Tag: Xbox Live
News Xbox 360 Users Take To Social Media As Online Server Issues Persist
"Incredibly frustrating"
We're assuming most Pure Xbox readers aren't using their Xbox 360 consoles anymore, but just in case you are, you may have noticed over the past few days that you've been struggling to sign into the Xbox Live servers. The Xbox 360 subreddit has been filled with players complaining about this recently, sharing error messages...
News Xbox Suffers 'Major Outage' As Servers Go Down For Most Players
"You may not be able to sign-in"
Update: This issue has now been fixed, with the official Xbox status returning to "up and running". Original story: Xbox has been suffering from some technical difficulties today, with lots of players reporting that they've been unable to connect to Xbox Live (or the "Xbox Network") over the past couple of hours...
News Xbox Live 1.0 Replacement 'Insignia' Now Supports 150 Games
And it's just celebrated its first birthday!
Remember Insignia? This is a free replacement for the original version of Xbox Live on the OG Xbox, and since the last time we talked about it here at Pure Xbox, it's continued to add countless new supported titles to its library. In fact, with its first birthday taking place this week, Insignia now...
News OG Xbox Live Replacement 'Insignia' Continues To Grow With 11 New Supported Games
Online multiplayer is back
You're probably well aware of Insignia at this point - it's a new replacement service for Xbox Live 1.0 on the original Xbox - and the good news is that it's continued to add new supported titles throughout the early part of 2023. When we last mentioned Insignia, the supported list sat at around 40 games, but we're going...
News Xbox Live Goes Down Temporarily As Microsoft Suffers Major Server Outages
Teams, Outlook and Office 365 also affected
If you've been running into issues accessing Xbox Live or any Microsoft services for that matter over the past few hours, it's probably because Microsoft has been running into some major worldwide server outages. According to Downdetector, there was a big spike at around 8am UK time where Xbox Live,...
News Digital Games Are Dominating In The UK At Almost 90% Of Overall Sales
New age tech
We've known for a long time that digital games are growing in popularity, especially as we move into an era where multiple console manufacturers are releasing digital-only systems like the Xbox Series S. In the UK, the overall percentage of digital game sales now sits at 89.5% according to new figures from the entertainment and retail...
News Xbox Live 1.0 Replacement Adds More Supported Titles, 40 Games Now Playable
With more to come in the New Year
If you're wondering how progress has been coming along on the Insignia project for the original Xbox, the news is that the team are still working extremely hard on adding new supported titles, with plenty of additions in December already. The list of supported games now sits at 40, with new titles including DOOM 3,...
News The Xbox Live 1.0 Replacement Is Out Now, And It's Adding 3 More Games Next Week
"A lot of time and effort went into this"
Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of Xbox Live, and it also marked the return of Xbox Live 1.0 for the original Xbox in the form of an unofficial replacement service called Insignia, which has launched in beta form for a few thousand people. The service, which requires a fairly complicated softmod of...
Soapbox It's Been 20 Years Since Xbox Live Launched, And It Brings Back Some Fond Memories
We salute you!
20 years ago to the day, Microsoft launched Xbox Live, just a year after its first ever console hit the market. It was a momentous day for gaming, as the console world took a gargantuan leap towards mass adoption for online play. Admittedly, I'm a bit young to have too many memories of its initial launch, but Xbox Live in general...
News The New Version Of Xbox Live 1.0 Will Now Support 25 Games At Launch
More titles added to the list!
We've been going on about Insignia, the replacement service for Xbox Live on the original Xbox, for some time now, and that's simply because it looks really cool! The beta launch date is less than two weeks away, and it's just added a few extra games to its launch lineup, with more set to be added every month in the...
News Xbox Live 1.0 Is Coming Back, And Signups Are Now Available
Insignia launches its Beta next month!
Last week, we provided an update on the progress of Insignia, which is a replacement service for Xbox Live 1.0 on the original Xbox. Now, signups for the beta are finally available, with the playtest set to begin on November 15th, 2022. To get involved, you'll need to head to the Insignia website and request...
News The New Version Of Xbox Live 1.0 Will Now Support 17 Games At Launch
A replacement service known as "Insignia"
A few months ago, you may remember that the replacement for the original Xbox Live 1.0 (known as "Insignia") revealed its launch lineup of 13 games, but now we've also got a few more to add to the finalised list. Taking to Twitter last week, the team confirmed that Conker: Live and Reloaded, Dance Dance...
News Former Xbox Boss Talks Building The 'Innovative' Xbox 360 Console
"It was such an innovative console"
The Xbox 360 was a defining era in the history of Xbox. It pretty much put the brand on the map, exposing Xbox to millions through Xbox Live - and a fantastic, cutting edge console to boot. At the time, Peter Moore was brought in to help Microsoft market the Xbox 360 launch, and in a new interview, Moore has...
