Tag: Microsoft - Page 15
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...
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 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...
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 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...
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 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'...
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...
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...
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 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 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 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 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...
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 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 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...
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 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 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...
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 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 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 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...
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 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...
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 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
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...
News FTC Continues To Challenge Xbox's Takeover Of Activision Blizzard
"How the FTC uses limited taxpayer resources is their decision"
Anyone for a bit of FTC news? Just what you wanted on a Thursday afternoon, eh? Yes, just a few months after the FTC lost its request for a preliminary injunction against Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard, the regulator has now resumed its challenge - with plans to move...
News Xbox Game Pass Listing For Octopath Traveler 2 Was An 'Error'
"We’ve removed the mention"
Update: And that's the end of that! Microsoft has removed the mention of Octopath Traveler 2 coming to Xbox Game Pass in 2024, explaining that it was added in error. Here's the statement: "Editor’s Note: We’ve removed the mention of Octopath Traveler II coming to Xbox Game Pass which was included in error...
Deals All Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (September 26 - October 3)
Battle through an apocalyptic landscape
The latest batch of Xbox weekly deals are now live, and as always we've got a few backwards compatible titles from the Xbox 360 era in the mix! There aren't too many this week, but there are still some fantastic games such as Call of Juarez Gunslinger, F.E.A.R 2 and The Witcher 2 that are worth picking up for...
News Ubisoft CEO Explains Decision To Buy ActiBlizz Cloud Rights From Xbox
"That’s what pushed us to go forward..."
Back in August, it was revealed that Microsoft had struck a deal for Ubisoft to buy the cloud gaming rights to Activision Blizzard titles, and now Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has revealed what "pushed us to go forward with the deal". Speaking to the Financial Times this week, Guillemot enthused about the...
News Kojima Shares Snaps Of Phil Spencer & Co. Visiting During Tokyo Game Show Week
A friendly ol' visit
We've known for a good while now that Xbox and Kojima Productions are finally working together on a new project, and it seems that the two parties have become quite friendly in recent times as well. Various members of team Xbox have visited the Japanese studio since, and it looks like a friendly stop was in order during Tokyo...
News Smash Bros. Director Masahiro Sakurai Shows Off His 'Rare' Xbox 360
"It has my name engraved on it!"
Microsoft has been gifting rare limited edition Xbox consoles for a very long time now, and even to this day there are probably many out there that we don't actually know about. With this in mind, back during the Xbox 360 generation, Microsoft sent certain people within the games industry special launch systems...
News 'Crash Vs. Spyro Racing' Prototype Discovered On Original Xbox Devkit
This would have been amazing!
These old Xbox finds just keep on coming! Earlier this month, YouTuber Modern Vintage Gamer discovered an unreleased original Xbox classic lying around on an old devkit hard drive, and now he's at it again with another retro find. This time out, MVG has unearthed some sort of prototype for a 'Crash vs. Spyro' kart...
News Phil Spencer Reveals Which IP He'd Like To See Revived On Xbox
"That franchise was ahead of its time"
Xbox boss Phil Spencer is often spotted playing Xbox in his spare time (you only have to follow his gamertag to see what he's up to), so it's fair to say there are some old franchises he'd love to play again on modern systems. Well, at a recent Tokyo Game Show panel, the boss talked about one Xbox franchise...
News Capcom Would 'Gracefully Decline' Any Acquisition Attempt From Xbox
"It would be better if we were equal partners"
There's always speculation about who Microsoft might be interested in acquiring, and Capcom is an obvious target! The company has been going from strength-to-strength lately with the likes of Street Fighter 6 and Resident Evil 4 Remake. However, as you might expect, Capcom has no interest in being...
News CMA Approval A 'Significant Milestone' Towards Xbox Merging With Activision Blizzard
"This approval is critical to completing our merger"
Today has brought welcome news in regards to Xbox's ActiBlizz deal, with the UK CMA now approving the acquisition - pending input from various third party companies that took part in the investigation. While the purchase hasn't been completed just yet, both Microsoft and Activision Blizzard feel...
