warzone. This huge new battlefield — named 'Urzikstan' — is the first new full-scale map since Modern Warfare 2 launched with 'Al Mazrah' back in late 2022...
Wednesday4th Oct 2023
Review Forza Motorsport (Xbox) - The Next Generation Of Racing Is Here
All revved up with lots of places to go
It's been a long time coming, but developer Turn 10 has finally rounded the bend to deliver its vision for next-gen racing on Xbox Series X and S - yep, Forza Motorsport is here. We've been waiting for this one since 2017's Forza Motorsport 7 brought gorgeous 4K / 60FPS racing to Xbox One X, but the question...
Guide Forza Motorsport: All Performance Mode Details On Xbox Series X And S
A breakdown of each mode, and which we'd recommend!
As detailed last month, Forza Motorsport contains three performance modes on Xbox Series X and two on Xbox Series S, including one Series X option that manages to hit 60FPS with ray tracing! We've played around with all of these modes ahead of launc
News Red Dead Redemption Gets 60FPS Patch On PS5, Xbox Version Remains 30FPS
Will we see an update?
So, this is an interesting one! Shortly after the launch of Red Dead Redemption on PlayStation platforms, Rockstar has sneakily added a 60FPS option for PS5 users. Yep, as of version 1.03, PS5 owners playing through PS4 backwards compatibility can enjoy Red Dead at 60FPS - marking the very first time that this game has been...
Review Assassin's Creed Mirage (Xbox) - A Super Slick Return To The Series' Stealth Roots
The Thief of Baghdad
The Assassin's Creed franchise has come a long way since we first got our hands on the fairly disappointing tech demo that was the original experience all the way back in 2007. Yes, pals, that really was 16 years ago already. The core concept behind AC has always a strong one, and the first outing was undoubtedly a real...
Guide Does Forza Motorsport Have Local Split Screen Co-Op?
The reboot is doing things differently
Local multiplayer has been a staple of the Forza Motorsport series for years now, but does the new game support it? And what are Turn 10's plans for post-launch updates? Here's what you need to know. Forza Motorsport Split Screen Support: Unfortunately, Forza Motorsport for Xbox Series X|S does not support...
Guide Forza Motorsport: All Career Mode Races
Here's every career event at launch
Forza Motorsport for Xbox Series X|S contains an extensive career mode, including the much-talked-about 'Builders Cup'. So, here's every event within the game's career mode at launch: Forza Motorsport Career Mode Races: Below, we'll list each of the game's career events, along with how many races each event...
Roundup Here's What The Critics Are Saying About Forza Motorsport
The reviews are in
The launch of Turn 10's latest Forza Motorsport is right around the bend, and ahead of release, reviews are now starting to go live for this new Xbox console exclusive. We've been playing this one too, so we'll drop a link to our review down below, along with a roundup of what critics are saying about the new Forza Motorsport...
Guide Xbox Adds More Perks For Game Pass Ultimate Members (October 2023)
Here's what you can claim for free this month
The Xbox Game Pass Perks program has returned with a couple more freebies in October 2023, including a movie in the form of 2013's Texas Chainsaw 3D! We're expecting more Perks to be added throughout the month as well. Here are the new Xbox Game Pass Perks you can claim in October 2023 so far:...
Guide Forza Motorsport: Full Car List
All vehicles available at launch
As usual for the series, the new Forza Motorsport is packed with cars — over 500 at launch in fact — along with 20 track locations. So, if you're looking for your favourite ride, or to check over the full list, you've come to the right place! Here's every vehicle available in Forza Motorsport at launch (for Car...
News Yes, Warhammer 40K: Darktide Can Be Played On Xbox One With Game Pass Ultimate
It's another cloud-supported Series X|S release
Warhammer 40K: Darktide is officially out now on Xbox Game Pass, and you may recall that when we published our release times guide a few days ago, we didn't know if it was going to be exclusive to Xbox Series X|S or not. That's because although Game Pass titles usually get a cloud version alongside...
Roundup Here's What The Critics Are Saying About Assassin's Creed Mirage
An interesting spread of reviews
It's a busy day for big reviews! Assassin's Creed Mirage joins Forza Motorsport as the second game we've given an 8/10 to here at Pure Xbox today, and there have been many other reviews for Ubisoft's new adventure across the web. We'll throw our own Assassin's Creed Mirage review down below, along with a few other...