News Xbox Live 1.0 Is Getting A Replacement, And It'll Support 13 Games At Launch
Online multiplayer returns to the original Xbox!
If you've been following us here at Pure Xbox for a couple of years, you'll probably recall something called Insignia. It was announced back in 2020 as a replacement for the original Xbox Live, which sadly shut down in 2010. The team has been slowly chipping away at Insignia since then, and plenty of...
News Microsoft Is Suspending Sales In Russia, Including Xbox Products
The company is exiting the market
As the ongoing crisis in Ukraine continues, companies around the world are changing their stance on serving the Russian market. One of those is now Microsoft, who has said that it will stop selling its products and services in Russia, at least temporarily. In a comment by Microsoft president and vice chair Brad...
News Microsoft Is Making Changes To Refunds And Auto-Renewals On Xbox
After the CMA "identified concerns"
Have you ever been caught out by auto-renewing subscriptions on Xbox? We know the pain, sometimes things can be a little more complicated to cancel than they should be. Well, it looks like the UK's Competition and Markets Authority agrees, as it "identified concerns" relating to some Xbox policies. As a result,...
News Phil Spencer Wants The Gaming Industry To Implement Cross-Platform Bans
Or at least allow you to bring across banned user lists
One of the topics that Phil Spencer discussed in his recent interview with The New York Times was that of toxicity on Xbox Live and how the brand deals with it, which led to some interesting insights from the Head of Xbox. To start with, Spencer pointed out that Xbox has A.I. tools in place to...
News Xbox Creator Demands Action As Sexist Xbox Live Recording Goes Viral
"This wasn’t the future we envisioned"
Xbox co-creator Seamus Blackley drummed up a lot of attention on Twitter last night in response to a viral Xbox Live recording from Twitch streamer Grenade Queen, who filmed herself getting sexist comments in a Halo Infinite multiplayer game. The video (which you can see below, but be warned that it features...
News Study Reveals Xbox Live Suffered 100+ 'Outages' During The Past Year
Most likely affected by the COVID pandemic
The folks over at ToolTester put together an interesting report earlier this month about website outages over the past year, and the data includes a section on gaming, focused mainly around Steam, Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. According to ToolTester, Xbox Live had 63 reports of outages over the past...
News Insignia, The OG Xbox Live Replacement, Is Still Quietly Making Progress
A way to play original Xbox games online again
If you happened to be a member of the Pure Xbox community all the way back in May last year, you might remember a story about a project called 'Insignia'. Still in private development as of 2021, the aim of this project is to allow original Xbox owners to play games online without any modifications or...
News Unable To Load Your Games And Apps On Xbox Right Now? Microsoft Is On The Case
Update: Problem solved!
Update: It appears the issue is fixed as quick as it came to be! Xbox Support has said that the store should be functioning and purchased games and apps should load. Hurray! Original Story: It's been a while, but it seems a pretty substantial outage has hit Xbox Live. Owners are currently unable to load any digital games...
News Microsoft Explains Why Xbox Live Is Now Being Referred To As 'Xbox Network'
Update: It's all to do with Xbox Live Gold
Update (Tue 23rd Mar, 2021 09:30 GMT): Microsoft has now explained what this change is all about in a statement to Video Games Chronicle, revealing that while there are no alterations being made to the service itself, the 'Xbox network' name is meant to "distinguish the underlying service from Xbox Live...
News Microsoft Reveals 'Mesh' Mixed Reality Platform, Compares It To Launch Of Xbox Live
“Think about what Xbox Live did for gaming"
If you're interested in the world of Microsoft outside of Xbox, you might have seen yesterday that the company unveiled its new Mixed Reality platform called "Mesh", which "enables presence and shared experiences from anywhere – on any device – through mixed reality applications." For the record,...
PSA You Don't Need Xbox Live Gold To Play The Outriders Online Demo
Multiplayer is available to everyone!
The free demo for Square Enix's upcoming co-op shooter Outriders was released on Xbox yesterday, and you might be surprised to know that while it's a multiplayer demo, it doesn't require Xbox Live Gold whatsoever. The demo even includes crossplay so you can play with friends and strangers on other platforms,...
News Gamers Were Tearing Their Hair Out At Last Night's Xbox Live Outage
It lasted for quite a few hours
If you didn’t know or were asleep, you may have completely missed that Xbox Live experienced a few problems last night. The service was down for quite a few hours as many were unable to sign in, play multiplayer games, and lost the ability to purchase content. As expected, the internet didn’t take this outage...
