Tag: Microsoft - Page 5
PSA Xbox 360 Servers Won't Shut Down Following July's Store Closure
It's only the storefront going offline
Okay, so, man the panic stations - we're literally five days away from the Xbox 360 store closure that's been planned since last year. Yep, the aging console's marketplace is going offline for good on July 29th. However, we're seeing folks panic about things that won't change come the end of the month, so...
News Report Claims Call Of Duty Has Sold AI Generated Content Through In-Game Store
The controversial technique has apparently been used
Tech outlet WIRED has put out a big report this week on AI in the video game industry - and that very report claims that Call of Duty has previously sold some AI generated content via the Modern Warfare 3 storefront. There's been no confirmation of this from the teams behind the series, but...
News Three More Xbox 360 Games Get Discounts Ahead Of Next Week's Store Closure
Surprise!
Three more non-backwards compatible Xbox 360 games have appeared on sale today, about a week after Microsoft said it had provided the 'final update' relating to the console's impending store closure. The three games in question aren't major titles by any means, but they're all heavily discounted at 90% off, so if you're gathering up a...
News Analyst Expects Xbox Game Pass To Bring In 'Almost $5.5bn' In 2025
Once the price rises come into affect
Earlier this month, we heard about the impending launch of Xbox Game Pass Standard, alongside price increases for the existing tiers of Microsoft's subscription service. In the wake of that news, analytics group
News Wolverine Joins The Pack With Another Booty-Laden Xbox Controller
Dead-ass serious
Last week, Microsoft unveiled a very different sort of Xbox controller as a promotional partnership with the new 'Deadpool & Wolverine' movie - it contained a literal butt attachment on the back of the pad. Well, Deadpool couldn't have all the fun, so now Wolverine has joined the fray with their own bootylicious Xbox controller...
News Bethesda's US Workforce Has Unionized To 'Set New Standard' For Game Developers
A "wall-to-wall" union with 200+ devs
Bethesda developers have announced a major union across their US-based studios in Dallas, Rockville and Austin - forming the 'OneBGSUSA' group. The group says that it is "a majority of developers" who "advocate for the betterment of every developer at BGS, setting the new standard for our industry." Microsoft,
News Microsoft Says FTC Is Being 'Misleading' In Response To Xbox Game Pass Criticisms
"A misleading, extra-record account of the facts"
Earlier this week, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a filing as part of its ongoing battle against Microsoft and the Activision Blizzard takeover in which it criticised some of the recent changes to Xbox Game Pass. Specifically, the FTC's counsel brought up Game Pass's price increase...
Talking Point Do You Think This Generation Will Be A Short One?
Shutting up shop early
So, we're almost at the four-year mark of the Xbox Series X|S generation, and if the last few console cycles are anything to go by, we should be around the halfway mark right now. Xbox 360 lasted eight years, Xbox One lasted seven, but what about Xbox Series X and S? Will they go the distance and turn in similar numbers?...
News Diablo 4 Shares First Gameplay Footage Of New Expansion Class
The Spiritborn arrives this October
Ahead of the launch of the Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred expansion on Xbox this October, Blizzard has officially revealed the first gameplay footage of the new expansion class known as the Spiritborn. This class calls upon the unique strengths of "Jaguar, Gorilla, Eagle, and Centipede Spirit Guardians", as you can...
News Sony PlayStation 'Regrettably Outspends Us', Says Xbox EMEA Marketing Boss
"We’re not blessed with huge media budgets"
We've seen Xbox fans talk about Microsoft's perceived lack of marketing for its gaming business before - heck, it's been a hot topic for some time when comparing success levels with other platform holders. Well, in a new interview with MarketingWeek, the Xbox EMEA boss has given us some frank quotes...
News FTC Calls Out Xbox's New 'Degraded' Game Pass Tier & Price Increases
Microsoft recently hiked prices and announced a new 'Standard' sub
Update (Sat 20th Jul, 2024): Microsoft has now issued a response to the FTC, stating that the Commission is providing a "misleading, extra-record account of the facts". You'll find more details elsewhere on Pure Xbox: <related ids="169169"> Original story (Fri 19th Jul,...
News Halo TV Show Cancelled By Paramount+ After Two Seasons
Xbox will reportedly seek "another outlet for a third season"
We've got some breaking news about the Halo TV Show, with Paramount+ announcing it's officially cancelling the series after two seasons. Here is the official Paramount+ statement about the cancellation of its Halo series (via The Hollywood Reporter): “We are extremely proud of this...
