Tag: Microsoft - Page 13
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (May 2-5)
Included with Game Pass Core and Game Pass Ultimate
Update: Microsoft has since revealed that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor's inclusion in Free Play Days only features a five-hour gameplay trial. As mentioned below though, the game is available in full on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and EA Play. Original Story: Xbox's Free Play Days titles are now live for...
News Xbox Cloud Gaming Is Adding The Ability To Manage Save Files
Starting out with Insiders
Following this week's news about dynamic backgrounds being improved over at Microsoft HQ, Xbox Insiders are also being treated to another neat quality-of-life feature; this time in regards to cloud gaming on other devices. As spotted by The Verge's Tom Warren, a new Xbox Cloud Gaming save feature has started to appear for...
News New Xbox Update Makes It Easier To Swap Between Wi-Fi Networks
"Another day, another great Xbox dashboard feature"
Xbox is always tinkering with the system dashboard, and following the news about a feature to improve backgrounds, another handy new feature has now been revealed. As highlighted by The Verge's senior editor Tom Warren, Microsoft is currently testing the "ability for Xbox consoles to remember...
News Starfield Is Getting A 60FPS Performance Mode On Xbox Series X
Coming as part of the big May update
As part of today's May update reveal for Starfield, Xbox Series X players are being treated to some brand-new display options for Bethesda's mammoth RPG. The big news here is that the game is getting a proper 60FPS Performance mode on Xbox Series X, although Xbox Series S appears to miss out for now. There's...
News Microsoft Gauges Interest In 'Handheld Gaming' Devices With New Survey
Is a portable Xbox being planned?
An Xbox handheld console is starting to feel more likely than ever, despite rumours of such a device circulating since the heyday of the PSP. Recently, we've read rumours about prototypes, have witnessed Phil Spencer liking tweets about Xbox handhelds, and the Xbox boss has even
News Xbox Is Testing A New Dashboard Feature To Improve Backgrounds
Dynamic backgrounds are becoming more flexible
Microsoft is testing a pretty cool Xbox dashboard feature in its Insider Program at the minute - one that adds a welcome bonus to using and applying dynamic backgrounds on your console. Basically, the new update will allow Xbox users to combine dynamic backgrounds and game art backgrounds at the same...
News Xbox Confirms Exactly How The 360 Store Closure Will Affect Players This July
Less than three months to go!
We're getting closer and closer to the end of the Xbox 360 store, with the old marketplace shutting its doors as of July 29th, 2024, and Microsoft has been sending out reminders over the past few hours to all Xbox users about the change. We pretty much knew everything we needed to be aware of before today, but just in...
News Here's What The First PS5 Reviews Are Saying About Sea Of Thieves
Rare's first-ever PlayStation game is out now
Well, the final entry in Xbox's new four-game-foray into PlayStation gaming is officially out now, with Sea Of Thieves releasing on PS5 today. It's been a long while since the game first came out on Xbox though, so what are the reviews saying about Rare's pirate adventure in 2024? We've already heard...
News Xbox Teases Call Of Duty 'Direct' To Follow 2024 Summer Showcase
"We can’t say much"
Following multiple reports in recent months about 'Call of Duty: Black Ops Gulf War' launching in 2024, it looks like Xbox is about to officially unveil the game this June. As part of today's Xbox Summer Showcase announceme
News Eight Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass In Early May 2024
The first batch of departures for May
The first six games leaving Xbox Game Pass in May 2024 have been revealed today, and sadly we've got a few big ones in the mix! The most notable example is Just Cause 4 Reloaded - Square's latest Just Cause title has been on the service for just over five years, until it leaves this month. Here's the full list...
Random Xbox Boss Spotted Rocking Huge Fallout Helmet Behind The Scenes
"Guess who this is..."
Fallout fever is certainly spreading at the moment, as the brand-new TV show hits a massive viewership milestone in just over two weeks since its release - and it seems that Xbox boss Phil Spencer has caught the bug over at Microsoft HQ right now. Posting to Instagram, Xbox exec Sarah Bond initially asked fans to guess who...
News Moon Studios Hopes Fans Get Why It 'Won't Be Making Ori 3 Anytime Soon'
"This is our Magnum Opus"
In and around the launch of its next big game No Rest for the Wicked, developer Moon Studios has been talking plenty about its popular Xbox series Ori - and why it likely won't return to the IP anytime soon. This weekend, the team has added further context behind this; claiming that it'll
News Former Xbox Exec Shares Achievement Sound That Was 'Rejected' At Microsoft
"We went through quite a few iterations"
During the Xbox One era, Microsoft introduced 'Rare Achievements' - complete with their own unique sound effect to set themselves apart. Well, that achievement sound went through multiple iterations according to former Xbox exec Major Nelson; who's taken to social media today to share one of the team's...
