Update: Xbox has finalized its decision to close Hellblade and Senua developer Ninja Theory, according to a new report from The Verge. Details are scarce, but staffers were reportedly told about the closure today, and there is apparently still potential for the studio to find a new buyer.

Original story: Following word that South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games is facing closure at Xbox, a new report claims Microsoft is looking to shed even more studios. These studios are reportedly working to negotiate an exit that would let them continue operations independently rather than close their doors outright.

Bloomberg reports that, along with Compulsion Games, who Kotaku has also said is in uncertain talks with Microsoft, Psychonauts dev Double Fine and Hellblade maker Ninja Theory "are in active negotiations to spin off as they try to thwart closure." Additional, unspecified studios are also apparently at risk.

Ninja Theory only just revealed a new game, Senua, during Xbox's Summer Game Fest showing. Since Psychonauts 2, Double Fine has struggled to get anything, now including Kiln and Keeper, to stick. Compulsion, meanwhile, has indicated it was working on a new project, but has only released South of Midnight since being acquired by Microsoft in 2018.

We've already seen employees from developers like Compulsion post online about looking for new jobs. Even if the affected Xbox studios are able to buy their independence, it's expected that they'd still have to lay off staff in order to reach a sustainable headcount at a fraught time for the games industry.

I've reached out to Microsoft for comment but have not heard back.

This reorganization has been overseen by newly appointed Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who said last week that the business "cannot continue" as-is. She and new Xbox CCO Matt Booty released a joint statement pitching an "Xbox reset" which, to the surprise of no one, will seemingly include heavy layoffs.

"Excluding Activision Blizzard King, over the past five years, we have spent over $20 billion on ongoing investments in our content, platform, and hardware subsidy, but our annual revenue has declined nearly half a billion during that time. Going forward, this cannot continue," Sharma and Booty wrote.

In 2024, Xbox infamously closed Hi-Fi Rush maker Tango Gameworks on the heels of a gilded award run, only for PUBG house Krafton to scoop up most of the studio and plans for Hi-Fi Rush 2. Microsoft technically retained The Evil Within and Ghostwire Tokyo, but has not done anything with the IP since.

Last year, Microsoft allegedly backed out of a deal with Romero Games, helmed by John and Brenda Romero, and sent the studio into a tailspin. While not owned by Microsoft, the studio faced a similar predicament: lay off staff and downsize the project to lose weight while you try to build some new wings as the ground gets closer. Thankfully, Romero Games' project survived the drop.

June has been a storm of bad news for people at Xbox, and indeed for anyone hoping to see the games industry stop bleeding. Just today, June 15, Xbox lost its game studios head, Craig Duncan, who'd been in the role for less than two years. Heavy layoffs, evidently including these studio cuts, are expected to officially land in July.

Microsoft CEO admits "there's more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube" than the company as it tries to "turn this into a sustainable business".

The upheaval at Xbox continues. In a slightly shocking move, Craig Duncan has announced he's leaving the role of head of Xbox Game Studios, only a little over a year-and-a-half into his tenure in the position.

Duncan revealed the move in a memo to staff across the company, as reported by The Game Business. "When I stepped into the role of leading [Xbox Games Studios] 20 months ago, my purpose was to serve our studios, our teams, and the people making our games," he writes.

"Together, we set out to deliver high-quality games, strengthen the cultural fabric across our studios, and help shape the future of the business," he says. "I'm proud to say we delivered many flawless launches that drove business success for the company."

Although his time in this position was short, it caps off a much longer run within Microsoft's games division. Duncan first joined the wider Xbox landscape in 2011, serving as studio head for Rare from February of that year until November of 2024.

He's joined in his exit by a long-standing colleague, Louise O'Connor, who worked at Rare for over 25 years, starting as an animator in 1999, gradually rising to become a director and executive producer. In August 2025, she became the chief of staff at Xbox Game Studios, a title she's held until now.

"Louise has been a thoughtful, creative, and trusted partner who has consistently championed the craft and supported our studios with clarity and care," Duncan says of his now former co-worker. "I'm grateful for everything she's brought to [Xbox Games Studios], and I’m sure she’ll be successful in whatever comes next for her."

The teams under Duncan's leadership will now report to Xbox CCO Matt Booty until the position is filled again. This is but the latest in a series of changes to the slime-green console, beginning back in February when Phil Spender stepped away from being CEO, to be replaced by Amit Sharma. In ongoing efforts to increase the brand's profitability and general standing, Sharma and Booty have since warned of an "Xbox reset" in the coming months, as rumors swirl of hefty layoffs and a full restructuring.

Microsoft CEO admits "there's more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube" than the company as it tries to "turn this into a sustainable business"

There's an air of uncertainty around Xbox at the moment, to put it mildly. Hardware sales are down, iconic series like Halo and Fable are being ported to PlayStation, and earlier this year, we saw longtime face of the brand Phil Spencer step down, with Asha Sharma replacing him.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently spoke about the console, saying the goal now is to make it a steady business again. Nadella was a guest on the Hard Fork podcast for The New York Times, where he commented on what needs to happen for the green-tinted system.

"No one can accuse Microsoft of not having invested for the last 25 years," he says. "And now we have to turn this into a sustainable business."

According to him, Microsoft's been keeping Xbox and the wider game development parts of the business afloat, and the goal is now to monetize the whole venture more. "In fact, there's more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube than at Microsoft," he adds.

He goes on to break down Microsoft's challenges here as being on two fronts. The first is the industry-wide rising manufacturing cost associated with shortages in memory and other parts, and the second is the question of what approach Xbox's should take for the foreseeable future. Nadella believes Microsoft can and will weather the first, but the other is a more open-ended predicament.

"We have to find ways to deliver the games in which it's economically relevant for the customer and for us," he said, on what Microsoft's plan is for enticing more people to become Xbox players. There are ongoing reports of restructuring within the games side of the company, as Sharma and Xbox CCO Matt Booty told of an "Xbox reset" in the coming months in an internal memo.

Between the costly acquisitions of Bethesda and Activision-Blizzard and a stagnating user-base, Xbox has lagged behind Sony's PlayStation in recent years. Game Pass isn't moving the needle as hoped, and dwindling exclusives indicates a division in need of some wins. We can only wait and see what's coming for the original home of Master Chief and Marcus Fenix.

"Xbox will dissolve into Windows," ex PlayStation boss says, which is Microsoft's "strength"

As Xbox has declined, with console sales plummeting and Game Pass figures plateauing, many have wondered if Microsoft, which is considerably larger than its gaming business, would lose interest in the struggling brand and just pawn it off. According to a new report, options in this space have been considered.

The Information (via Reuters) reports, citing three people familiar with plans and discussions, that Microsoft considered spinning out Xbox as a separate, wholly owned subsidiary more similar to the likes of LinkedIn in terms of its relationship with the Microsoft mothership.

Other options reportedly included finding an outside business partner for an Xbox overhaul or, perhaps through that aforementioned spinning out, making the whole brand easier to sell to somebody else outright. No potential partners or buyers were reported, seemingly because these possibilities never went beyond an idea floated internally, but one hypothetical certainly comes to mind: the Saudi Arabia-led investors currently in the process of buying EA in the hopes of securing a foothold in the games industry.

I've reached out to Microsoft for comment on the report.

The Information says changes are not coming immediately, but this report follows word of heavy layoffs expected at Xbox in July.

This comes on the heels of a grim letter from new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and chief content officer Matt Booty, who acknowledged that Xbox is not where Microsoft wants it to be and insisted "this cannot continue."

Sharma has pushed for a "brand reset" for Xbox amid a volatile Summer Game Fest, which saw Gears of War: E-Day yanked from PS5 and propped up as a return to Xbox console exclusives, even as Halo, a tentpole Xbox IP, comes to PS5 as previously announced.

Rumors swirl that Xbox pulled a planned Halo: Campaign Evolved trailer from this month's PlayStation showcase at the eleventh hour, irritating the folks at Sony. Nearly every day, some new sign of instability surfaces, supporting claims that Xbox is due for dramatic change.

"Xbox will dissolve into Windows," ex PlayStation boss says, which is Microsoft's "strength."

If you're not having the best week, spare a thought for the devs on Marathon, who're dealing with yet another problem. Bungie's had to disable an entire facet of the futuristic shooter, due to an exploit where players couldn't be brought back after getting knocked out.

The issue stems from the Cryo Archive, a Destiny-like raid built as part of Marathon's endgame for a more intense PvP challenge and extra valuable rewards. Players have found they can't be revived when downed, creating what I can only imagine is a whole lot of frustration, but the devs are aware of the problem and working on a fix.

"As a precaution while we investigate why some players can't be revived, we have disabled access to Cryo Archive," a tweet from the official Marathon Twitter account reads. "We'll do our best to restore access as soon as we can figure out the issue and push out a fix."

Marathon season 2 kicked off just last week, and it's been hard going. Several bugs and glitches emerged soon after players began accessing the latest wave of additions, prompting more hotfixes from Bungie as the developers worked to put out all the fires.

Now, we have this, right in the middle of a central attraction in the neon FPS, amid a free week to tempt new players into the fray. In reaction, players are commiserating the state of the game. "It's impressive how dysfunctional this game has been for season 2," says a commenter on Reddit. "Good lord. This season has been a pre nerf wstr to the foot over and over again," another adds.

Let it not be forgotten, Bungie is juggling this with the demise of Destiny 2, as Monument of Triumph, the final update for the beloved MMO, came out this week. As reports circulate that substantial layoffs are coming for the studio, it appears the former home of Halo is struggling to catch a break right now.

Marathon Season 2 takes Bungie's brutal new shooter one step closer to PvE with a "Sponsored Survival" mode that's "more PVP-lite" and a "low-risk way to play"

All is not well at Xbox, as reports circulate of company-wide layoffs happening toward the end of this month, June 2026. A former higher-up at Sony Interactive Entertainment, Shuhei Yoshida, appears to have commented on this on social media, with a prediction for what's going to happen structurally.

On Twitter, Yoshida, who was president of SIE Worldwide Studios for over a decade, posted a slightly cryptic message about the future of the green-tinted brand. "Xbox will dissolve into Windows, and it's [Microsoft]'s strength…," he says, with a cute little thought bubble.

At first, this seems completely out of the blue, but it comes on the heels of a Bloomberg report on potentially hefty layoffs on the way within Microsoft's console wing. The outlet claims that a relatively high number of job losses are expected are part of restructuring under new CEO Asha Sharma.

To what extent, and which departments will be most impacted, are unknown. But it's not a good omen at a time of uncertainty for PlayStation's long-standing rival. Hardware sales have been going down quarter on quarter for some time now, as Xbox ports more and more of its banner releases, including the upcoming Halo: Campaign Evolve and Fable 4, to PlayStation 5.

Gears of War: E-Day apparently very nearly joined them, too. The timing of Yoshida's tweet makes it seem like a reaction to this news, as he seems to suggest Xbox will be folded into the Windows platform and business overall, as the operating system is Microsoft's greatest asset.

There are recurring rumors that Project Helix, the next generation of Xbox, will use Windows, as opposed to the bespoke Xbox OS the console family's tended toward. The machines have become more Windows-like over the years anyway, and this gen looks set to continue toward being PC-like.

It's an odd time in the history of Xbox. We'll have to see what the lay of the land is in months to come.

Final Fantasy 7 Revelation devs were "able to remain true" to the original 1997 JRPG, lead says, even if the story order "might be shifted up a bit."