News Fallout TV Series Nominated For Loads Of Emmy Awards At 2024 Show
The ceremony goes ahead in September
It's no secret that Amazon Prime's Fallout TV series ended up being a massive success - probably more than anyone realistically expected before it aired back in April. And, well, it looks like the show is set for some awards show recognition of that success later this year. The Emmy Awards has announced the...
News Xbox Series X|S Console Sales Down A Third In Europe With 'Weaker Software Lineup' In 2024
It's a trend across the entire industry
Some fresh gaming industry sales data from the first half of 2024 in Europe has been detailed by the folks over at GamesIndustry.biz, and it showcases a slow year across the board despite some wins here and there - particularly for software. Those wins start with the fact that unit game sales in the region...
News Xbox Adds Nvidia GeForce Now Integration To Its Game Pages
"Launch supported games on GeForce Now via Xbox.com"
Microsoft's relationship with Nvidia continues to blossom, with Xbox today announcing it's now "enabled" GeForce Now integration on its official store pages. To reiterate, this will allow users to launch supported games on GeForce Now via the Xbox.com game page. Below is the announcement,...
News Yes, Xbox Has Made A New Controller With Deadpool's Booty On The Back
A new wirelass option
As if Xbox couldn't surprise us any more on a random Wednesday afternoon, the team has decided to unleash this Deadpool controller into the world. Complete with, ahem, a booty grip on the rear, this Deadpool Xbox controller is sure to turn heads as part of Microsoft's latest sweepstakes competition. Actually, the full prize...
News Xbox Is Adding New Installation Options To 'Provide More Control' Over Downloads
Only install what you want!
Microsoft has detailed its newest Alpha Skip-Ahead update for Xbox Insiders, and it contains a pretty neat new feature for game installations. The team is aiming to make installing games more flexible by allowing users to pick and choose what they want to install at the point of finding the game and hitting the download...
News Microsoft Releases Dynamic 'Blades' Background To Mark Xbox 360 Store Closure
The sales list has also been updated
Microsoft has delivered its final update on the status of the Xbox 360 Store prior to its closure on July 29th, and the update comes with a little surprise for Xbox Series X|S owners. The big news here is that the team has released a brand-new dynamic background for Xbox Series X and S users, and it features...
News Amazon Now Selling Fire Stick, Xbox Controller & Game Pass Ultimate Bundle
Xbox gaming without Xbox hardware
Earlier this month, Xbox once again expanded its Cloud Gaming program, this time bringing the Game Pass library to certain Amazon Fire Stick devices. While the experience has been getting mixed feedback so far shall we say, the mega-retailer has now doubled down on its partnership with Xbox. As spotted by
Lots and lots of players
With the likes of Xbox Game Pass and Microsoft's expertise in ongoing live service titles, plenty of the team's biggest franchises continue to grow. Just this week, we brought news of a major new player milestone for 2021's Forza Horiz
News 343 Responds To Rumours About The Studio Outsourcing Halo Development
It ain't happening, chief
There seems to have been some strong rumours going around recently suggesting that Xbox studio 343 Industries was moving towards an 'overseer' role for future Halo games - hinting that they'd no longer be the series' core developer. Well, a number of sources have now come out to shut down those rumours, including a comment...
News Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Open Beta Dates Revealed
The first simultaneous CoD beta ever
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is launching on Xbox Series X|S and Game Pass this October, and ahead of release, Activision has now officially revealed the open beta release dates for the game. As highlighted by The Verge's senior editor Tom Warren, this is actuall
News Analysts Claim Xbox Game Pass Price Hikes Were 'Inevitable', And That An Ad-Tier Could Be Next
A shifting landscape
Last week, Microsoft announced some big changes for Xbox Game Pass, including price increases across all tiers of the service. It all continues to feel like a messy mix-up, especially considering the lack of proper communication from the team on all of th
News Here Are The Top 10 Most Popular Trailers From The Xbox Games Showcase 2024
A good old top 10!
It's now been over a month since the Xbox Games Showcase 2024, and despite some of the negativity surrounding Team Green in the first half of this year, we can't deny that it was an amazing show last month. In fact, Microsoft says that last month's showcase was
Reminder Five Games Are Leaving Xbox Game Pass This Weekend
You've got a few days left to play!
It's that time again, folks! A selection of titles will leave the Xbox Game Pass library at the end of the weekend - with five games in total exiting the service in just a few days. All five of the below games will leave Xbox Game Pass on Monday, July 15, so you basically have the coming weekend to give these a...
News Free Play Days: Try These Xbox Games For Free (July 11-14)
Included with Game Pass Core and Game Pass Ultimate
Xbox Free Play Days is here, and we have a pretty hefty lineup this week - with four Xbox games playable in total. Headlining that lineup is Ubisoft's The Crew Motorfest, whose free trial we already mentioned on Pure Xbox last week. <related ids="168539"> While that's the main event here,...