Video Forza Motorsport Comparison Shows Difference Between Xbox Versions
Xbox Series X vs. Xbox Series S
We're now just a few hours away from the arrival of Forza Motorsport on Xbox Game Pass, where it'll be included with Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC. As part of our review period, we had the chance to play the game quite extensively on Xbox Series X and Series S, and we've give
Guide Forza Motorsport: How To Change Field Of View (FOV)
Wide angle
Forza Motorsport has some brand-new field of view options on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC, including driver and cockpit customisations for the perfect first-person view! So, here are all the options available and how to change them in-game: Forza Motorsport Field Of View (FOV): All FOV Options In Forza Motorsport Bumper...
Guide Forza Motorsport Car Pass Details
How car DLC works
Forza Motorsport's Car Pass is already out, and players can pick it up via the Xbox Store or as part of the game's Premium Edition, Deluxe Edition or Premium Add-Ons Bundle. The DLC pass will deliver "30, new-to-Motorsport cars" in the coming months - and the first six have been revealed so far. Forza Motorsport Car Pass Weekly...
News Forza Motorsport's Release Brings New Dynamic Background To Xbox Series X|S
Oooh, shiny!
Forza Motorsport reviews are out now ahead of the game's early access release tomorrow, and the team has also delivered our latest Xbox Series X|S dynamic background to pair with the new title! Yep, a brand-new animated background has just appeared on Xbox Series X and S consoles; themed around Forza Motorsport'
News Forza Motorsport A 'Pleasing Upgrade' Over Forza 7, Says Digital Foundry
The big Forza Motorsport showdown
As we've all come to expect, the team over at Digital Foundry has already had plenty of hands-on time with Forza Motorsport ahead of its upcoming launch - and that hands-on time has resulted in the above tech review that goes over lots of nitty gritty Forza-flavoured details. The full video is certainly worth...
Guide Forza Motorsport: Full Track List
Every day one track
Forza Motorsport returns on Xbox Series X|S with a fresh reboot, and with it comes a selection of newly-built race tracks and plenty of vehicles for fans to enjoy. The new title has 20 tracks on day one (most with multiple layouts) - featuring a mixture of returning classics and brand-new offerings for the Forza franchise...
News Warhammer 40K: Darktide Is Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 4)
A console exclusive for Xbox Series X|S
We've been waiting years for Warhammer 40K: Darktide to finally arrive on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and it's finally now here! The Xbox console exclusive dropped onto Xbox Game Pass a few hours ago. If you feel like you've heard this story before, that's because Darktide actually arrived on PC Game...
Guide Forza Motorsport Deluxe & Premium Edition Contents
Here's what each edition of the game contains
Forza Motorsport is launching day one on Xbox Game Pass, but there are a few other editions of the game that grant various bonuses, including early access. <related ids="156176"> So, here are all the versions of Forza Motorsport and what each edition contains: Forza Motorsport Editions:...
Guide Earning Credits Fast In Forza Motorsport
A few tips to help you on your way
It's going to take quite a while to accumulate a full garage in Forza Motorsport, but if you're working your way through the career mode, there are a few ways to maximise your credits earned and make quicker progress. Earning Quick Credits In Forza Motorsport: Difficulty Settings First off, if you're an...
Guide Forza Motorsport Practice Sessions Explained
How does the new feature work in career mode?
When starting your Forza Motorsport career, you may notice a new 'Practice Session' feature slotted in between each race within a tournament. These practices are brand-new for Forza Motorsport on Xbox Series X|S and PC, but what are they? And can you skip them? Forza Motorsport Practice Sessions:...
Guide Is Forza Motorsport Cross-Play?
Here are all the cross-play & cross-save details
This is the first time that a fully fledged Forza Motorsport game is coming to PC as well as Xbox, so it's a fair question to ask whether cross-play is supported. Here's how the feature works, along with what else transfers from Xbox to PC and vice versa. Forza Motorsport Cross-Play: Forza...
Tuesday3rd Oct 2023
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (October 3)
Kicking off the month in a big way!
It's time to kick off the October 2023 Xbox Game Pass lineup! We're starting with a bang as today's inclusion features last year's Gotham Knights as well as a day one arrival in the form of The Lamplighters League. If you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber, you can also get access to 10 hours of
News Xbox Owners Are 'Moving To New Zealand' Again For Forza Motorsport
"How do you do, fellow New Zealanders?"
It's finally almost time for the highly-anticipated launch of Forza Motorsport, with early access beginning this week on October 5th, and Xbox fans have already started talking about plans to "visit New Zealand" to begin playing a little early. Yes, the biggest open secret in the history of Xbox appears to be...