News Original Xbox Creator Praises Microsoft Following Xbox Live Gold Price Reversal
"I’m proud to be associated with you"
Original Xbox creator and designer Seamus Blackley has been in the news recently sharing his support for an "insulted" teenage Xbox fan, and now he's also offered praise for Microsoft's recent Xbox Live Gold price reversal. Speaking on Twitter, Blackley noted that he was "proud to be associated" with the...
News Free-To-Play Rocket League Will Still Require Xbox Live Gold To Play Online
And it's not going down very well
There's been a bit of commotion in the Rocket League community over the past 24 hours after it was revealed that the free-to-play version of the game won't require PlayStation Plus or Nintendo Switch Online to enjoy online multiplayer on those respective platforms, but players on Xbox won't be so fortunate. In a...
Rumour Free Xbox Multiplayer Could Be Announced In August
"Xbox Live Gold is going away..."
Microsoft conjured up a lot of rumours and speculation a couple of weeks ago following the announcement that it was removing yearly Xbox Live Gold subscriptions from the Microsoft Store, with some suggesting that Xbox Live multiplayer might be bundled with Xbox Game Pass, or even made completely free. VentureBeat...
Poll Would You Trade Xbox Games With Gold For Free Multiplayer?
How important are those games to you?
There's been a lot of discussion over the past couple of weeks about whether or not Xbox Live Gold might eventually be phased out, following the news that 12 month subscriptions have been removed from the Microsoft Store. So, let's say it does happen, and the rumours and speculation are correct - what then...
Rumour Free Xbox Live Multiplayer 'Close To Being A Sure Thing'
"[Gold] is not long for this world"
Recently, Microsoft has confirmed that yearly subscriptions to its Xbox Live Gold service have been removed from the Microsoft Store, leading to speculation that major changes might be on the way. Some fans have even suggested that the company might phase it out entirely and make Xbox Live multiplayer completely...
News Microsoft Confirms It Has Removed Yearly Xbox Live Gold Subscription
Is the service about to be dropped?
Over the past few days, speculation has been rampant that Microsoft might be planning to make changes to its Xbox Live Gold service, following the discovery that it was no longer possible to buy 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions from the Microsoft Store. And now, Microsoft has confirmed its removal wasn't a...
Talking Point Is Microsoft About To Make Xbox Live Multiplayer Free?
Could it really happen?
Yesterday was a busy day for Xbox news, huh? In addition to the Xbox One X being discontinued and a bunch of announcements from Xbox head Phil Spencer, it was also revealed that yearly Xbox Live Gold subscriptions had been mysteriously removed from the Microsoft Store (note - this
News Yearly Xbox Live Gold Subscriptions Removed From The Microsoft Store
Are major changes on the way?
Eagle-eyed Xbox fans have noticed that you can no longer purchase yearly Xbox Live Gold subscriptions from the Microsoft Store, with just one-month and three-month options now available. As a result, speculation has ramped up that Microsoft might be preparing to make adjustments to the service, such as embedding it...
News Former Xbox Live Head Joins EA To Work On Skate Franchise
"I've been a huge fan of Skate for over a decade"
You might remember that late last month, we reported that Xbox Live GM Dan McCulloch was leaving Microsoft after spending 15 years with the company. Now, he's announced that he's joined EA as part of the Skate team. The next entry in the Skate series was recently revealed at EA Play Live 2020, and...
Talking Point Is It Time For Xbox Live Gold To Be Phased Out?
What do you think?
Earlier this week, industry insider Jeff Grubb highlighted Xbox Live Gold in an article on VentureBeat, explaining that he felt Microsoft might talk about the future of the service at this month's Xbox Games Showcase on July 23, and questioning whether it might be time to phase it out due to its outdated nature. And he makes a...
News Insignia Team Shares Footage Of Original Xbox Games Working Online
An Xbox Live replacement for the original Xbox
You might remember that back in May, we learned of a new, unofficial project called Insignia that would reportedly allow original Xbox owners to play games online without any modifications or patches to software. Since then, the team behind the project has posted a couple of videos to YouTube showing...
News The Head Of Xbox Live Is Leaving Microsoft After 15 Years
"I made so many friends, learned so much and truly had a blast"
Xbox Live GM Dan McCulloch has announced he's leaving Microsoft after spending 15 years with the company. In a message on Twitter, McCulloch said he "truly had a blast," and he's excited about what's next: "After 15 years at XBOX, I announced today that I would be leaving. I made so...
