FraserG

@ElectricWizard Updated, thank you!

@BacklogBrad They will. They've already said they've got too many games releasing in 2026 to even fit into the Dev Direct.

@BaldB3lper78 Not sure we'll get around to covering that (been a VERY busy 24 hours), but I'm glad to hear it!

@BaldB3lper78 Thank you! I've given the article a bump

@Rangers420 Good to know, thank you!

Strange that some people aren't getting it then...

@dskatter @EVIL-C I've seen other people say it's not just for people who have never subbed, so it's a confusing situation right now.

Keep commenting and letting us know what you find, folks!

@Cakefish Apologies! It is indeed a 1:30am CET start in Central Europe and even in the UK it starts at half-past midnight.

Come on Geoff, give us a better time next year 🥱

Buy Split Fiction, thank me later (just make sure you have a friend / family member willing to play it with you!).

@Fiendish-Beaver You certainly love your controllers! Sounds like a really nice collection.

@Fiendish-Beaver Haha, apologies!

Really appreciate the click, we will indeed get a little something back from you doing that 🙏

Hope you enjoy it! This and the DOOM one are my favourites of the Series X/S generation I think.

@FatGuyInLilCoat It's possible but history suggests we won't get a shadow drop there. We'll see!

@Fiendish-Beaver Yeah I've seen a lot of questions about this, but no sign of it yet and no word on when it's arriving!

Update: Full list now revealed! Should appear on the Xbox dashboard shortly with any luck.

@jesse_dylan Yeah, Xbox still isn't promoting them yet either. Shouldn't be long now, but perhaps there's been a delay.

I've just added a few more demos to the list that I've spotted, and will add even more when Xbox promotes them all.

@awp69 Yeah, you're not alone. Clearly there are some issues under the hood that need sorting out with these upgrades.

Hear! Hear!

Owning a ROG Xbox Ally X is making me realise this as well. I LOVE that handheld, but I'm really missing the backwards compatibility program on it!

@Fiendish-Beaver Haha I know, don't worry

@Fiendish-Beaver Nah, it's always this late! Secretly our most hated showcase of the year (ruins our sleep😅)

Thanks all! List has been updated.

@Fiendish-Beaver These days anything published by Xbox Game Studios (or even Bethesda / Activision Blizzard) seems to get referred to as "first-party".

There's definitely been a lot of debate about it though. Maybe we'll think about avoiding the term in the future where possible.

@joey302 Looks like it's working again now!

@eduscxbox Yeah I agree with you, but that's not when I was getting at with the "fuel to the narrative" comment.

What I mean is, even though Xbox had a good excuse for not selling many consoles during Black Friday (due to not having any deals for them), people are still using this data and how they were beaten by the NEX Playground to "fuel the narrative" that people aren't buying Xbox consoles anymore.

It's still a bad look for Xbox IMO, because people will spread this narrative regardless of the reasoning for the poor sales.

@Questionable_Duck Wouldn't it be nice if they just made this clear during the event itself? 🙃

@Nugziam Yeah, I've heard that too. We know what happens with big acquisitions like these though - things get cut, things get moved around... future suddenly seems more uncertain.

Any wrestling fans in here? I'm concerned for the future of AEW as part of this deal (don't want another WCW situation!).

In the words of Obi-Wan, "I have a bad feeling about this."

@Questionable_Duck Have done that now. Thank you!

@ianners3 It always seems to be that low!

@Fiendish-Beaver Maybe? Honestly it's hard to say. I assume they will be involved in it eventually, even if they aren't now.

@BaldB3lper78 I've seen a suggestion that it's available through TestFlight, but maybe not in the UK yet.

@Chip-Douglas I'm not sure to be honest as I haven't received one, but I assume it would appear in the "Social" section ("Chats" tab).

@Yooka-Laylee Amazing! Enjoy

I did come across another example that ended up getting removed by the mods on Reddit, so these free Gift Cards are out there! Definitely seem to be rare though.

@Balaam_ It is! Early 2026:

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2025/10/fallout-76-is-officially-getting-a-native-xbox-series-xs-version-in-early-2026

@ddlevine Easily done!

@BattleMonkey Nope, not since I've been tracking it (since 2020).

@ddlevine There isn't a Friday, December 15 this year!

It's probably going to be either Friday 12th or Friday 19th.

@themightyant PJ's review was legendary for sure

Update: With the upgrade now working for a lot people, we've ditched the poll and turned this into a Talking Point!

It's clearly still not working for some people, so let's hope they're just slowly rolling it out.

Official update from Rockstar Support:

""We are aware of an issue where Xbox players are unable to upgrade their digital Xbox 360 version of Red Dead Redemption to the Xbox Series X|S version and are working with Microsoft to resolve it. Thank you for your patience.""

I'm excited for all of these in 2026 right now, and it's still very early days with a lot more to be announced!

Aphelion
At Fate's End
Beast of Reincarnation
Denshattack!
Fable
Forza Horizon 6
Freestyle Football 2
Gears of War: E-Day
Halo: Campaign Evolved
High On Life 2
Mixtape
Moonlighter 2
Planet of Lana 2
Replaced
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
Super Meat Boy 3D
TCG Card Shop Simulator
There Are No Ghosts At The Grand
Vampire Crawlers

Full list is here btw:

https://www.purexbox.com/guides/xbox-game-pass-in-2026-the-full-list-of-everything-announced-so-far

Update: Hollow Knight, Paw Patrol World and Cataclismo appear to have survived! Xbox has shared the full list of Game Pass leavers for December 2025, and they aren't part of it.

@norwichred Yep, that's correct.

I think this is just a mistake that'll be rectified soon.

That Rockstar Support message is mega confusing, but surely the agent (or AI?) has just got it wrong.

Stay patient, folks - we'll let you know when more information rolls in.

@MaccaMUFC We've got a story coming out soon about this - basically it seems it's bugged at the moment. The only people that can access it are GTA+ subscribers and those who have actually bought the new version.

We're going to have to sit tight and see what happens!

@AlwaysPlaying It's not on sale at the moment on the Xbox Store (at least in my region), but the new version should appear with a 50% discount at midnight local time.

@BaldB3lper78 Certain models can, but not all. The ones in this November roundup are newly supported.

@Markatron84 Would love to, but as you say, I think Pure Xbox is probably not the best place for it. It's definitely worth a play if you get the chance though!

@Gabrie Yeah, that's exactly what it is.

Not announced for any specific storefront, just a free download off the website (which works fine in Windows Desktop mode on the ROG Xbox Ally).

@BaldB3lper78 Yeah absolutely!