The mind-melting world of Remedy's Control is back for a sequel with Control Resonant, which is set to launch on September 24, 2026.

Control Resonate pre-orders are now live, and there are a few different versions out there for both the PS5 and Xbox Series X. To start with, there's the traditional standard edition available for $59.99 (Amazon) / £44.99 (Smyths Toys) on the PS5 and $59.99 (Amazon) / £44.99 (Smyths Toys) on the Xbox Series X.

If you care more about cool collectibles than saving cash, the Amazon Exclusive version available for £49.99 (Amazon) in the UK includes an art print in the box, alongside a collectible slip case.

By spending $10 / £10 more at Amazon and a slew of other US and UK retailers, you can alternatively pick up the SteelBook version, which includes not one but three art prints in total, alongside a poster, and a stylish alternative case for the game.

There's no Collector's Edition this time around, so the SteelBook version is as good as it gets for swag-hunters. However, Remedy is known for producing some weird and exclusive merch based on its games. The Alan Wake 2 Thermos, anyone? So it wouldn't be entirely unheard of for the studio to produce some exclusive Control Resonant-themed goodies in the future. If a Collector's Edition is revealed closer to September, I'll be sure to let you know.

Control Resonant pre-orders in the US

Control Resonant pre-orders in the UK

Control Resonant FAQ

Check out our guides to the best PS5 controllers, the best Xbox Series X controllers, and the best PC controllers to grab a new premium pad in time for Control Resonant this September.

It's an odd moment for the industry right now, as we prepare for Halo: Campaign Evolved to launch on not just the Xbox Series X/S, but the PlayStation 5 as well. Master Chief's struggle against the Covenant is not exclusive to the green brand any more, to the point publicity is actively using Sony's hardware.

Summer Game Fest 2026 gave us more footage of the remake of the iconic and genre-defining first-person shooter. Amid all the bullets and explosions, a small boiler-plater sticks out: "Captured on PS5 Pro."

Yes, the latest compendium of the most famous Spartan taking on alien masses to prevent mass genocide wasn't even made using an Xbox system. Instead, the gameplay comes from the latest iteration of Sony's platform.

There are likely two central reasons for this: the first is to play into the game coming out on a Sony system and show how good it looks, and the second is probably because it runs really nicely on the PS5 Pro, providing sharp, smooth clips of the FPS. Either way, it's definitely odd, and onlookers are a bit taken aback.

"Seeing that and Halo together kind of makes my brain fry a little bit. If you showed me this 15 years ago I would have called this an impossibility," says one fan on Bluesky. "On the official Halo channel is insane," another adds.

"Microsoft can't even console war correctly smh," a third player adds. One person makes a bold prediction: "A year. I give E-Day a year."

Funnily enough, Gears of War: E-Day very nearly joined Fable and Halo: Campaign Evolved on PS5, and a port is reportedly almost finished. One year may be right on the money. We'll see how Master Chief does against the Flood, first.

3 years after releasing one of the best indie JRPGs, Sea of Stars devs roll out the "final update" and tease a new game

As Halo: Campaign Evolved and Fable bring those respective series to PlayStation 5 between this year and next, the big hold-out for Xbox exclusives remains Gears of War: E-Day. But apparently, even that almost made the jump before a recent decision prevented the COG soldiers from joining Sony's stable.

So recently, a significant amount of work was already done on a port before plans were changed, according to a report from The Verge. As part of Xbox's offerings at Summer Game Fest 2026, it was revealed that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution represent the exclusives on the green console family.

These are first-party projects, and as E-Day comes out this year and Clockwork next year, they're clearly being positioned as lynchpins of a renewed push towards putting out more Xbox-only games. But going by this report, that's a relatively fresh strategic outlook.

Xbox has undergone some upheaval over the last six months. Longtime boss and face of the brand Phil Spencer retired from his position in February, with Asha Sharma taking over in his stead. Since then, the "This is an Xbox" publicity campaign's been quietly shelved amid acknowledgment that there's a need for course correction due to flagging sales.

During SGF, Xbox CCO Matt Booty went on record about the purview of what'll get ported and what won't. Everything live-service is still going to PlayStation 5, likely due to how difficult it is to make these releases sustainable or profitable long-term, whereas more single-player-centric experiences are decided "case-by-case."

Sony shares some of this mentality, since Bungie's Marathon launched on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, despite the team being acquired back in 2022. But you don't see the likes of God of War or Insomniac's Spider-Man heading to Xbox in the same way the opposite is true.

We'll see what the future has in store for Marcus and Dom. But for now, you'll need a modern equivalent of a Duke in your hands to enjoy guiding them through E-Day.

Bungie vet says OG Halo beats Campaign Evolved and its "modern, AAA, fancy Unreal graphics" because "the constraints actually make it a stronger game"

20 years after the original Gears of War launched on Xbox, the brand-new Gears of War E-Day is coming to the Xbox Series X/S this October 6, 2026.

The game was rated for both the Xbox and the PS5 earlier this week, which is typically a nod that it's coming to both consoles. However, there was no PS5 version mentioned at the Gears of War E-Day Direct showcase, and Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief Joe Skrebels stated that it, alongside the upcoming Clockwork Revolution, will be "XBOX console exclusives" and not timed ones.

While that's a bit of a bummer, Xbox fans can grab the standard edition available for $69 (Walmart) / £59.99 (Amazon) or a digital-only Premium Edition right now. The Premium version includes 5 Days Early Access, alongside a slew of in-game cosmetics, including a Death’s Rendezvous skin for Marcus and a Bravo Squad Signature Weapon Pack to add to your in-game arsenal. But the biggest of Gears fans will want to get their hands on the Collector's Edition.

The Gears of War E-Day Collector's Edition features a 15-inch diorama statue of Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago that can be equipped with 3 AAA batteries to turn into a brutal spectacle for the eyes. There's also a 1:1 scale replica of Carlos Santiago’s COG tags and even a thank you note from developers The Coalition thrown in too. The catch? It's out of stock already, though there are Steam versions available for £249.99 (Xbox) for PC players. In case stock makes a comeback, and to find the best Gears of War E-Day pre-order deals, I've gathered all the US and UK pre-order links down below.

Gears of War E-Day Collector's Edition

Gears of War E-Day US pre-orders

Gears of War E-Day UK pre-orders

Gears of War E-Day FAQ

After you've secured your pre-order, check out the best Xbox Series X controllers, the best Xbox Series X hard drives, and the best Xbox Series X headsets that can update your Xbox setup for the best Gears of War E-Day experience.

There was a ton of new games announced during its Xbox Games Showcase 2026 this year, but my nostalgia-loving interest was piqued with the unveiling of the XBOX 25th Anniversary Collection, a brand-new Xbox Series X that harkens back to the early 2000s.

The upcoming limited edition Xbox Series X features a transparent green chassis, much like the original green Xbox, which was everywhere in the early 2000s. It's set to launch in November 2026, alongside a matching X25 Special Edition Xbox controller, to celebrate the brand's big 25th anniversary. Pricing and availability haven't been revealed quite yet, but with hardware prices continuing to climb, I recommend having your expectations in check, as it's likely going to cost far more than the $299 / £299 price of the OG Xbox.

Xbox's next-gen VP Jason Ronald shared on Xbox Wire on June 7 that, "For the first time, we’re bringing a translucent design to XBOX Series X, drawing inspiration from the original XBOX and OG Green so many players remember", and the new limited edition console definitely harkens back to the gorgeous green piece of tech I remember from my childhood.

While I personally owned (and still own) the Crystal LE Xbox, I vividly remember the transparent green version lining the game shop shelves. So much so that I long associate its retro-futuristic chassis with the original console more than the plain all-black equivalent. Back then, though, the original green console launched with just an 8GB hard drive, but this new inspired Series X has 1TB worth of storage, which my teenage self wouldn't have been able to comprehend back in 2001.

While the storage matches up with any old Series X you can find out in the wild right now, Jason Ronald states that the old-school Xbox logo on the console lights up green as a "nod to the original Xbox start up" which sets it apart from the rest. That same logo is also found on the brand-new Xbox Series X controller.

The controller features the old-school logo and even the classic ABXY-style buttons of the original "Duke" controller, but there are more classic callbacks to be found. According to Jason Ronald, the pad also sports the classic white and black bumpers found on the original controller, and the transparent battery pack also showcases the first Xbox logo for another sprinkle of nostalgia.

The X25 Special Edition controller will be available to purchase separately, or part of a bundle with the new limited edition XBOX Series X25 console when pre-orders go live. Talking of which, we only have the vague "November" window to go off of for the time being, as no official pre-order or launch date has been announced. That being said, the original Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, so it's very likely that it'll launch on or around that time if Xbox wants to keep this 25th anniversary and retro-theme going strong.

• View all LE Xbox Series X controllers at Xbox

Check out our guides to the best Xbox Series X headset, the best Xbox Series X hard drive, and the best Xbox Game Pass deals while you wait for this new limited edition console.

The long-awaited reboot of Lionhead Studios Fable has been delayed until February 23, 2027. But while you can't yet make all the best (and wrong) decisions in Albion you can at least secure your pre-order, and the squakingly good Chicken Suit Cosmetic outfit along with it.

Fable pre-orders are available on both the PS5 and Xbox Series X if you prefer to to add a physical copy to your collection. The Standard Edition is currently $69.99 (Best Buy) on both platforms. Meanwhile you can pay £89.99 / $89.99 for the Premium Edition for the digital artbook and soundtrack, access to some exclusive cosmetic outfits, and Order of the Hero post-game DLC. You'll also get 5 days Early Access with the Premium Edition, letting you explore the new Albion before everyone else.

If you have more gold to spare, there's the £189.99 (Xbox) Fable Collector's Edition up for grabs. It features the base game and all the Premium in-game goodies, but adds statuette of iconic series baddie Jack of Blades into the mix. There's more spoils to be had too, including a hardcover art book, a steelbook case, and a Guild Seal pin so you can look at dapper as your champion. No matter which version you grab, your chicken chaser-loving heart will be glad to know the Chicken Cosmetic will also be included.

Fable Collector's Edition

Fable pre-orders in the US

Fable pre-orders in the UK

FAQ

Check out our guides to the best PS5 controllers and the best Xbox Series X controllers if you want dive back into Albion with a champion gamepad.

This is the year Master Chief heads to PlayStation 5 as part of Halo: Campaign Evolved, raising questions about the future of Xbox exclusives on a wider scale. Rest assured, they're still happening, but on a more particular cadence, while multiplayer releases will remain multi-platform for the time-being.

Gamertag Radio asked Matt Booty, the executive vice president and chief content officer at Xbox, about what the strategy here is during Summer Game Fest 2026. "[We] want people to have a reason to get on board with Xbox," he starts.

"We want them to have a reason to buy an Xbox, [a] reason to be an Xbox fan. At the same time, we want to reward all our players that have been with us for a long time," he continues. "We know exclusives are important, that's why we've got [Gears of War: E-Day] coming in 2026, [Clockwork Revolution] in 2027."

Games that aren't as single-player-centric, however, are a different story. "We also want to be clear: our big multiplayer games, live-service games, are going to continue to be multi-platform," he says. "If we've promised something to players already, we're going to honor that promise."

Booty reiterates Xbox's philosophy of, "when we announce a date, we want to announce the platforms." As such, if something is heading over to Sony's system, it's "going to be case-by-case."