News UK CMA Grants 'Preliminary Approval' Of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Purchase
"Microsoft has now substantially restructured the deal"
We're almost there, folks! The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has today announced that it has granted preliminary approval for Microsoft to purchase Activision Blizzard. The CMA's decision still needs to be consulted with any third parties involved in the process, but for all intents...
News As Of Last April, Xbox Series S Accounted For 75% Of Microsoft's Current-Gen Console Sales
Massively outweighing Series X!
In yet more FTC document leaks, information about Xbox Series X and S sales data has started to proliferate, and the results might be surprising to some. As spotted by IGN, in April 2022 Microsoft said that the Xbox Series S accounted for 75% of total Xbox Series sales since launch. That's a hefty amount for a...
News Microsoft Adds New Player Profile Badge To Make Sure We All Remember Xbox Live Gold
RIP sweet prince
Xbox Live Gold is officially no more as Game Pass Core now carries Xbox's online networking torch, but Microsoft is making sure we all remember the company's seminal multiplayer service. A new update has been rolled out that applies an 'Xbox Live Gold' badge to player profiles on Xbox. The neat logo contains some classic XBL Gold...
Deals All 40+ Backwards Compatible Games In This Week's Xbox Sales (September 19-26)
Including some ongoing publisher sales
Xbox's new weekly deals have now gone live, and as usual, they include a batch of Xbox 360 (and a couple of original Xbox) backwards compatible classics on offer. Now, we have some carryover from the previous set this week, including an ongoing Call of Duty sale, but still - plenty of new titles have been added...
News FTC Denies Involvement In Huge Xbox Leak, Blames Microsoft Instead
"Microsoft was responsible for the error"
Update: Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley also appears to have suggested Microsoft was at fault, explaining that Microsoft provided a secure cloud link a few days ago containing files that were subsequently uploaded by the Court. Original story: As we've been covering all day here at Pure Xbox, the "biggest...
"We need to learn from this and build a plan forward"
It's no secret at this stage that Xbox wasn't particularly pleased with its exclusive games lineup in 2022. Delays to major projects like Starfield meant that Xbox first-party suffered from a particularly barren year, and a new leaked email from Phil Spencer shows just how disappointed the team...
News Microsoft Is Targeting 2028 For A 'Hybrid' Next Generation Xbox Console
More leaked goodies
Ready to start talking next next-gen yet? We've already heard that a 2028 launch is the rough timeline for Microsoft's next generation plans, however, fresh FTC documents have now dropped a hint at what exactly the Xbox owner is planning for its next console - including a new 'hybrid' approach to next-gen gaming. Perhaps...
News Xbox Series X All-Digital Console Refresh Planned For Late 2024
Codename 'Brooklin' has leaked
In yet more leaked documents from Microsoft's ongoing FTC court case over its ActiBlizz acquisition, a brand-new console refresh has been outed. Apparently planned for an October 2024 release, Xbox Series X will soon go all-digital, according to the docs. Codenamed 'Brooklin', a discless Xbox Series X console is...
News Well, It Looks Like The Elder Scrolls 6 Will Be Xbox Exclusive After All
New FTC docs point towards Xbox & PC exclusivity
Publicly, Microsoft has been quite coy on the future of The Elder Scrolls and what platforms any future releases will land on. Part of that is because the sixth entry is so far away at this stage, but also, the team is still saying it will look at upcoming Xbox exclusivity on a "c
News Xbox Game Pass Hit 30 Million Subscribers Prior To 'Core' Tier Launch
Update: 30M figure quietly removed
(Update - 15:00): The Xbox exec has now removed the Xbox Game Pass figure from their LinkedIn profile (that was quick!), so it's worth taking this "30 million members" quote with a pinch of salt for now. (Original Story - 14:50): Xbox Game Pass has been growing each year since its first introduction in 2017, and...