Rumour Day One Releases Delayed On A 'Case-By-Case Basis' For Xbox Game Pass Standard Tier
This ain't it, chief
Well, Xbox Game Pass Standard has officially been unveiled by Microsoft - and it's swooping in to replace Xbox Game Pass Console "in the coming months". While we know that this middle GP tier will exclude certain day one releases, we don't really know which games will skip the tier at launch, and for how long they'll be delayed...
News Sea Of Thieves Justifies Multiplatform Release By Charting Again On PS5 In June
Fresh plunder
Another month brings even more Sea Of Thieves success for Microsoft! Rare's pirate adventure, which first launched on Xbox all the way back in 2018, has sold very well on PS5 again in June 2024. In both the US and Europe, Sea of Thieves was in the top five most downloaded PS5 games for the month of June. This follows May's standings,...
Reaction Microsoft's Constant Tweaking Of Xbox Game Pass Is Becoming Exhausting
Just pick a plan and stick with it
So, Xbox Game Pass is changing again. Following last year's introduction of Game Pass Core comes a fresh replacement for 'Console' Game Pass in the form of Xbox Game Pass Standard - which sits just underneath Game Pass Ultimate. Keeping up? Yeah... it's all becomi
Rumour Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Is Joining Xbox Game Pass This Month
Coinciding with the Game Pass price hike
Last year's Call of Duty release, Modern Warfare 3, is seemingly coming to Xbox Game Pass later this month. As reported on by Insider Gaming, Microsoft was apparently planning to announce this alongside
News Xbox Game Pass Changes Partly Because Microsoft 'Isn't Seeing Strong Growth', Claims Analyst
"One factor that influenced this move..."
Have you taken in the news about all of Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass changes yet? Don't worry, we're still a little confused by the service's new structure as well, but gaming analyst Daniel Ahmad has provided some insight as to part of the reason behind these changes to Xbox's subscription plans. The...
News Microsoft Provides More Detail On Its New Xbox Game Pass Standard Tier
With additional info to come "soon"
In the wee hours of the morning here in the UK, Microsoft decided it was the right time to announce sweeping changes to Xbox Game Pass. The service's 'Console' tier is no more — to be replaced by Xbox Game Pass Standard — while both the existing Core and Ultimate tiers are getting price increases. <related...
News Xbox Game Pass Gets Price Increases And New 'Standard' Subscription Tier
"Game Pass Standard will not include games released on day one"
There have been multiple reports about Microsoft potentially increasing the price of its Xbox Game Pass subscription service and adding more tiers ahead of the arrival of Activision game releases, and it's now been officially confirmed. In an update on the Xbox support page, Microsoft
Soapbox I Miss The Type Of Pick-Up-And-Play Games We Got On Original Xbox
Waking up to a new realisation
This past weekend, I took a couple of days off work for a short break, but as I've recently learnt in life, Xbox soon finds me again in some fashion. This time out, a browse of a retro game shop saw me picking up gunboat warfare title Blood Wake on the original Xbox, and it's making me miss this era so bloody much...
News Xbox's New 'Just For You' Offers Include Super-Cheap Mafia Trilogy Deal
For some of us anyway!
As another Tuesday rolls around we have a fresh set of Xbox deals for the coming days - with the focus of this week's discounts being a 'teaser' collection for Xbox's big summer sale. However, we're also seeing a selection of these 'Just For You' offers that Xbox likes to throw around these days, and a deep discount on
News Xbox Gaming Now Officially Available On Amazon Fire TV Stick
Accessible Xbox play
Late last month, Microsoft announced that Xbox Cloud Gaming was about to mount a new offensive - this time taking over select Amazon Fire TV devices. Now, less than two weeks later, the Xbox app is officially available on the Amazon Fire TV S
News Two Games Are Available Today With Xbox Game Pass (July 9)
Your latest Game Pass arrivals
Welcome to your latest Xbox Game Pass update! We have two new titles entering the library, including the recent release of Cricket 24 and the well-reviewed Case of the Golden Idol - which makes its Xbox debut today! Here's an introduction to your Game Pass lineup for July 9th: Cricket 24 (Console, PC, Cloud):
News LEGO Horizon Adventures Dev Gives Non-Answer For Lack Of Xbox Version
Because uh, uh, because.
During 2024's showcase season, the much-rumoured LEGO Horizon Adventures was announced on Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest stage - but there was no Xbox version to be seen. Guerrilla Games' first foray into LEGO game making is releasing on PS5, Switch and PC day one, but not Xbox. Now, in a new interview wi
Talking Point How Do You Feel About 2024 On Xbox So Far?