One such case is the long-awaited Fable, which will be the first installment of the series to be on PlayStation. The list of releases genuinely particular to Xbox on home consoles is getting leaner and leaner, but given the number of publishers Microsoft now owns, there's scope for more IP to join or rejoin the ranks in the years to come.

That said, don't expect a U-turn on the live-service projects given the investment needed. But if you want to experience E-Day from the frontline, an Xbox Series X/S should be among your hardware.

Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution "are not timed exclusives," Xbox says, but everything "already announced for multiplatform releases will stick to that plan."

Fable has been delayed to 2027, and Xbox had to be sneaky about it. The news came buried in the middle of a tweet, which, despite masquerading a list of how many excellent new games are set to launch in 2026 – only three of the six being Xbox-owned IPs – turned out to be a Trojan horse.

Xbox explains its reasoning as being made with its players in mind. By moving the goalpost to February next year, the delay would help Xbox "plan [its] game launches through the holidays" and give the upcoming RPG "the dedicated moment it deserves". Launching in the shadow of Grand Theft Auto 6 is no developer's idea of a good time, but if this delay is supposed to be a great gift from Microsoft that spares us the ineffable torment of having too many good things to play all at once, it's a pretty strange gift. It has me wondering if the real reason is that Fable needs more time to cook – and if that's true, why not just say so?

War of the words

I really don't mind when games are delayed if it's done for the sake of a better experience. Cyberpunk 2077 has taught us all a lesson, and it's that if something needs more time before it's up to scratch, better it launch late than as a bug-riddled mess.

But Xbox's announcement does not tout game improvements as the reason for Fable's delay. Rather, it cites the existence of six other games, half of which still lack release dates. Something doesn't sit right with me about this: if the game is finished, surely it should just… launch. If it isn't finished, just tell us and I promise you, we will survive the disappointment. And if it's been shifted to avoid launching in the shadow of GTA 6 – which is how I read between the lines of the tweet, personally – Xbox's vague excuses make sense from a business perspective.

From a fan and player's perspective, they don't. True, we still have Gears of War: E-Day, Clockwork Revolution, and O.D. among the biggest upcoming Xbox Series X games in development right now, but only one of those is likely to get a release date in 2026. Fable was supposed to be Xbox's big game of the year for Series X/S and PC players alike, and pushing its one and only Xbox exclusive to 2027 feels strange off the back of Xbox's recent management changes.

There's also the tacit notion that GTA 6 would somehow markedly affect Fable's sale. But would it really? Xbox seems to be making a lot of inferences about its players that make it believe so. For starters, that everyone and their mother is interested in playing GTA 6 (note: personally, I could take or leave it). Secondly, that everyone has a console to play it on. According to Medium, the global number of PC players vastly outstrips that of console owners by hundreds of millions. That's millions of people who will not have access to GTA 6 at launch, not to mention the vast number of open world fantasy RPG nerds who'd rather cause havoc in Albion than rob banks in Vice City.

GTA 6 will be a huge cultural event, but that doesn't mean every single person who plays video games will want to play the exact same video games. Withholding a title just because there's a desire to launch in its own special spot does not feel like a viable way to schedule game launches; if it wasn't for GTA 6, it could be any other game, only Xbox wouldn't have quite as strong a leg to stand on in defending a delay for that specific purpose.

Whether Fable's delay is down to GTA 6 fears or a need for further polish (or a mix of both), we'll be getting a few more answers soon. There's only days to go before the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, and sadly, my top prediction now lies in semi-tatters. No, I don't think we will get a Fable release date after all – the February 2027 window might have to suffice – but we have been promised a sizable glimpse of Fable and a deep-dive into Gears of War: E-Day. It might just be enough to demonstrate why Xbox wants to zero in on Gears and the new Call of Duty game above all else right now. The changing of the guard means that this is a crucial time for Xbox to demonstrate its ability to deliver on promises, and hopefully, my worn-down patience might get a fresh lick of paint as the wait for Fable drags on.

Fable is one of the best fantasy RPG series of all time, and there's plenty more besides.

It's tough to compete with one of the most beloved, influential first-person shooters of all time, but if there's one game that can go toe-to-toe with the original Halo, it's a faithful but spruced-up remake like Halo: Campaign Evolved. That said, according to a veteran of Halo creator Bungie, that sprucing up is precisely what makes the remake inferior to the original.

During an appearance on the Mint Blitz podcast, former Bungie design lead Niles Sankey, who was with the company from 2006 to 2015, shared his impressions of the upcoming Halo remake. Obviously, Sankey has no insight into the production itself, but he's seen the same gameplay footage we all have, and while he's impressed by the visual fidelity, he worries Halo Studios isn't seeing the snowcapped mountains for the trees, prioritizing detail over map readability.

Sankey admits the environments in Halo: Campaign Evolved "look good," but he says he's "just not the biggest fan of modern, AAA, fancy, Unreal graphics" because that level of detail can impair visibility. Some games, like Arc Raiders specifically, are visually "amazing," says Sankey, but in general he prefers landscapes where you can actually see what's going on.

"I do question the readability of some of the battlefield," says Sankey. "I think that one thing that Halo, and Halo 1 especially did a great job of, is, you could read the battlefield. You can clearly see the enemies. You can clearly see your lanes. The constraints actually make it a stronger game in my opinion, cause you don't have all this foliage everywhere.

"It's a game, first and foremost. You need to see where your enemies are. You need to see where your lanes and routes are, and that's what's most fun ... I get the sense that sometimes companies overlook that and instead are just trying to make the best graphics possible without considering the ramifications of what those fancy graphics might mean."

I don't know if it's just my aging, blurry vision talking, but I totally get what Sankey's saying here. I'm sure there's a method to creating modern, high-fidelity games without sacrificing readability, and Sankey says he hopes the "smart people" at Halo Studios will accomplish that in the final product, but I can think of a handful of extremely popular multiplayer games which I've tried playing but found challenging due to there being too much happening, and in too much detail, on screen. As for Halo: Campaign Evolved specifically, I do think enemies blend into environments at least more-so than in the original, and we'll just have to wait and see how readable the maps are at launch.

As Halo and Forza Horizon 6 prepare to jump ship to PS5, Xbox fans use new community voting tool to tell Microsoft they want their exclusives back

Fable will be delayed to February 2027, Xbox has announced. The RPG had previously been set for a fall 2026 launch, and chief content officer Matt Booty insists that it's coming along just fine – the company just wants to be sure that it has the best possible chance to find its audience.

"In order to plan our game launches through the holidays, in a way that works best for players, we're moving Fable to February 2027 so it can have the dedicated moment it deserves," Xbox says in a tweet. "We’re excited to be giving players a major new look at Fable, as well as our broader lineup, at XBOX Games Showcase on June 7."

Playground Games is "doing really well on Fable," Booty says in a podcast accompanying the announcement. "The game is in great shape. The team feels really good. We're excited about where the game is. We want to make sure that that game has a window all to its own, so we are going to move it from this fall to February. And again, we really just want it to have its own moment to shine."

This delay had been rumored for some time, but Xbox had repeatedly reiterated its plans to launch Fable this year. The announcement notes a number of major games scheduled to release this year, including notable Microsoft-published titles ranging from Gears of War: E-Day to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.

But the big name is, of course, GTA 6. As analyst Mat Piscatella reports on Bluesky, 34.7% of US console and PC players intend to buy the next Grand Theft Auto game. By comparison, just 5.5% of them intend to buy Fable. Certainly, there's a massive audience for a long-awaited follow-up to some of the best RPGs of all time, but with the current economy forcing gamers to make hard choices about where to spend their money, it's no surprise that Xbox wants to give Fable some breathing room.

Xbox wants Fable to have Diablo-level cutscenes as Matt Booty casually reveals Blizzard is helping out with the RPG reboot's cinematics.

Last month, Microsoft announced that it was dramatically lowering the price of Xbox Game Pass, as the company's gaming division tries to win back fans under the leadership of new CEO Asha Sharma. It seems the move is already starting to pay off – at least, that's how Sharma herself seems to feel according to a leaked internal memo.

"Growth slowed down and subscriber loss accelerated after the pricing and SKU changes last year," Sharma said in a note to Xbox employees last week, as reported by The Verge (paid article link). That would be when the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate reached a whopping $30 per month, which very much seemed to be the breaking point for many players.

Since then, the price has gone down to $23 per month, though that no longer gets you day one access to new Call of Duty games, and it's still up from the previous $20 monthly fee. Still, Sharma writes that "since our price reduction we have seen acquisitions grow and retention improve, which is a good first step."

Xbox certainly seems keen to improve the general vibe of the brand, which had gotten pretty dismal by the end of the era that Phil Spencer oversaw. Certainly, it doesn't seem to be making any effort to crack down on these internal memo leaks, which largely present a positive – but vague – plan for improvements at the division.

Sharma says in the memo that there's more work to be done, and Xbox will not solve its problems "in one moment or one launch." Instead, the team will "have to outwork the problem in front of us in our path to restore durable growth." Again, if you're looking for concrete plans and details about what that work will look like, well… you won't find it here.

She says that Xbox needs to make "hard choices about what we build, where we invest, and what kind of company we need to be going forward," all of which sounds a little ominous given the 15,000 employees Microsoft laid off over the past year.

For those of us on the outside of Microsoft, our first real look at what Xbox has in store under its new leadership will come as part of the Summer Game Fest schedule, which kicks off next week. Xbox has a lot to prove to win back fans, and I think some impressive looks at new games will do a lot more for the brand than whatever a statement like "outwork the problem" means.

If you're looking for Xbox Game Pass deals, you know where to click.

In an age where Master Chief himself is coming to PlayStation 5 for Halo: Campaign Evolved, it seems like any other Microsoft exclusive could potentially make the jump. There'd been mixed signals on the new Fable from Playground Games, but the studio has since reconfirmed that you can play it on Sony's system.

A fan directly asked about this on Twitter, prompting a firm, clear response from the developer. "Fable will be available at launch on Xbox Series X/S, Game Pass, Steam and PlayStation 5," the post states.

Good news for anyone hoping to return to Albion who only has a PS5, then. There had been some confusion due to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty putting out a joint statement that mentioned they "will reevaluate our approach to exclusivity," perhaps hinting at a rollback on prior plans.

That doesn't seem to be the case for Fable, at least. On the subject of heading back to Briar Hill, Playground Games also assuages rumors of a potential delay out of 2026 in a roundabout way, through a post on LinkedIn advertising open roles on the team.

"With Fable coming later this year, we're continuing to recruit across multiple disciplines to bring more exceptional talent into the team," the post reads. Still on for the back half of 2026, then – that's good to know.

The studio's got Forza Horizon 6 to worry about at the moment, as the new racer's been out for just under a week so far. Once we get a month or two removed, though, I'd expect to start hearing about the legendary action-RPG's grand comeback. There's an Xbox showcase as part of Summer Games Fest on June 7 – an appearance seems likely. Watch this space.

As Red Dead Redemption 2 becomes the third best-selling game ever, actor Roger Clark says "it's the fans that keep it going."

There's something genuinely awe-inspiring about playing a game that vividly recreates a real-life setting. The New York City of Insomniac's recent Spider-Man games is a perfect example, and now we have the Tokyo of Forza Horizon 6, a recreation so good, even locals are astounded.

Not just any local residents, either. You've got game developers, such as Keiichiro Toyama, director of the first Silent Hill and creator of the Siren series. After spending some time in the new racer from Playground Games, he stepped out into Japan's capital and found it was like stepping into Forza Horizon 6 for real.