Talking Point Would You Like To See Xbox Focus On A New Fallout Game?
Have you caught Fallout fever this month?
Well, we're officially in a bit of a Fallout renaissance, folks! Amazon Prime's TV show has drummed up huge levels of hype for Bethesda's post-apocalyptic series — so much so that the nine-year-old Fallout 4 has shot to the top of the gaming charts in recent weeks — and the
News Microsoft CEO Comments On Xbox's New PlayStation Store Success
"More than any other publisher"
Microsoft's latest quarterly results are in; with the team seeing huge gains across its Xbox division thanks to the acquisition of Activision Blizzard last year. However, it's not just ActiBlizz bringing the good news at the moment - some of Xbox's older studio acquisitions are bringing continued success too. As part...
News Xbox's Gaming Revenue Is Up 51% YoY Following Activision Blizzard Acquisition
The FY24 Q3 results are in
Microsoft has today released its financial results for Q3 2024 and its Xbox gaming revenue growth is up by more than 51% year-over-year. Once again, this is mostly credited to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which was closed on October 13, 2023. This latest figure factors in 55 points of net impact from...
News Gears Of War Voice Actor Reckons We're Due A 'Gears 6' Announcement In June
Rising like a JD Fenix
Gears of War developer The Coalition has been rather quiet since Gears 5 dropped almost five years ago, but we're starting to see pointers that things may get busier this year. The latest hint is a fresh tweet from the voice actor behind Gears character JD Fenix - the actor thinks June could be the month for a big '
News Three Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (April 25)
Including Fallout 4 next-gen!
It's a big day for Xbox Game Pass, folks! We have three additions to the library in total today, including Bethesda's Fallout 4 next-gen update and a pretty hefty addition to EA Play. Here's an introduction to what's coming to Xbox Game Pass today: Another Crab's T
News Xbox Talks Sustainability Efforts As Rare's New 'Solar-Powered Studio' Is Unveiled
Earth Day 2024 brings new Xbox innovations
As part of Earth Day 2024, Microsoft has broken down a number of new initiatives going on at Xbox right now - including a brand-new "solar-powered studio" at Sea Of Thieves developer Rare. This new studio, also known as 'Barn X', opened last year - and it's since been "certified LEED GOLD for its design...
News Xbox's Latest BOGOF Sale Includes Some Best-Ever Deals On Rockstar Classics
This is more like it!
Xbox has just set some new digital deals live as the annual Spring Sale comes to an end, and one particular promotion is standing out to us this week. The team has a new 'BOGOF' sale going on right now, focusing on a bunch of backwards compatible Xbox classics. The selection here is quite mixed, but we're noticing some good...
News World Of Warcraft For Xbox Is Still Discussed Internally At Blizzard
"Of course we still talk about it"
Can you believe that World of Warcraft is 20 years-old this year? Nah, us neither, and as it turns out - new versions of the title are still a hot topic over at developer Blizzard. Yep, two decades later the team still ponders a console release, and whether it's something worth pursuing. Talking to VGC, the...
News Blizzard Says It's Already 'Benefitting' From From Being A Part Of Xbox
"If anything, it’s just been helpful"
It's no doubt a pretty huge task to incorporate a team like Blizzard into your organisation - we've already seen evidence of this back in January when a studio shakeup resulted in a cancelled Blizzard project. However, things seem to have settled down since, and a new comment from one Blizzard dev suggests...
Talking Point What Do You Want To See From Xbox's New 'Game Preservation' Team?
New features like FPS Boost? More back compat games? Tell us!
Earlier this month, we learnt via internal Microsoft emails that Xbox has recently set up a new team dedicated entirely to game preservation - building on its "strong history of delivering backwards compatibility" to players on its platform. While the leaked memo doesn't contain much...
News Six Games Will Leave Xbox Game Pass In Late April 2024
The latest group of leavers
The second batch of games leaving Xbox Game Pass in April 2024 has been revealed today, and in total we have six games leaving the library - including one EA Play title. Here's the full list of titles leaving Xbox Game Pass on April 30, 2024: Xbox Game Pass: Leaving Soon (April 30, 2024): Date Game Platform April...
News Former Xbox Exec Likes The Idea Of 'Tipping' Developers After Beating Their Games
"Some games are that special"
The price of AAA games has been a hot topic recently, especially with the move to $70 releases, but one former Xbox & Blizzard exec has taken to social media to express that they'd actually like the option to give devs more money for their releases. Yep, Mike Ybarra — who left X
News Crash Bandicoot 4 Has Apparently Sold Over 5 Million Copies
That's great news for the future
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time has apparently been a huge success for developer Toys for Bob. According to the game's design director Toby Schadt (via LinkedIn), the game has sold "over 5 million copies" since its initial multiplatform release in 2020. So in other words, this is great news for the future of...