As we pass the halfway point
2023 was a landmark year for the current generation of gaming, with what seemed like an endless list of fantastic titles dropping throughout that time. Resident Evil 4, Baldur's Gate 3, Alan Wake 2 and plenty of others took the plaudits in a busy 12 months on Xbox, but how are you feeling about this year so far? Will it...
News Digital Foundry Explores Why Some Games 'Run Better' On PS5 Than Xbox Series X
"We finally have some answers"
Ever since Xbox Series X and PS5 launched, we've noticed cases where PS5 games run that little bit better - even if on paper Microsoft's machine is the more powerful console. We've typically put that down to sheer development resources — the PS5 has a bigger install base and is often the target console after all —...
PSA We're Officially In The Last Month Ever For The Xbox 360 Store
Godspeed
Well folks, this is it. After almost 20 years on the market, the Xbox 360 digital storefront officially closes down later this month, marking the end of an incredible era for Xbox. Of course, loads of the games from that generation are now available on the new Xbox store via backwards compatibility, but the closure this month will still be...
News Strange New Xbox Dashboard Shows Up In The Unlikeliest Of Places
Update: Microsoft shares a statement
Update: Microsoft has now shared a statement about this new Xbox dashboard to Eurogamer, mentioning that the company has "no plans" to develop something along these lines. Here's the quote: "We currently have no plans for an Xbox Rimac dashboard. For more information about this mockup video, please reach out to...
Talking Point Xbox Fans, How Do You Feel About The Future Of The Brand In 2024?
Has the June showcase turned things around?
It's no secret that 2024 has been a bit of a wild time to be an Xbox fan. We started out the year with rumours and speculation leading to a special business update podcast, while the last few months have brought numerous PS5 ports and s
News Head Of Xbox Phil Spencer Will Be Kicking Off PAX West 2024 This August
With "an informative and engaging talk"
PAX co-organizers ReedPop and Penny Arcade have today announced that Xbox's Phil Spencer will have a big presence at the PAX West 2024 event. Kicking off the show on August 30th, Phil will deliver "the opening Storytime speech" for this year's edition of the convention, which runs through September 2nd. Phil...
News Xbox Remains The Controller Of Choice For Steam Users, Unsurprisingly
59% of game sessions use Microsoft's pad
Valve has released new data about the controllers used on its digital PC platform Steam, and Xbox's game pads (unsurprisingly) remain right out in front. As of June 2024, 59% of users are playing with an Xbox controller, 26% are on PlayStation controllers and 10% are using Steam Deck controls (aka Steam...
News Xbox Fans Confused By 'Weird Temu Spam' Plaguing Direct Messages
"Temu bots have taken over Xbox"
For a while now, our Xbox inboxes have been regularly flooded with some form of spam - and not the chopped pork in a can variety. Xbox does at least categorise 'chat requests' as a completely different thing to conversations with friends, but still, the constant 'offers' to buy our gamertags do grow a little...
News The Coalition Continues To Hype Up Gears Of War: E-Day With New Message In Gears 5
"Emergence begins"
Emergence Day is upon us, folks! Xbox dev The Coalition is going back to the roots of Gears with Gears of War: E-Day, and as the hype for it continues, the team has starting acknowledging the upcoming sequel within Gears 5. Yep, when players now load up Gears 5, they're greeted with a nice little message about Gears: E-Day -...
News Diablo 4 Season 5 Is Bringing A Wave-Based Horde Mode To Xbox Game Pass
"Slay the infernal hordes"
Diablo 4 has been out on Xbox Game Pass for a few months now, but as Blizzard's dungeon crawler is very much an ongoing game, you can expect it to change and evolve lots over time. One of those changes is a major new addition coming to the game in Season 5, with the team confirming that a wave-based horde mode will make...
Talking Point 10 Years On From 'Rise Of The Dark Spark', Should Activision Bring Back Transformers?
Xbox now has the power!
Since Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard there's been lots of talk about what Xbox could effectively 'bring back' from the annals of ActiBlizz history, with Crash, Spyro and Guitar Hero amongst some of the most common suggestions. However, in the background there's always been a little bit of noise about Activision's take...
News Microsoft Makes Statement On The Xbox Delay For Black Myth: Wukong
"We’re excited for the launch"
Update: Windows Central Reporter Jez Corden has now provided some extra context about the Microsoft statement on Black Myth: Wukong. Corden says that Xbox is "aware of the rumours" about an exclusivity deal, but he didn't mention them in his question to Microsoft. Here's a tweet from Corden with this extra...