"I was like whoa, it’s Forza Horizon 6 in real life lol!" he tweeted, as translated by Automaton. He included some pictures taken of Tokyo in the evening time, to demonstrate just how well the developers have captured the lighting and local traffic of the bustling city.

Toyama is part of a growing chorus of Japanese people who're complimenting the game as such. "The mountains, the rice paddies, the utility poles! It's Japan in every sense," a fan posted on Twitter.

"Laughing because they even included those ridiculously spacious convenience parking lots you always see in the countryside," another player states, with an accompanying screenshot. "It's so Japanese, it's almost too Japanese. It feels like everyday life.," a third person adds.

Yuta Horie, an architect from Japan who lectures at Yokohama National University and Tokyo University of Science, provided a deeper analysis on Twitter of how Playground Games has managed to recreate the logic of the country's layout. "The meticulously recreated urban areas, suburbs, and countryside props form recognizable districts," he explains, as translated by Automaton.

"And at intersections in cities, features like chamfered corner buildings packed with small businesses and pedestrian overpasses create nodes," he continues, "while in rural areas wide bypass roads branch into narrow private roads and farm paths, forming another kind of node structure."

The next time you hop into Forza Horizon 6 for a spin, have a think about just how detailed the setting actually is. It's almost enough to inspire an impulsive holiday - almost.

Forza Horizon 6 players waste no time finding a money glitch that lets you unlock all the cars and other rewards in mere hours

We are one day removed from the full launch of Forza Horizon 6, and people have already figured out a way to cheese progression. If you don't fancy grinding too much for funds in the racing sequel, there's a way of earning a lot of extra dosh, and experience along with it, and it's not too complicated either.

There are a couple of ways of getting this Forza Horizon 6 money farm, but they rely on the same fundamental principle. Essentially, you're placing certain cars on tracks designed to provide particularly high amounts of XP points and money, and then putting your vehicle on what mounts to auto-drive, and just watch those numbers go up and up.

The YouTuber XMBWesley demonstrates one way of achieving this. He uses the Impreza 22B-STI Version 1998 Subaru, because it has a number of bonuses that maximize the rewards. Then, you put the driving assists to custom, and have assisted braking, auto-steering and similar for each option.

Once you have those, you can use the code he provides for a custom track that contains a bunch of obstacles that'll rack up your XP. And that's it, in a nutshell - make your car auto-driving, put it on a track that has high amounts of rewards, and just do it over and over until you have what you want.

Streamer Tyler 'Sarthe' Robinson outlines an alternative, using the Forza edition of the Toyota Tacoma. Other than that, it's the same as XMBWesley, just with a different track code, thus slightly different results, but on the same principle.

You can't unlock everything through this method, because certain tracks and such are tied to specific modes and challenges. But you can use this to buy all the cars, and that's incentive enough.

Robinson notes that if you want to make use of this exploit, it's better to try sooner rather than later because it'll get patched. This renders regular progression almost totally perfunctory, and you can bet developer Playground Games will be remedying that. Until then, hit cruise control and relax.

Forza Horizon 6 pokes Nintendo's Pokemon lawyers with a nod to "that Japanese collecting game we're not allowed to name for legal reasons"

ID@Xbox director Guy Richards doesn't seem to think Xbox is having a "midlife crisis" – it's more like a midnight epiphany, and the Microsoft lead says fans of the publisher should expect more change soon. Both for Xbox and the wider industry it's part of.

More change? It already feels like Xbox is going out and getting a new wardrobe every day. Only three months have passed since new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma replaced Microsoft veteran Phil Spencer, but the company has been busy with a rebrand in swapping its name back to Xbox from Microsoft Gaming, another rebrand to make that "XBOX" appear in all-caps, and several leadership shuffles.

But, while he doesn't get into specifics, Richards says of the video game industry, during a talk GamesRadar+ attended at the Digital Dragons Conference 2026: "We believe there's going to be more change happening in the next couple of years than the 25 years that got us here."

As for what that means for Xbox specifically, the director explains that Xbox is planning "a lot throughout the year" to celebrate its 25th anniversary, with the first Xbox console dating back to November 2001. So far, we know the company is preparing some pageantry for its in-person FanFest community event, which it'll take on an international tour this year. Xbox also announced plans for its next-gen console Project Helix, for which it intends to ship out dev kits at the start of 2027. But Richards says Xbox hasn't revealed all of its summer plans yet.

"There's already been some announcements we've made, like bringing back our FanFest," says Richards. "There's lots of exciting things that we're doing throughout the summer as well that we'll be looking forward to share more about."

All he adds as explanation is, "It's less of a celebration of the past, but more about positioning Xbox for what comes next in the next 25 years." I won't guess any specifics, but considering Xbox's recent tweaks to its Game Pass subscription price and teaming up with Discord for a bare-bones tier, it seems Xbox is eager to appeal to very online gamers seeking non-committal brand loyalty.

Richards gestures at this during his talk, saying, "If you think about what's going on in the industry, in terms of how player behavior is shifting, players are playing across different devices, they're accessing games in different ways, free-to-play, premium, subscription, business models are all changing."

He vows, "We're going to keep meeting players where they are. The world continues to evolve and change, and we're going to make sure Xbox is a great place for developers and players."

These are the best Xbox Game Pass deals in May 2026.

Forza Horizon 6 will launch in full May 19 after enjoying its currently ongoing early access period, and then everyone will be able to crash through its idyllic Japan setting like Godzilla in a Ferrari. The racing game lets you crumble nearly everything under your tires, but no matter how hard you hit the gas, the fluffy cherry blossoms will remain pristine. Developer Playground Games decided they were too important to destroy.

As design director Torben Ellert tells The Japan Times in a new interview, Playground wanted to respect Forza fans' highly requested Japan environment by recognizing the cultural sacredness of shrines and sakura, or cherry blossoms, the country's unofficial national flower. While the tissue-paper fragility of sakura is part of what makes them so special in Japan, which treats the spring blooms as a symbol of both renewal and impermanence (and a great photo opportunity), Playground was simply not going to let you wreck their trees with a truck.

Ellert says, "Almost all trees in the game are smashable to ensure that traversing the world map is both fun and rewarding," since you can earn experience points through destruction. But "several tree types are not – for example, the cherry blossom trees – because they're an iconic element of Japanese culture." Playground also decided to protect "certain temples or other cultural elements" like shrines, according to Ellert.

In terms of gameplay, this poses no problem. If anything, our four-out-of-five Forza Horizon 6 review is more conflicted about how the game handles everything that is breakable. Like the past few Forza entries, a lot of Forza Japan reacts as if it were built from bags of flour, and even other cars feel like they disintegrate during collisions. Writer Justin Towell says, "by this sixth entry, I can't help but feel the flimsiness is hurting the game. Even at low speed in a Mini Cooper, 90% of the trees here are no barrier at all." But not the sakura trees!

Instead, their blossoms react calmly to your blustery horsepower, shaking down gently from thin branches and topping your car like powdered sugar. Driving over a blossom-covered path stirs up the pink petals and sends them fluttering in every direction, so Forza Horizon 6 at least values realism in this way – the pretty way.

Forza Horizon 6's Metacritic score sends it speeding past Pokemon Pokopia and Resident Evil Requiem to become 2026's best-rated game of the year.

Microsoft has stuck with virtually the same Xbox controller design for over a decade, but leaks suggest a completely new design. Not one, but two unannounced gamepads have leaked, and while the line-up does include an Elite Series 3 that still feels like part of the OG controller lineage, it's accompanied by a tiny sibling that's geared towards cloud gaming.

Shared by Technoblog, the new Xbox controller leak shows off both gamepads and provides some key specs. The latter compact pad, or "Microsoft 2147 controller," if we're using its internal Microsoft moniker, almost looks like a retro console accessory by the likes of 8Bitdo, featuring a flat, rectangular shell that's only 90mm tall and 130mm wide.

Yes, it's almost like one of those Hori Mini gamepads designed for smaller hands. However, the 2147 controller's specs, its main goal is actually providing a travel-friendly way to play cloud games on any device, rather than just being the right size for young mitts. Crammed inside the compact shell is seemingly a 500mAh battery alongside Bluetooth and Wi-Fi 6 chipsets.

The latter is what potentially gives away the mini Xbox controller as a cloud gaming device. Its Wi-Fi capabilities are allegedly restricted to 20MHz, too, which makes sense given that it will help minimise interference and latency. I am hoping that its additional Bluetooth abilities mean it will also just work as a PC controller, as its size and concave disc d-pad lend themselves to fighting and retro games. Documentation detailing toggle button functionality backs that idea up, with options for "local" and "cloud" modes listed.

Part of me wonders if the Wi-Fi-enabled Xbox controller will be an ergonomic nightmare. I've used retro gamepads of all shapes and sizes, but the difference here is that Microsoft is squeezing full-sized thumbsticks and buttons onto something with next to no curves and minimal grips around back. That's all dandy if you're playing 2D games on an old system, but adding sticks and triggers into the equation will have your thumbs performing more complex acrobatics.

In contrast to that drastically different gamepad, you've got the new Xbox Elite Controller Series 3. While it largely sticks to the same script as the Elite Controller Series 2, it does boast the same Bluetooth and Wi-Fi modules as its compact sibling. Microsoft has also resculpted the top of the pad, ditching some of the ridges that hail from the Xbox One era to achieve the same smoothness as the standard Wireless Controller.

The Elite Series 3 seems to have all the same customizable bells and whistles as its predecessor, including adjustable triggers, d-pad, and paddles. That said, two sneaky scroll wheels are hiding next to the 3.5mm headphone jack, and they almost remind me of an old Saitek flight controller from the PS1 era. Whether they're actually for sim games or serve some sort of adjustability purpose remains a mystery, but it feels like the latter would be appropriate since this is a "Pro" gamepad.

The timing of these controller leaks is impeccable, as I just wrapped up my review of the Retro Fighters Hunter for the OG Xbox. Throughout testing, I couldn't help but think about how Microsoft's controller design has subtly evolved since the Duke smashed into our palms back in 2001, and while the wireless pad is supposed to feel "old-school", refining the original design simply results in the modern-day Xbox gamepad.

If the compact controller is indeed real, it would be a deviation from the design first established by the OG Xbox "S" gamepad. The only first-party controller I can think of that doesn't use the post-Xbox 360 shell and buttons is the Adaptive Controller & Joystick, and we could be witnessing Microsoft getting into the groove with new pads. If the console maker is starting to explore accessories with specific use cases, making a Steam Controller rival for Project Helix would be a no-brainer since it'll be rivalling the Steam Machine with similar hybrid PC capabilities.

• Xbox controllers at Amazon
• PC controllers at Amazon

Looking for a way to play games on the go? Swing by the best gaming handhelds for portable PCs and more.

Each month, tech retailer Newegg likes to hand out promo codes to shave off cash on gaming gift cards, and it's back again this May.

You can now save $16.50 on a $100 Xbox Gift Card with a promo code SSF6837, which you can use towards your Game Pass Ultimate subscription, or any digital games you've been eyeing up on the Xbox online store. While these gift card deals make a comeback each month, once they're up they're only available for a limited amount of time. With that in mind, I recommend snapping this Xbox Gift Card deal up to avoid disappointment and becoming a green eyed monster - get it?

• Join GamesRadar+ Deals on WhatsApp for our top daily discounts

What's new to the Xbox game store?

First and foremost, I always recommend using this Xbox Gift Card deal towards your Game Pass subscription, even if it recently saw a price change last month. While it may be cheaper at just $22.99, that's still a monthly sum that you can minimize even more with this Newegg saving.