Guide Fantastic Games For Under £10 In This Week's Xbox Live Sale
Some major titles
This week's Xbox Live sale is a huge one, encompassing over 300 deals including games, bundles and add-ons. Earlier this week, we highlighted some Xbox 360 deals in the form of a Sonic sale roundup, but this time we're focusing purely on Xbox One games at bargain prices. Specifically, the following ten titles are all available for...
News An Xbox Live Replacement For The Original Xbox Has Been Announced
It's called Insignia
It's been just over ten years since the Xbox Live servers for the original Xbox were shut down, but a new replacement for the service is currently in private development. It's called Insignia, and will reportedly allow original Xbox owners to play games online without any modifications or patches to software. As part of the...
Guide 15 Great Games Under £5 In This Week's Xbox Live Sale (May 12-18)
Grab yourself a bargain
This week's Xbox Live sale is packed with over 200 games across Deals with Gold, Publisher, Spotlight and Start Your Engines sales. There are lots of bargains scattered amongst them, and we've highlighted some of the best below. Keep in mind that this list isn't exhaustive, so you'll still find additional bargains by...
News Xbox Live Has Been Playing Up Again, As Support Teams Continue To Investigate Ongoing Issues
Update: Fixed again for now!
Update: (Sat 11th Apr, 2020 11:25 BST): Everything appears to be back to normal! Xbox Support tweeted the following in regards to party and chat issues: Original Story: (Sat 11th Apr, 2020 07:15 BST): At this point, we've honestly lost count of how many times Xbox Live has experienced technical difficulties in recent...
Random Lots Of People Are Noticing Slow Download Speeds On Xbox Live
Are you?
We couldn't help but notice over the past few days that lots of Xbox fans have been noticing slow download speeds on Xbox Live. These comments have been coming in from all over the web, and while they're always present to a degree, there's been a notable rise in the quantity of them recently. In particular, a fair few people took to the...
News All This Self-Isolation Seems To Be Overloading Xbox Live, As Users Experience Ongoing Issues
Update: Things seem to be OK again for now
Update: (Sat 21st Mar, 2020 15:23 GMT): According to the Xbox Live Status page over at Xbox.com, everything has returned to normal again for now. Hurrah! Original Article: (Sat 21st Mar, 2020 07:15 GMT): As more people around the globe begin to self-isolate in an attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19,...
News Xbox Live Went Down Last Night And The Internet Freaked Out
Well, Twitter did
It's not unheard of for Xbox Live to hit the deck, but last night was a particularly tough time. With reports breaking all day about coronavirus concerns and event cancellations, Xbox fans wanted to kick back and play some of their favourite games online. And when they couldn't, some of them weren't happy. Xbox Live was down for...
News Microsoft Adds New Free Xbox Live Gamerpics For All
Spice up your profile
Microsoft has released a whole batch of free Xbox Live Gamerpics for players to use on their profile. From right now, you can get your hands on new pics from Minecraft, Killer Instinct, Quantum Break, Gears of War 4, Tom Clancy's The Division and a fair few others. All you need to do is hit up the profile customization page on...
News Microsoft Is Holding Another Huge Xbox Live Game Sale Later This Month
Will have over 200 deals
It just wouldn't be Christmas without massive discounts across the Xbox One and Xbox 360 digital stores. Microsoft has begun promoting such a thing on its official Xbox website that will kick off on December 22nd and run through until January 7th, 2016. It's called the "Countdown" sale and — according to Microsoft —...
E3 2015 Xbox Live Gold Members in for an Extra Exclusive
Rewards ahoy...
According to a promotional email sent out by Microsoft today to promote their E3 presser, Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be in for a little surprise, in the form of some sort of an exclusive offer. The text reads simply: Gold members exclusive: For our Gold members, be sure to be on the lookout for a special exclusive. Way to...
News Microsoft Xbox Live Service Alert Issued
Technical issues.
Microsoft has issues an Xbox Live service alert and are currently working to resolve issues with connectivity and other services. The news came when Microsoft issued the alert via their support page over the weekend, acknowledging problems with "Downloading items that you have already purchased" and limited playback functionality...
News Expect Multiplayer and Party Chat Improvements in March Xbox One Update
Coming right before Titanfall launch
As much as we love our fancy new Xbox One's, it's clear that there are some areas that can be improved upon— mostly software related. Thankfully, a major update in March will help improve some of the nitpicks people have been complaining about surrounding multiplayer and party chat. Releasing sometime before...
News Your Xbox Live Gold Membership Will Transfer to Xbox One
You won't have to buy a second membership
In case you are wondering whether your current Xbox Live Gold membership can be transferred from your Xbox 360 to the new Xbox One, you can now breathe a sigh of relief because yes, it will. Speaking with the folks at Polygon, Microsoft confirmed that Xbox One owners won't have to cough up the cash for a...