Talking Point Will Hellblade 2 Be A Genuine Game Of The Year Contender This Year?
The first game missed out in 2017
As we close in on a month-or-so before launch, the Hellblade 2 hype is building. This is Xbox's first big exclusive launch of 2024, and it should hopefully get the ball rolling for a fantastic year in regards to Xbox first-party. As good as the game looks so far — and always has done since it was first unveiled...
News Fallout 4's Next-Gen Update Is Coming To Xbox Series X|S Later This Month
Finally!
As announced all the way back in October 2022, Fallout 4 Next-Gen is finally coming. Today, Bethesda has revealed that the upgraded version of its 2015 RPG will launch for Xbox Series X|S on April 25th, 2024. The update will add new 'Performance' and 'Quality' mode options for current-gen players, while stability improvements and bug fixes...
Feature If Q1 Is Anything To Go By, 2024 Should Be Another Fantastic Year On Xbox
2024 has already delivered some bangers!
Last year was widely considered the best of the current generation of gaming so far, and we're hoping that the Xbox Series X|S era keeps on gathering pace from this point onwards. It's going to be hard to top a year that contained Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3, Starfield and so much more - but the first
News Xbox's Hellblade 2 Is 'On Another Level' Says Digital Foundry, Despite Series S Concerns
The DF team dives into some preview footage
Early previews are now doing the rounds for Hellblade 2 - and by most accounts this is shaping up to be an impressive Xbox Series X|S title. The team over at Digital Foundry is one of the outlets to have taken a look at the game recently, and they reckon it's "on another level" visually, de
News Here's What's Included In The Xbox April 2024 Update
Rolling out today on Xbox & PC
The Xbox April 2024 update begins rolling out to all users on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC today, and it includes a bunch of new features highlighted by 'Game Hubs' for PC players. Here's a short overview of the Xbox April 2024 update, with more details available at Xbox Wire: Xbox April 2024...
Random Streamer Beats Gears Of War On Insane Difficulty In 2024, Without Ever Taking Cover
Now this is a mad world
Beating any of the Gears games on Insane difficulty is no small feat, but what if you were mad enough to try and do it without ever taking cover? Well, Twitch streamer Arrrash has decided to replay the first game — specifically 2015's Gears of War: Ultimate Edition — in 2024, without using the game's cover mechanic...
News It's Been 12 Months Since Xbox Faced A Major Activision Blizzard Crisis
And in some ways, it's still not over
Last year was absolutely packed full of news about Xbox's continual attempts to acquire Activision Blizzard in various countries around the world, but a major roadblock almost put a stop to everything 12 months ago. Yes, it's been almost an entire year since the UK's Competition and Markets Authority blocked...
News NetEase Enters Into Agreement With Microsoft To 'Explore' Bringing New Titles To Xbox
As Blizzard games return to China
Blizzard has announced its games will be returning to China under a renewed publishing deal between Microsoft Gaming and NetEase. After discussions "over the past year", players in China will be able to once again access World of Warcraft, Hearthstone and many other titles across the Blizzard universe including...
News Ori Dev Explains Why It Decided Against Third Entry In The Franchise, For Now
"I think were were pretty happy with where it left off"
Ori developer Moon Studios has talked about its future in a new interview with Game Informer - a future that's laser-focused on No Rest for the Wicked at the moment. A third Ori game has been discussed though, and while the te
News Xbox ANZ & Cure Cancer Foundation Collaborate To Build Dazzling Custom Series X Consoles
Three amazing designs for a great cause
Xbox ANZ has unveiled three unique Series X console designs this week, built in collaboration with Australia's 'Cure Cancer' foundation. The systems are being auctioned off in the region for the next three weeks, to help raise money towards fighting Cancer. There are three completely unique consoles up for...
News Citizen Sleeper Dev Says Xbox Game Pass Is 'Keeping A Lot Of Indie Studios Going'
"The money is a pittance to Microsoft"
We all love Xbox Game Pass here at Pure Xbox, and as it turns out, plenty of indie studios seem grateful for the service and its security too. We've heard this from small devs and publishers before, and this week, the Citizen Sleeper creator has talked about how the service is keepin
Random Gears Of War Creator Reminds Fans He Can't Revive Games He Doesn't Have Rights To
"Please stop asking me"
The Gears of War creator Cliff Bleszinski has previously voiced his interest in returning to the series, but he's recently taken to social reiterate that it's mostly out of his control. Here's what he had to say in his latest post (via social media): "Please stop asking me to bring back games that I don't have the rights...