If you're more concerned with building up a digital game library, you can always wait for Forza Horizon 6, which lands on Xbox Series X/S consoles on May 19, 2026. It's currently available to pre-order for $69.99 (Xbox) at the Xbox online store, which would be a hefty chunk of your gift card funds, but worth it if you're a big Forza head. For those not really into racing simulators or driving games, there's a smorgasbord of new titles you can grab, from 3D platformer Super Meat Boy 3D to my personal recommendation, Vampire Crawlers.

It's already part of Xbox Game Pass, so if you have an active subscription, you won't have to pick it up separately. However, the dungeon crawler is just as addictive as Vampire Survivors, but makes for a more chill experience as you aren't constantly being bombarded with hordes of enemies and projectiles. Instead, the game plops you down into a first-party perspective where you can make your way through dungeons at your own pace, all the while still battling it out with bats, skeletons, and just about every other creepy monster you'll remember from its predecessor.

Whatever game you decide to pick up using your new Newegg Xbox Gift Card funds, remember, you don't have to spend them right away. But with the pure dopamine hit that is adding more games to your digital collection, I won't blame you if you spend that $100 worth of credit all up in one go.

If you don't want to send hard-earned cash Microsoft's way, check out the best Nintendo Switch bundle deals for savings on Ninty hardware instead.

• View all gaming deals at Newegg

Check out our guides to the best Xbox Series X hard drive, best Xbox Series X controllers, and the best Xbox Series X headset if you've already got plenty to play on your mighty Microsoft machine.

With Microsoft finally admitting your TV is not an Xbox, the time is absolutely right for Forza Horizon 6 to demonstrate what the Xbox brand always stood for: kick-ass gaming on a kick-ass console (and PC, alright). And for the most part, Forza Horizon 6 absolutely delivers that. This sleek, Japan-set open world arguably makes for the most 'AAA' racing game ever made, even pipping Gran Turismo 7 in terms of technical prowess. Playing on my Xbox Series X, I'd go so far as to say I've never seen a better racing game engine. While I have some reservations about elements of its play, which we'll get to, fundamentally this is a product that would fit nicely into anyone's game library. It's the best Forza Horizon game, and a quite remarkable feat of software production.

The most important part of any driving game is how the car moves, and Forza Horizon 6 is almost too smooth. Drive a real car after playing this for a few hours and you will conclude that the game is very little like real driving. Off-road, there are moments where it feels like the sublime early rally stages in Gran Turismo 3, with the car's wheels rolling convincingly over smoothly undulating dirt roads. But on tarmac, everything feels a little too sanitized. The closest modern comparison of feel would be Dirt 5: glorious trackside vegetation, plenty of physics objects to disturb, but all a bit 'nice' and inoffensive compared to the genre's best.

On default settings, the car handling actually owes more to 1995's Sega Rally than Forza Motorsport, as turning into a slide doesn't correct you – it immediately starts turning your whole car towards the direction you pressed. Even on 'Simulation' steering, correcting a slide doesn't feel right here. Now, I'm personally all for a driving game that knows it's a video game and eschews realism in favour of playability, but I am tired of hitting walls on the exit of corners because I tried to straighten up. The game therefore sits somewhere between arcade and simulation and never truly convinces on either front.

Rooting out

Since Forza Horizon 2, we've been able to straightline it through a field without worry, smashing through fences and armco barriers as if they're made of balsa wood. It was novel back then but, by this sixth entry, I can't help but feel the flimsiness is hurting the game. Even at low speed in a Mini Cooper, 90% of the trees here are no barrier at all. Heading straight for a forest of scary, towering timber? Don't sweat it. Just floor it and cut a swathe through the whole thing. I understand that destruction of physics objects is part of the skill system, and therefore a game in itself, but when I'm driving around one of the most convincing open worlds ever made, I can't help wishing it reacted more realistically. The same goes for traffic collisions too. They are, quite frankly, rubbish.

Nonetheless, developer Playground Games has perfected its skill system here. With the next race entry some 6km away, you start E-drifting by pulling the handbrake, grazing the rear of your car along the barrier, knocking individual segments off the flyover and down into the exquisitely-modelled valley below. You 'thread the needle' by passing through oncoming traffic – some civilian, others a mix of AI or real-world drivers, depending on your Game Pass subscription status. Keep the combo going and you win skill points to spend on your car's own skill tree, allowing you to level up your favorite ride. I did it all the way in several cars, including my Ferrari F50 which unlocked another, even better Ferrari F50. How cool is that?

While you're doing this, you might notice a rival racer with a camera icon above their Gamertag/Drivatar name. This means you can take a photo by pushing up on the d-pad, adding the car to the fictional Festival promo material, and essentially filling out an automotive Pokedex. Gotta snap 'em all. While you're at it, you can photograph tourist attractions in Japan, all the while boosting your Festival XP.

Forza Horizon 6 is superbly paced for the first 20 hours or so, as you complete races and smash bonus boards in free roam. As you fill stages of your progress bar, you get to take part in Horizon Rush events, which are familiar, one-off showpieces. The irony is not lost on me that the few times you don't get to choose your vehicle the game is at its best, as the experience becomes expertly curated, designed around fixed parameters – something games of this scale don't normally deliver.

The race against the giant mech is the clear standout, though the first Rush event is a superb test of pure driving skill. Sadly, these special events peak too soon, diminishing in spectacle until the last one is arguably only going to excite longtime fans. And even then they may feel disappointed.

A marathon, not a sprint

Trouble is, the XP bar you have to fill up in order to win the Golden Wristband (still only around 50% of full completion) takes much longer to fill than the others, and after 20 hours you may run out of things you really want to do. Having completed the vast majority of the Horizon Festival races, I was left to try to beat speed traps, ace danger sign jumps, take photos, and hunt bonus boards for a few hours before I could finally declare myself a Horizon Legend, which sounds varied and fun but started to grate. If you prefer to play games quickly to finish them and move on, the pacing in Forza Horizon 6 might frustrate you. But, without time constraints, you could easily spend weeks immersing yourself in this virtual Japan and deep diving into the side content before you ever get near Legends Island.

Case in point: your Home. After a while you get the opportunity to buy a property to act as your base of operations, but it's so much more than that. You get acres and acres of open land in which to build your dream track, able to go wild like it's your very own life-size Hot Wheels. You can share your creation with the world, download other people's, and you even gain credits when people play or like your creation. Someone's already made Mario Circuit from Super Mario Kart on the SNES, which got a Like from me. The potential for further gameplay here is essentially unlimited.

Then there's the online integration. Forza Horizon 6 is wonderful and feature-rich without inviting the world to play with you, and there's a dedicated 'Solo' mode where you don't need an active online subscription to play. But, when I did go online, loads of additional gameplay flowed in, refreshing and expanding the experience. There are races restricted to single vehicles, group activities like hunting petrol pump characters, and loads more. You can challenge anyone you meet in free roam to a quick race, or ask them to join you. There's even preset chat options mapped to the d-pad (which I bet gets translated into different languages like Phantasy Star Online did back in the day).

All this and I haven't even mentioned the 'Discover Japan' side of the single-player mode. This takes you on tourist trips to special locations, explaining the island's history and letting you try some classic cars on the way. There are expeditions to pick up rare cars and give them to your modding friend Yuji, who soups them up. He also deals with barn finds. There is quite a lot of dialogue between the characters, and while the script is solid enough, it doesn't quite hit home. It's all very family-friendly while also trying to channel modding culture cool, which doesn't quite gel. Similarly, the characters don't look anywhere near as convincing as the cars. It's funny to see your car cross the line in a blaze of pyrotechnic glory, only to glimpse your avatar's emotionless mug through the windshield.

I have to talk about the visuals in general, however, as they are exceptional. We've seen several great open world locations over the past few years, but Forza Horizon 6's recreation of Japan is simply superlative. Some of the views you get over the Danger Sign jumps are incredible. You feel a mile up in the air, looking down over a forest of 3D trees stretching away to the ocean in the distance.

On Xbox Series X, it does all of this at 4K, 30fps by default, or alternatively 'performance' mode uses lower, dynamic resolution scaling and slightly reduced effects to maintain a rock solid 60fps, which I would recommend. It's glorious. And all this with dynamic weather, day/night transitions, and even calendar-locked seasons too (unless you race online where you might get an early glimpse of another season).

Turn on, tune in

The festival radio stations offer a mix of rock, J-pop, dance music, and more. A few tracks do start to repeat and may jar if you don't like them, but a quick push of right on the d-pad cycles stations so there's always something cool to listen to. The quality of the audio is arguably just as impressive as the visual quality. It sounds super-deluxe.

Difficulty is often an area of concern in Forza, but Forza Horizon 6 recognizes when you're winning too easily and offers to raise the difficulty level in exchange for higher winnings. Even so, I did find some events way harder than others, particularly earlier buggy races where everyone else seemed to have twice as much grip as me. But then you will win by a mile on the next dirt race. That said – at last – this is a Forza game where one driver never dashes off into an unassailable lead. Imagine that! I only saw it once, and even then I was able to catch them. Amazing scenes.

I can't think of another racing game besides the previous Forza Horizon where there was so much to do, and never so convincingly. Every element feels polished. Rewinding the action works well, Photo Mode is glorious as always, some cars are ludicrously fast… you even see actual people in the Tokyo streets thanks to clever partitioning which means you can never crash into them. Oh, and for that matter, I've never seen so many people on-screen as there are at the Horizon festival itself. There are hundreds, if not a thousand people enjoying the music.

There's no faulting the software here. The problems are just design decisions that don't quite sit right. You've surely heard games described as 'vanilla', implying they're bland or unexciting. In ice-cream flavours, chocolate is better, amarena cherry cheesecake flavour is best. We know this. Forza Horizon 6 is like a premium tub of super-deluxe, Madagascan vanilla ice cream, made with real Jersey cream; it's delicious and absolutely worth the extra money, but it's still vanilla.

If there was a bit of personality on show from the rival drivers, more action in the racing to make it less of a procession, a little more resistance in the trackside obstacles and Flatout 4-style deformation tech for the crashes, this would likely be the best racing game ever made. As it is, while it plays the racing too safe to be essential for racing game aficionados, even they will undoubtedly take much enjoyment from the sheer high quality of this game. It is amazing.

Forza Horizon 6 was reviewed on Xbox Series X, with a code provided by the publisher.

Take a look at our best racing games list for more high-speed thrills!

Xbox Game Pass is now included, in truncated form, as part of Discord Nitro, and it seems like Microsoft is really getting serious about giving subscribers a good deal.

Discord and Xbox shared news of the companies' teaming up on May 11, in separate announcements on their respective websites. Microsoft promises more benefits to come for current Xbox Game Pass subscribers, too, as CEO Asha Sharma seemingly continues her humble quest to lower subscription prices in an industry where everything is unrepentantly getting more expensive.

Discord Nitro subscribers now have access to a new "starter edition" of Xbox Game Pass as part of Discord's fresh Nitro Rewards benefits program. Discord product manager Lu Zhang writes in the messaging platforms' announcement that the starter Xbox Game Pass includes "a library of 50+ PC and console games you can download and play anytime you want," plus 10 hours of cloud gaming. Its benefits sound similar to Xbox's preexisting, $9.99 a month Essential Game Pass tier, then.