News High On Life Has A Cheap New 'DLC Bundle' For Xbox Game Pass Members
It's a great price for what you're getting!
Today's the day for the High On Life DLC known as High On Knife, and if you're interested in picking it up, there's a particularly great deal for Xbox Game Pass members known as the High On Life: Game Pass DLC Bundle. While the standalone version of High on Knife is £12.49 / $14.99 on the Xbox Store,...
News These Four Games Are Coming To Xbox Game Pass (October 4-17)
The latest official roundup of new titles
Microsoft has just announced another batch of Xbox Game Pass titles for October 2023! The list includes some previously dated titles such as Forza Motorsport, as well as some new confirmations such as Like a Dragon: Ishin. Don't forget that we've got
News How To Download The Free NHL 24 Trial With EA Play & Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
10 hours of ice time
Ready to hit the ice in a new season of EA Sports NHL? The EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate free trial is going live for the game later today, allowing subscribers to check out 10 hours of NHL 24 across all of its modes. This includes both the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X|S versions of the game, so make sure you pick the...
News Warhammer 40K: Darktide Unveils 'Biggest Update Yet' Alongside Xbox Release
Patch #13 - Class Overhaul
It's finally almost time for Warhammer 40K: Darktide on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S! The console version launches on Xbox Game Pass in just a few short hours, and that launch coincides with the game's "biggest update yet". Warhammer 40K: Darktide "Patch #13" is an update that brings a class overhaul to the game, servi
Deals All 10+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 3-10)
Here's what's on offer this week
Xbox's latest set of digital deals is now live, and as usual, we have a selection of classics from the Xbox 360 era on offer that are included in the backwards compatibility program for Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. <related ids="156316"> We'll drop all of the current Xbox backwards compatible...
Deals 300+ Games Included In This Week's Xbox Sales (October 3-10)
Including a small discount for Remnant 2!
Welcome to another week of Xbox deals! Once again, we've got over 300 titles discounted over the next week, spread across a variety of sales including "Open World", "Action Adventure", "Sales & Specials" and much more! Below, you'll find some of the Xbox offers we think are particularly enticing this...
News Alan Wake 2 Won't Feature A Performance Mode On Xbox Series S
Remedy confirms it's just Series X & PS5
Last week, Remedy announced that despite not planning for it, the studio had managed to find a way to squeeze in a Performance mode for Alan Wake 2 on Xbox Series X and PS5, but didn't mention anything about Series S. The tone of the messaging appeared to suggest that an Xbox Series S Performance mode was a...
News Xbox's 'Fan-Favourite' 2016 Shadow Controller Is Returning In Gold This October
"The crowning gem of any collection"
You may recall that back in the Xbox One era between 2016 and 2017, there were a variety of limited edition controllers that were released under the "Shadow" banner - Copper Shadow, Ocean Shadow and Volcano Shadow, for example. Now, the "Shadow" branding has made a return in the form of the Gold Shadow, which is...
News Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Reveal Trailer Showcases Classic COD Maps In Action
Hitting the Highrise, baby
We're a little over a month away from Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 launching on Xbox, and Activision has finally showcased some of the game's multiplayer in action. Remember, this year's title is filled with classic CoD content, including every single multiplayer map from 2009's Modern Warfare 2 - and that much is...
News Payday 3 Matchmaking Issues Fixed, Says Starbreeze CEO
"Matchmaking has been stable and has had good performance"
A little over a week ago, Payday 3 developer Starbreeze addressed community concerns surrounding online matchmaking - the system was pretty borked when the game first left early access. Well, we now have an update from the team's CEO, who now claims that these issues have been fixed as of...
Monday2nd Oct 2023
Feature 10 New Xbox Games To Look Forward To In October 2023
All the release dates you need to know
Welcome to our roundup of all new Xbox games coming out in October 2023! Below, we've listed every Xbox game with a October 2023 release date, including all confirmed Xbox Game Pass releases so far. In the video above (as well as in the list below) we've also highlighted 10 of the biggest new Xbox games...
Guide Warhammer 40K Darktide: Release Date, Release Times & Preload Details On Xbox Game Pass
Everything you need to know
We've been waiting for Warhammer 40K: Darktide on Xbox for such a long time now, and it's finally arriving as part of the October 2023 Xbox Game Pass lineup! That said, we haven't heard that much news about its upcoming arrival, so we thought we'd take this opportunity to break down all the key details ahead of its Xbox...