News Xbox Dev Ninja Theory To Host 'A Journey Of The Mind' Live Event For Hellblade 2
Highlighting the game's ties to mental health
Hellblade 2 is out on Xbox next month, and to highlight some of the game's themes and overall ties to mental health, developer Ninja Theory has a special live event planned for tomorrow, April 9th. 'Hellblade: A Journey of the Mind' is a collaboration between the development team and its nearby...
Talking Point Which Classic COD Would You Play First On Xbox Game Pass?
It's rumoured Xbox is 'gearing up' for an announcement
So, all of a sudden we're starting to see lots of rumours about Xbox's upcoming 2024 summer showcase - including a potential ActiBlizz back catalogue announcement of some sort. This announcement could include Call of Duty in some fashion (we've still not seen any of those titles appear on
News Xbox Could Be 'Gearing Up' For Call Of Duty Back Catalogue Announcement
"Gulf War might not be the only CoD-related announcement"
In case you missed our recent story about Xbox Showcase rumours for this summer, it's been claimed that an announcement about Activision Blizzard's library of older titles may be coming in the near future. This is according to Insider Gaming's Tom Henderson, who says Xbox could be "gearing...
Random Xbox Two-Game Bundle Priced At Ridiculous $2000 On Microsoft Store
We thiiiink this might be a mistake
It's come to our attention today that Microsoft may have made quite the mistake pricing one of its new Xbox game bundles. As spotted by Omni Gaming, a new two-game package has just gone live on the Microsoft Store - coming in at a whopping $2000 for Xbox players. The package in question is the
News Diablo 4 Gets New Lease Of Life On Xbox Thanks To Successful Game Pass Launch
"Xbox has quickly become the #1 platform"
Microsoft finally graced us with its first ActiBlizz Xbox Game Pass addition at the end of March in the form of Diablo 4, and its arrival has given the Xbox platform a huge boost already. Xbox exec Sarah Bond has revealed that Xbox has become the biggest platform for Diablo 4 since it came to the Game Pass...
News Xbox Establishes New Team Dedicated To 'Game Preservation And Forward Compatibility'
A new exclusive reveals a big internal announcement
Microsoft has reportedly established a new team dedicated to future-proofing and preserving the Xbox game library. In a new "exclusive" from Windows Central's Jez Corden, it's revealed how the recently appointed Xbox president Sarah Bond sent out emails to empl
News Elder Scrolls Online Reveals 10th Anniversary Roadmap For 2024 & Beyond
New chapter 'Gold Road' launches on Xbox this June
As you might recall, The Elder Scrolls Online is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, and as part of a new livestream (reconfirming the June release of the new expansion Gold Road), it's also revealed the full road map for this year and beyond. The celebrations will kick off this month and...
News Xbox Reportedly Testing The Waters With Sea Of Thieves PS5 Release
Sources familiar with Microsoft claim it's a "key test"
Sea Of Thieves is sailing onto the PlayStation 5 later this month, and while there have already been some claims Microsoft is using it as a test, The Verge's senior editor Tom Warren has now chimed in. According to "sources familiar with Microsoft's plans", Rare's open-world multiplayer pirate...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (April 4-7)
Call of Duty: MW3 headlines this week's lineup!
This week's Xbox Free Play Days lineup is back to three titles (from four last week), but we've got a major headline act in the form of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which is free for all Xbox members until the end of the week. As usual for MW3 free trials though, it's just the multiplayer and...
News Killer Instinct Bonus Update Adds New Stage And '87 New Colorways'
Update: Available now
Update [Wed 3rd Apr, 2024 06:55 BST]: As a reminder, this update for Killer Instinct is now live. You can check out the patch notes in the original story below. Original post [Sat 30th Mar, 2024 06:00 GMT]: Killer Instinct earlier on held a special "bonus update stream" celebrating the recent release of the anniversary...
News Phil Spencer Celebrates 10 Years As Head Of Xbox This Weekend
Time flies
This weekend marks an extremely important milestone in the world of Xbox, as Phil Spencer will be celebrating 10 years as the head of the brand on Sunday, March 31st. Yes, it's really been that long now! Spencer famously took on the job as Xbox boss following a rough Xbox One launch and the subsequent departure of former head Don...
Talking Point Would You Be Interested In Microsoft's White Xbox Series X Revision?
If today's leak comes to fruition
Earlier today, we were treated to a first look at Microsoft's supposedly-planned Xbox Series X console revision thanks to some newly-leaked images. In short, the system appears to be sporting a fresh white coat of paint, while also ditching the disc drive for an all-digital Series X debut. <related...