But, since Discord Nitro also costs $9.99 monthly for its premium version of the platform and it includes that starter edition Game Pass, this subscription seems more worthwhile for Discord users. Zhang names "Fallout 4, Stardew Valley, DayZ, Deep Rock Galactic, Overcooked 2, Grounded" as part of the starter edition tier, with more to come. The product manager tells Discord users, "We're rolling these benefits out to members over the coming weeks, so if you don't see them yet, they're on the way. If you've been on the fence about Nitro, this is the update we'd want you to see."

As for how the other half lives, those already subscribed to Xbox Game Pass should expect to receive Nitro benefits "later this month," says Microsoft, including a monthly allowance of 250 Discord Orbs you can redeem for rewards in Discord's Shop.

These changes come right after new Xbox CEO Sharma said in a leaked internal memo that Game Pass was "too expensive for players" – Ultimate became $30 in 2025 – and emphasized that the service needed to become "a more flexible system." Shortly after this memo went out in April, Xbox announced it was dropping Ultimate's price to $22.99, and lowering PC Game Pass from $16.49 to $13.99 a month. So that takes care of Sharma's first point, that Xbox's game subscription service is too expensive.

Xbox and Discord's suddenly egalitarian partnership, then, addresses her second: Game Pass should be "more flexible." Microsoft's collaboration announcement even borrows this language, explaining, "We're teaming up again as we continue to make Game Pass more flexible for players."

The company adds, "We've been focused on meeting players where they already are and making gaming more social along the way." Considering Xbox's lousy sales numbers recently, that strategy sounds ideal.

Xbox CEO introduces new boot-up sound after executive overhaul, but it sounds pretty close to the current one.

If you've been having a bad time at work recently, take solace in the fact you're not the one who leaked your studio's game early on Steam. Forza Horizon 6 unexpectedly arrived on Valve's marketplace over a week before launch, giving players a chance to check out the racer earlier than anticipated.

It's believed the sequel's leak is somehow tied to a Steam update that contained all the files necessary to make it playable. Keen-eyed fans spotted the updated listing on SteamDB and, upon further inspection, noticed that the full 155GB game was both downloadable and bootable.

On Forza Horizon 6's SteamDB page, under Depots, you can still find the build listed. Clicking through will give you a full list of all the files therein. The Branches table down below calls this the 'public' branch, lending credence to the notion that this is indeed the full game as it was intended to be released on Steam, but over a week ahead of schedule.

Reddit posts associated with the leak are being moderated for links, but this being the internet, Forza Horizon 6 is findable if you know where to look. There's no indication of how well it runs or whether all the appropriate options are available.

Some have even taken to hoping for an early release. "Might as well ship the game now. I mean, if someone really wants to play they are going to grab the cracked version early," one player states on Reddit.

"Can they bring foward the release date for people that have paid for it then? Seems fair?" another says.

Commenters on Reddit have noted streamers and content creators posting footage, but Microsoft is likely playing whack-a-mole to suppress and delete those. Besides, these builds can be missing features or mechanics, or there could be failsafes within them that treat these copies as pirated and disable certain mechanics.

The only way to guarantee you're playing the game as intended is to get it when it's actually available to buy. So far, neither Microsoft nor Playground Games have commented on the leak. They might not, either, given how close we are to release. Forza Horizon 6 comes out on May 19, with early access for preorders starting on May 15, so there's only a short time to wait, and in situations like this, acknowledging the thing is out there may do more harm than good.

Xbox CEO introduces new boot-up sound after executive overhaul, but it sounds pretty close to the current one

Last month at GDC 2026, Microsoft delved into its vision for Xbox consoles and devices in a dedicated "Game Dev Update." The presentation featured touched on everything from Project Helix to more immediate plans surrounding PC play and gaming handhelds like the ROG Xbox Ally, and we just got a full video that provides a glimpse at unified UI plans for the latter.

In the lengthy presentation, Microsoft's VP of "Next Generation" at Xbox, Jason Ronald, shows off a new UI (via The Verge). The graphic used implies that the revamped dashboard will make its way to both the Series X and handhelds like the Xbox Ally, with the latter likely using a future version of the "Full Screen Experience".

Weirdly, the generic laptop and PC screen featured in the Xbox "consistent experience" graphic uses a desktop version of the Windows app. Opting to use the windowed version makes sense to illustrate the nature of playing on a desktop, but it should be the same app as the Xbox Ally. The optimist in me is hoping this means handhelds might soon get a specific version of Windows that isn't just an app overlayed on the desktop, but that is pure speculation on my part.

Ronald says, "As players are starting to play with Xbox across multiple screens, they're noticing a lot of fragmentation in the experience." It's that feedback that seems to be at the heart of Microsoft's unified UI plans, and, to be frank, the idea of making any Xbox device feel "distinctly Xbox" is a no-brainer. However, the VP does clarify the dashboard won't look the same across all devices, citing things like "screen size, or things like input modalities.”

Keep in mind that the pitch for Xbox Project Helix is that it will run both console and PC games, making it a natural rival to the upcoming Steam Machine. Valve is already well-versed in streamlining its storefronts and UI across devices, and handhelds like the Steam Deck OLED have only helped SteamOS go from strength to strength in terms of consistent layouts and controller-based usability.

It's already clear that, under new CEO Asha Sharma, strengthening the core Xbox brand is going to be a priority. That inherently means ensuring that everything with the logo slapped on feels the same, and gaming on Windows acts as a hurdle. It's one thing to mold the big lump of operating system clay into a pretty console-focused pot with streamlined UI elements, but the real challenge is curbing any OS distractions or the need to head into the desktop mode for specific settings.

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Microsoft will host its first ever Xbox Game Dev Update showcase today and it's promised to formally introduce its next-gen console. Project Helix was first announced with a whisper, a tweet followed up with more information on its AMD SoC at GDC in March. Today (at 12pm ET / 7PM BST), Chris Charla, general manager of portfolio and programs, and Jason Ronald, VP of next generation, will take to the new Game Dev Update YouTube channel to give us some more updates.

Back in March, Microsoft confirmed that Xbox Project Helix was "co-designed [with AMD] for the next generation of DirectX and FSR." While there will certainly be updates for developers around the former, it's the FSR Diamond technology running the show that will be of particular interest in the Project Helix vs PS6 vs Steam Machine debate.

Sony's own PS6 performance rumors have been doing the rounds in the last few weeks, suggesting gains of 3.1x the PS5's ray-traced framerates. While none of this is confirmed by Sony, hard numbers will put Microsoft in the forefront of players' minds while the speculation spins.

After all, with CEO Asha Sharma recently nodding to RAM shortages having a material impact on the Project Helix price and availability, it's unlikely we'll see too much talk of pricing or a launch window. It's likely that FSR Diamond will be running this showcase.

What do we already know about the technology rumored to polish Project Helix pictures? FSR Diamond is the next step from FSR Redstone, introduced last year. It's slated to have been built alongside Project Helix, likely using the RDNA 5 graphics rumored for the console. This is where we will see the "order of magnitude leap in ray tracing performance and capability" touted in Microsoft's Xbox Developer Summit keynote address (Microsoft). Diamond is currently expected to boost upscaling, add multi-frame generation, and improve ray regeneration.

With next-gen console launches reportedly being bumped to 2028, we're still in the early days of rumors and speculation. This afternoon's event could clear some things up, but having been through this rodeo before I'm sure there will be even more lingering questions once the stream is through. You can catch it all via the Microsoft Game Dev channel.

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The evolution of Xbox continues – if you have sharp ears. There's a new start-up sound coming to the consoles in a matter of days, the latest in a series of changes for Microsoft's consoles.

Asha Sharma, the CEO of Xbox, shared the sound herself on Twitter. "Sound on!" she captioned the post sharing a clip of the audio and an accompanying visual. I'll be real – it sounds pretty similar to the existing soundbite you find when starting up your Xbox Series X/S.

It doesn't go quite as high in the first second, but then it's right into familiar territory for the last couple of seconds. At least, that's what my ears are hearing; my recently played artists will tell you I am by no means a musical authority. After checking it against all the previous boot up sounds, I'm just nostalgic for the pure sci-fi of the original Xbox. Bring back the blocky UI, please!

I don't think that's happening. An update will bring this start-up to your consoles on Wednesday, May 13, just so you're not suddenly wondering what's happened to your system. Sharma's made this announcement amid a mixed period for the PS5's green-themed rival.

Firstly, longtime face of the brand Phil Spencer stepped away in February, introducing Sharma as his replacement. There's just been considerable staff changeover internally otherwise. Financial calls also recently revealed that hardware sales remain down quarter-on-quarter for Xbox.

On a distinctly brighter note, Copilot features are being rolled back across Xbox systems. There are no numbers on the adoption rates for such additions, but I can't imagine they were particularly inspiring.

Xbox isn't worth a port for small Japanese studios, says RPG dev, since the console isn't even sold in most local retailers.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is now addressing reports of major leadership changes at the publisher which see some of her past colleagues at Instacart, Meta, and Microsoft's own CoreAI product stepping in as two 24-year veterans leave their positions. Sharma explains this executive overhaul – Xbox's second upheaval since February, if you count Sharma's own appointment – is only a part of Xbox's metamorphosis, as Microsoft also prepares to scale down its Copilot AI assistant.

Like Google's Gemini and other, increasingly intrusive AI bots, Copilot is accessible through most Microsoft products, including as a phone app, and Xbox announced in March that the AI assistant would also arrive on "current-generation consoles" by the end of 2026. So, this is devastating if you wanted a condescending robot to tell you how to walk in Sea of Thieves, but Sharma writes on Twitter that Microsoft "will begin winding down Copilot on mobile and will stop development of Copilot on console."

The new CEO unfortunately adopts some The Social Networkian speech while describing her other plans for Xbox – "Xbox needs to move faster," she says, "and address friction for both players and developers" – but I understand her reliance on the old Silicon Valley prayer to "move fast, break things" when observing the current state of Xbox. Quarterly hardware sales are down 33%, overall revenue dropped 9% year-on-year, and Sharma recently worried in an internal memo, "Game Pass has become too expensive for players," before lancing the swelling price tag herself.

Xbox, in some ways, is already a broken business – now it needs Sharma to work fast, and she is. Sharma recently made the quick decision to abandon the Microsoft Gaming name and return to "Xbox."

Out of apparent commitment to this name and its association with Microsoft as a major console manufacturer, Sharma now explains on Twitter, "Today, we promoted leaders who helped build Xbox, while also bringing in new voices to help push us forward."

In addition to gathering a crew of new hires, including former ChatGPT leader Jonathan McKay and Instacart senior director of product growth David Schloss, Xbox has promoted Project Helix lead Jason Ronald, The Verge reports.

"This balance is important as we get the business back on track," Sharma adds. And about those former AI executives she's recruited despite Xbox dropping Copilot, according to her April 30 tweet, Xbox will instead be "refocusing our AI efforts to solving player problems like enhancing real-time graphics."

GTA 6 should be $80 so the whole "struggling" industry can raise game prices, Bank of America says, and players will accept it because they love AI.

New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is initiating a leadership overhaul and hiring many of her past colleagues at Instacart, Meta, and Microsoft's CoreAI product as quarterly Xbox hardware sales collapse another 33%.

CNBC reports on a memo shared internally at Xbox on May 5 announcing the changes. Sharma tells staff, "We need to evolve how we work and how we are organized across our platform," according to CNBC. As part of this goal, 24-year Microsoft veterans Kevin Gammill and Roanne Sones will leave their current positions.