News Cyberpunk 2077 2.01 Update Outlined By CDPR, Coming Soon To Xbox Series X|S
Here's a quick look at what's included
September 2023 was an extremely busy month for CD Projekt Red, with the company celebrating the launch of the well-received Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion along with the game's huge 2.0 update. Although CDPR has said that
News Six Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass In Early October 2023
The first batch of departures
Microsoft has today revealed the first batch of six games leaving Xbox Game Pass in October 2023, which includes the likes of Trek To Yomi, The Legend of Tianding and plenty of other great indie titles. <related ids="131019,138954"> Here's what's leaving Xbox Game Pass around October 15th, 2023:
News Forza Motorsport Premium Upgrade: Everything You Need To Know
Also known as the "Premium Add-Ons Bundle"
Alright, so you want to play Forza Motorsport this week? There's a way to do that with the Premium Upgrade, otherwise known as the Premium Add-Ons Bundle, and it's a substantially cheaper option for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Instead of paying an eye-watering £89.99 / $9.99 for the standard Premium...
Review Gotham Knights (Xbox) - A Dark, Dense And Surprisingly Gripping Adventure
The Bat Fam Rises... on Xbox Game Pass this Tuesday!
Update (Mon 2nd Oct, 2023): With Gotham Knights arriving as part of the Xbox Game Pass October 2023 lineup, we thought we'd share our own PX review of the game once again - this is based on the version that launched last year. Gotham Knights has since received a few updates that have improved
News Cyberpunk's 2.0 Update Has Brought Out The Starfield Comparisons Again
"I wish Cyberpunk and Starfield had a baby"
With the release of Starfield back in early September, we immediately began seeing comparisons to Cyberpunk 2077 online, but that's been taken to the next level over the past week with the arrival of Cyberpunk's 2.0 update. And that's across the communities of both games, by the way! Even amongst...
Hands On High On Knife - A Fantastic Expansion For A Divisive Xbox Game Pass Title
The quest for Knifey's package
When High On Life released on Xbox back in December 2022, it ended up proving one of the biggest Game Pass launches of all time, but the game itself was still a divisive one - with review scores ranging from the 3s all the way up to the 9s. In our own review here at Pure Xbox, we acknowledged that you were "either...
News Here's What The Reviews Are Saying About The New 'High On Knife' DLC
"It builds upon the main game’s mechanics and humor"
High On Life became one of the biggest Xbox Game Pass launches of all time last year, and now its first (and possibly only) expansion called High On Knife is blasting onto Xbox consoles this week! Ahead of its release, critics have had a chance to go hands-on with the new DLC for review,
News Crytek Reveals Major Changes For Hunt: Showdown's Future On Xbox
It's good news for Xbox Series X|S owners at least!
We've got some big news coming out of Crytek relating to the future of Hunt: Showdown, with the company announcing that a free Xbox Series X|S upgrade is on the way, but it'll have a major effect on Xbox One players. In a nutshell, the plan is to upgrade to a new and more powerful version of the...
Talking Point What Do You Think Of Cocoon So Far On Xbox Game Pass?
Does it deserve its 89 Metacritic score?
Last Friday treated us to a fantastic finale for September on Xbox Game Pass in the form of Cocoon, which racked up one of the best Metacritic ratings we've seen for an indie game in 2023 - finishing the week with a score of 89. There were some really impressive reviews doing the rounds that led to this,...
Sunday1st Oct 2023
Guide Best RPGs on Xbox Game Pass
The very best RPGs currently available on Microsoft's subscription service
What are the best RPGs on Xbox Game Pass? We love a good RPG here at Pure Xbox and, thankfully, Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass is absolutely stuffed to bursting point with great examples of this most enticing of genres. Whether you're in the mood for an historical epic, unique...
Guide Best FPS Games On Xbox Game Pass
Rip and Tear
What are the very best FPS games on Xbox Game Pass? The FPS genre has long been a firm favourite amongst gamers, providing absorbing and action-packed experiences that draw the player into intense scenarios jam-packed full of kinetic battles, alongside some of the most cinematic storylines in all of gaming. Shooting stuff in video...
News Pure Xbox Game Club October 2023: Amnesia Collection
Come join the PX Game Club!
Want to enhance your Xbox Game Pass experience? Come join the official Pure Xbox Game Club! We can't take any credit on staff for this — the PX Game Club is the work of ralphdibny, Balta666 and the rest of the contributors over at the Pure Xbox forums, who have established a community that meets up every month to play...
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