Gammill is currently corporate vice president of Microsoft's gaming ecosystem organization, and he's assisted with Xbox development in some capacity since 2010. He originally joined Microsoft as a development lead in 1994, according to his LinkedIn, then left the company in 1999 and returned as director of development in 2007. Sones, based on her LinkedIn history, has instead consistently served as a Microsoft corporate vice president since 2002, and she's overseen Xbox's devices and ecosystem from that standpoint since 2023. After taking a leave of absence, she will return to Xbox as an advisor.

Sharma tells employees, "Right now, it is too hard to ship impact quickly. We spend too much time inward instead of with the community, and we lack the depth we need in some of the fundamentals." The CEO says her new hires represent "consumer and technical expertise we do not yet have."

One of these hires is Jared Palmer, former vice president of Microsoft's CoreAI product and senior vice president of its GitHub platform, who will join Xbox as vice president of engineering. He writes – opaquely – in an announcement on Twitter, "I'll be focused on building world-class tools, services, and experiences for developers and players across the Xbox ecosystem."

Ex-Instacart senior director of product growth David Schloss will also now manage Xbox's subscriptions and Cloud product, as he confirms in his just-updated LinkedIn identifying himself as "Leadership at Xbox."

Palmer, Schloss, and Sharma's three other new hires – Jonathan McKay, Tim Allen, and Evan Chaki – all previously worked with Sharma during her time at either CoreAI, Instacart, or Meta in the past. Some held jobs at multiple of those companies. McKay, for example, spent time at both Meta and CoreAI; he started his career as a US diplomat stationed in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, and has also worked at OpenAI on ChatGPT.

Sharma adds in her memo, reported by The Verge, "Our goal with this [leadership] change is simple: build a platform that is affordable, personal, and open by staying close to the work and the people we serve."

Sharma does seem to have been actively pursuing these principles within Xbox since her surprise appointment to CEO in February. She's recently admitted to employees that Xbox Game Pass is "too expensive" amid her publicly re-renaming Microsoft Gaming to Xbox, demonstrating an obvious desire to turn back the clock as Xbox sales get sadder.

Xbox Game Pass gets "grim prognosis" from former PlayStation CEO, new Xbox head Asha Sharma tells him they should "chat sometime."

A Japanese developer says smaller companies can't really afford to make Xbox ports due to the lack of regional demand for the console.

The developer – who goes by y_koichi – was previously in charge of character modeling on developer Edelweiss' 2020 game Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, and recently teased on Twitter that Sakuna 2 will eventually come out one day. A fan then asked about the possibility of an Xbox port (via TechRadar), since the original game skipped the platform. But while Koichi notes they've had a strong sentimental attachment to Xbox consoles since the original, for a company as small as Edelweiss, it's not worth it.

An Xbox port would require Edelweiss devs to spread themselves too thin. The developer also notes that, in Japan, Xbox consoles aren't stocked in major retail stores, further driving the point home that it may be tough to justify bringing a Sakuna game to the platform. After multiple replies questioning this, and asking the developer to please find some way to bring the game to the Xbox, Koichi posted another tweet saying that Xbox fans are a very passionate bunch.

Xbox has historically had issues breaking through to the Japanese market, with the Wii U – one of Nintendo's biggest failures – having sold more than every Xbox console in the region, both individually and combined (per data from Japanese magazine Famitsu). Microsoft's best run was with the Xbox 360, selling just over 1.6 million consoles, which could be pegged to investments Microsoft made in that generation with the likes of Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, and Tales of Vesperia, all big exclusives for the console.

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Microsoft's quarterly financial update for the third quarter of the current fiscal year is in, and console numbers are still declining. According to the stats provided, revenue from Xbox hardware continues to drop, as do associated first-party sales.

In the earnings report for the last three months, it's stated that "Xbox hardware revenue declined 33%." That's a substantial dip on its own, but when taken in context of the last two quarters, you get a pretty grim picture of how many consoles Microsoft is selling right now.

The report for quarter one had Xbox sales down 29%, and then they dropped 32% again in quarter two. Those are dispiriting statistics for the rival to PlayStation, although we don't have any kind of exact numbers, nor further context, such as whether sales have fallen more in one particular region over any others.

Meanwhile, "Xbox content and services" - meaning Game Pass and associated digital sales - is down 5% this quarter, the same as last quarter, and up from the 1% drop in quarter one. It's stated that last year the company "benefited from strong first-party" performance. You can probably pin some of this on the declining home console sales, while it's likely not as steep due to Game Pass availability on PC.

"We expect revenue to decline in the low-teens, reflecting a prior year comparable that benefited from strong first-party content," Amy Hood, chief financial officer at Microsoft, said during the call, "as well as the recent price changes for Xbox Game Pass as we focus on delivering more value to gamers. Hardware revenue should decline year-over-year."

There's been some upheaval at Xbox in recent months. Phil Spencer left, now replaced by Asha Sharma, who spoke about the state of things on Twitter. "While we have made progress expanding the business and our margins, player and revenue growth has not yet met our ambition," she posted. "We know we have work to do to earn every player today and into the future."

The Microsoft Gaming label was reverted back to Xbox in recent weeks, and the "Everything is an Xbox" campaign was quietly shelved, too. Things can shift in this industry quite quickly, and it seems like the division is finding its feet again. We'll see what the numbers say next quarter.

Former Microsoft exec and Blizzard boss completes Death Stranding 2, praises Hideo Kojima's sequel as one "hell of an experience" – even if the first game's story was better

My favorite console is starting to feel like home again. Two months since Asha Sharma took over as CEO, Microsoft Gaming as we knew it under Phil Spencer is no more. Xbox is back, as the new branding seen in a recent blogpost tells us, and with it comes promising rumblings.

Last year's extreme Game Pass Ultimate price hike has been rolled back, bringing the monthly charge down from $29.99US to a more reasonable $22.99 at the cost of day-one Call of Duty games. It's a sigh of relief for anyone like me who had no choice but to drop a tier or two after the news first dropped, especially since I don't really care about Call of Duty. But as Sharma does her best to revolutionize Xbox, unpicking some of the Spencer era's less-than-popular moves, is it already too late to turn this ship around?

Apology tour

I hope not. Microsoft Gaming's mercurial nature made it impossible to predict, from pushing Cloud and multi-platform services over flagship console growth to sweeping layoffs, high-profile acquisitions , and more. Sharma doing something as direct as changing a name and dropping a subscription service fee is all the more meaningful as a result.

For starters, it reclaims the identity and roots of Xbox itself. The reneged "everything is an Xbox" campaign is proof of how far the company strayed from its roots, trading the ethos of progress, innovation, and quality that had been attached to Xbox since the halcyon 360 era for kitschy ads claiming that anything from a fridge to your mobile phone could be an Xbox. De-centering the Series X and S consoles at a base level was questionable, even if I give Spencer props for actively bowing out of the console wars I so very detested writing about (infighting is lame, kids).

Microsoft Gaming was positioning itself as publisher for the modern era of gaming, attempting to unite instead of divide. But all it really did was de-value the console itself, distancing the company from its product and ultimately snubbing it. If anything can be an Xbox, after all, why should I pay $500 dollars for one?

Because it's a sick console, that's why! Give me smooth, cuboid surfaces over the PS5's awkward sculptural weirdness any day, a subscription service that actually has games I want to play, and a controller with joystick placement that doesn't give me tendonitis in my thumbs like two weeks of holding a DualSense has.

Still, I've felt embarrassed about being a predominantly Xbox player. A cross-platform push means that most first-party titles end up on PS5 within a year if not day-one, and as a result, most of my friends who own both consoles would rather wait it out. With the ever-changing, near annual pricing changes of Xbox Game Pass, it's been hard to argue against that mindset. I even docked myself right down to the Essential tier as a tiny personal act of defiance. As Xbox notes in the aforementioned blog post, though, this feeling of estrangement has become widespread. "'Microsoft Gaming' describes our structure but it does not describe our ambition," Sharma and Xbox CCO Matt Booty write in the blog post. "So, we are going back to where we started and changing our team’s name."

It's so satisfying to see Xbox return to its pre-2022 roots, before the push to acquire Activision-Blizzard incentivized the name change in the first place. By re-aligning the Microsoft Gaming team with the console itself, and making its unique host of games more accessible, it feels like Sharma is letting us in from the cold – and I, for one, am embracing the changes with (cautious) optimism. It can't get much worse than remortgaging your house to play Fable Anniversary – right?

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Microsoft Gaming is changing its name back to Xbox as new leadership admits its losing players to languishing console features, rising prices, and a minimal presence on PC.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and CCO Matt Booty explain in a joint Xbox Wire post also "sent to Team Xbox employees globally," informing them "We Are Xbox." Literally – they are Xbox again, since "'Microsoft Gaming' describes our structure but it does not describe our ambition," Sharma and Booty write. "So, we are going back to where we started and changing our team's name."

Microsoft Gaming is a relatively new concept created to represent the company as a historically massive conglomerate. It was established in 2022, after Xbox had successfully acquired Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard in a $68.7 billion deal that made some industry regulators weep. Likewise, Sharma and Booty now seem eager to associate the company with the more home-cooked feeling of Xbox in the 2000s.

They write in their post, "From the beginning, Xbox was built by people willing to try things that others wouldn't. We placed a consumer bet inside an enterprise company because we believed gaming would define the living room, and we were at risk of missing it.

"That spirit has carried us through the last 25 years, and it is required to carry us forward."

The company's leaders know modern Xbox "players are frustrated. New feature drops on console have been less frequent. Our presence on PC isn't strong enough. Pricing is getting harder for people to keep up with."

The solution, they think, is to re-establish "console is at the foundation" of Xbox while sprinkling some of that "everything is an Xbox" rhetoric Microsoft Gaming had been using in recent years. Asha and Booty reiterate, "You can play where you want, and your games, progress, friends, and identity stay with you across console, PC, mobile, and cloud."

But "we have to be honest about where we are," they conclude. "We're a challenger, and meeting this moment will require pace, energy, and a level of self-critique that should feel uncomfortable."

Xbox Game Pass gets "grim prognosis" from former PlayStation CEO, new Xbox head Asha Sharma tells him they should "chat sometime."

Kiki Wolfkill, former 343 Industries and Halo TV series producer, is leaving her role as head of Xbox film and television after nearly three decades at Microsoft.

She reveals as much in a new post on LinkedIn, looking back fondly at her extensive time at Microsoft while announcing her departure: "After 28 years, I've made the difficult but exhilarating decision to leave Microsoft! Friday was my last day at a place where I grew up and learned so many invaluable lessons – how to listen, lead, be accountable, and most importantly, to care deeply for who you serve – your team and your audience."

Wolfkill continues, expressing her gratitude. "I'm so grateful for the opportunities that Microsoft has given me and the career that it let me build in an industry that I love."

That's not all, though – she also looks toward the future, and it sounds like it could hold something quite exciting in store… although what that is remains a mystery, as the industry veteran only teases that there's "more to come" at some point.

"At the same time, there is a version of me outside of Microsoft that I'm excited to grow and evolve," she explains. "I have so many learnings to carry forward and more impact to be made, and I couldn't be more inspired to climb the next mountain! More to come on that front."

Wolfkill then concludes with a heartfelt "thank you" for those she worked alongside over the last few decades or so, saying, "What a gift the last 28 years has been."

That's no short stint, that's for sure – throughout her time at Microsoft, Wolfkill served as the director of art, 343 Industries executive producer and studio head, and most recently, head of Xbox film and TV. The talented lead has helped spearhead projects like the live-action Halo series and more, and also works as part of the games advisory board for the Tribeca Film Festival.

I'd suggest folks keep an eye on her profile to see what's yet to come for Wolfkill. From the sound of her post on LinkedIn, it's likely she's got plans elsewhere – but whether or not that elsewhere will fall into the gaming sphere remains to be seen.

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Now that Death Stranding 2 has been out on PlayStation 5 and PC for a while, plenty of folks have had the opportunity to experience the Hideo Kojima masterpiece – including Mike Ybarra, former Blizzard Entertainment lead and Xbox corporate vice president at Microsoft.

Ybarra reveals as much in a new online post, praising the game while sharing a screenshot of his Death Stranding 2 stats on Steam. It shows his hours spent in-game and achievements unlocked, which he has apparently 100% completed.

"91.8 hours, probably idle for 10-15 of those," writes the ex-Blizzard boss. "Hell of an experience, and beautiful graphics and sound throughout the entire game. Well done, Hideo Kojima and team."

It sounds like he thoroughly enjoyed it, which isn't all that surprising – after all, we're talking about the game that saw its PC port impressively surpass the Steam concurrent player peak of both versions of the original game combined in just 24 hours. Heck, it boasts thousands of reviews and an "Overwhelmingly Positive" rating with a perfect 5/5 score on Steam, too.

What is a bit mind-boggling, however, is Ybarra's admission in his comments.

Upon a fan asking which story is better – that of Death Stranding 2 or its 2019 predecessor – Ybarra shockingly replies, "1." In other words, the Microsoft veteran believes the original game has a better plot… or, at least, that's what it sounds like.

I suppose I can understand and respect that it's a matter of perspective, but not everyone agrees. One response to Ybarra reads, "Don't think it's remotely fair to even say that. It's a true sequel. The story is coupled."

Everyone's got their own opinion, I guess – I'd argue that, while Death Stranding 2 presents its "story" more quickly and apparently, the first game definitely harbors a surreal allure I'm not sure the second nails as well. So, I see where Ybarra's coming from… but I also get the other side.

All in all, though, I'm more impressed by the achievement completion. That's a whole "lot of deliveries," as Ybarra himself admits in the thread.

We'll just have to wait and see if Death Stranding 3 – which Kojima said he's already written a concept for but wants someone else to make – outdoes the first two games, should it ever come to fruition. Here's hoping it does.

Hideo Kojima flexes on NASA, shows Death Stranding 2 players traveled further than the Artemis 2 mission in the same time span.

Xbox Game Pass doesn't have many friends left. Once Microsoft made Game Pass Ultimate 50% more expensive in 2025, fans declared themselves betrayed, and even Xbox co-founder Laura Fryer was shocked by the company's apparent allegiance to "greed over gaming." Former Sony Interactive Entertainment America CEO Shawn Layden now thinks Xbox should just let the floundering subscription service die with dignity, but new Xbox lead Asha Sharma seems to want more time.

This tension between old and new gaming guards unfolded as a LinkedIn drama, as it was always destined to. Layden commented on a post by games industry researcher (and friend of GamesRadar+) Joost van Dreunen sharing that Sharma, in a leaked memo to Xbox staff, agreed, "Game Pass has become too expensive for players." Layden's solution is to smother it with a pillow.

He says about Xbox, proliferating the metaphor, "They are trying so hard to will this into health, despite unfavorable diagnostics and a grim prognosis. A clarifying post mortem would do the entire industry some good."

Former PlayStation head of strategy and development Gabriel Pessah adds, "I second that."

Then Sharma replies two days later, "I would love to chat sometime." It's her first LinkedIn comment in four months, which doesn't necessarily reveal the urgency or tone of her offer – maybe she just forgot her password three-and-a-half months ago – but it does suggest the Xbox lead and games industry newbie is serious about veterans' opinions.

And that, I think, is a good thing for consumers yearning for a time when life was simple and the Xbox Series X wasn't $650. In the leaked memo from Sharma to Xbox employees, the CEO acknowledged this, as she said about Game Pass, "We need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around."

It remains to be seen, in a time when life is complicated and everything is an Xbox, if Game Pass is even worth a makeover. But it seems Sharma is going to find out.

You can discover the best Xbox Game Pass deals in April 2026 while we wait.

Many of the same games top revenue and playtime charts across platforms every year as time and money are concentrated in evergreen live service titles, but a new report says you can find greater, increasing diversity and long-tail popularity in PC gaming.

Newzoo analysts, per market analysis manager Tianyi Gu, report that PC is the only observed platform where over 50% of revenue comes from games outside the top 20 – a full 56% in 2025 for Western markets, in fact, and that's up from 48% in 2022.

As PC Gamer spotted, Gu published an analysis of Newzoo's newly released (free to request) 2026 PC and console gaming report. PC gaming, which fellow analyst Mat Piscatella of Circana has separately described as a bright spot for diversity in games, is a clear standout. "The market remains concentrated, but the space below the Top 20 is becoming more important," Gu writes. And nobody makes this clearer than PC gamers, who are spending more time and money on less popular games, which are often older.

"Titles such as Path of Exile 2, Monster Hunter Wilds, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II sit alongside durable catalogue games like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Skyrim, which is still generating meaningful playtime well over a decade after release," Gu says of PC gaming's long tail.

Rank 21+ games on PC trend heavily toward RPGs and action RPGs like these, but PC gamers also love some survival and open-world games, as well as "adventure" games, as Newzoo groups them. Long-tail volume is thus attributed to hits like Rust, DayZ, Dead by Daylight, Red Dead Redemption 2, and REPO (a notable new addition from 2025). It's not lost on me that many of these games are Steam sale staples, regularly putting up big discounts and bundles.

"On PC, the space below the Top 20 is becoming more economically meaningful," Gu says. "That doesn't make the market unconcentrated, but it does make games below the very top more commercially relevant than before."

The space below the top 20 also presents a near-total flip in business models: free-to-play games unsurprisingly dominate the upper echelons, but premium back-catalogue games own ranks 21+ on PC.

A full 78% of PC games ranked 21+ are premium releases, and of those 58% are back-catalogue titles like the above examples. Meanwhile, the top 20 are 74% free-to-play, all of them established games, as "no new free-to-play games made it to the top 20" on PC in 2025.

PlayStation and Xbox likewise "over-index" on RPG and adventure games in the long tail, with action RPGs leading the RPG space, but their tails are shorter overall. In 2025, PlayStation saw 38% of revenue come from games outside the top 20, Newzoo reports, while Xbox saw 35%. In 2024, that revenue was 35% and 33% respectively.

On PlayStation, "the shape of that long tail reflects the platform's premium identity more directly," with first-party hits like Ghost of Yotei, God of War Ragnarok, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and The Last of Us Part 2 standing out.

Xbox, meanwhile, is heavily shaped by Game Pass. "It lowers the barrier to trial, helps more titles accumulate playtime, and likely explains why Xbox's long tail contains a somewhat larger share of newer titles than what we see on the other platforms," Gu writes. Game Pass also factors into the gap between playtime and spending: "Engagement broadens more than spending does, suggesting a more subscription-led form of redistribution."

Nintendo and the Switch family aren't included in the report, but Nintendo is even more first-party-focused than PlayStation, so I wouldn't expect a large difference between PS4 and PS5 in terms of long-tail patterns, though the numbers and games would obviously vary.

In summary, Newzoo finds that games ranked 21+ are "increasingly important" even as the top 20 continue to dominate, and PC demonstrates the greatest growth in this space. "There is still no easy path to scale below the Top 20," it concludes. "But there is a clearer path to relevance, and on some platforms, increasingly to revenue as well."

This is especially relevant at a time when "the rules that shaped the industry over the past two decades are being rewritten," as market intelligence director Emmanuel Rosier says in the 2026 report, sizing up the trajectory of games and players. "The PC and console market is not in decline, but it is no longer the growth engine it once was," he adds.

Even in this more mature market, PC gaming has seen "steady player expansion underpinning sustained revenue growth," Newzoo reports, which not-coincidentally lines up with increased investment in PC from many game developers, especially in the East, in recent years.

The OG Xbox was meant to be a PC-console hybrid, and the console's co-creator says Project Helix is "very similar."

All the early official teases and long-standing rumors suggest that Project Helix, the next Xbox machine, is going to be a hybrid device that combines your console and PC libraries on a single device. According to Seamus Blackley, one of the principal designers of the original Xbox, that's a "boring pitch," and he's much more excited about what's coming next from Valve and Nintendo.

When it comes to Project Helix, "I don't know as a developer what I'm excited about and I don't know as a gamer what I'm excited about," Blackley says in an interview for The Expansion Pass podcast. "I am vastly more excited about Steam than about Helix. As a gamer, from a content standpoint, as I think everybody would be. Or, you know, what's Switch 3 going to be?"

Pressed by one of the hosts on why he's more interested in Nintendo and Valve than Microsoft's gaming efforts, Blackley responds in disbelief, "Are you high? Is there a gas leak over there?"

For the theoretical Switch 3, Blackley argues that "everything that comes out of Nintendo's design department is at least really interesting and cool, even when it fails, right? Even Wii U was interesting and cool. I mean, it was a mess, but it was interesting and cool."

Over at Valve, Blackley says "those guys are relentlessly focused on cool games. They fuck up business and they do weird stuff and Gabe is crazy. I love Gabe. Or GabeN, [as] we call him in public. Did you know that he has a Roman gladius sword on his desk?"

Gabe Newell's infamous blade collection aside, Blackley says that "fundamentally, they have put games first and they've funded games and they've funded people." He gives the example of the Team Fortress devs, who were a group of modders who were hired by Valve to turn their work into a full game.

To be honest, I'm not sure Valve and Microsoft's approaches are all that different at this point. Xbox's modern approach seems to be offering ways for you to access a large library of games across a variety of devices, and they're simply tripling down with devices like the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Project Helix.

But while Xbox was pushing in this multiplatform direction years ago with cloud gaming and its efforts to break down the barriers between console and PC, the Ally and the Helix feel like they're simply following in Valve's footsteps with the Steam Deck and Steam Machine. Is Microsoft's version of that pitch more compelling than Valve's? That remains to be seen, but there's no denying that Steam has a far more devoted fandom than the Xbox brand here in 2026.

Games are fundamentally a hits-driven business, Blackley argues, suggesting that game companies run by executives who don't understand their own products have a hard time recognizing that. Xbox's move away from exclusive games, then, comes from a sort of "executive insecurity" about the business.

"If you've never played Wii tennis," Blackey asks, "how can you understand what an exclusive means? If you never played Halo when it was in that context, how can you make a decision about that? I'm not convinced that the people making those decisions have that experience in their mind." Ignoring the traditional power of exclusive games, then, is a way for executive decision-makers to "hedge their bet" against the expensive process of making games.

"I think that this sort of mushmouth, 'is it a PC or is it a console' thing, is hedging the bet there too," Blackley says. That leaves gamers unsure about what they're buying into with Project Helix, a problem you don't have with, say, a Nintendo platform. "If I buy the new Zelda," he says, "I know what I'm getting. I know that it's going to destroy my life for a week and I'm not going to be sad about it."

Given all the studios Microsoft now owns, it's got all the talent in the world necessary to build games that we'll happily destroy reasonable bits of our lives for. Whether it can do so in a way that makes the idea of Xbox itself exciting again is a question for the future.

Listen, our list of the best Xbox Series X games certainly trounces our list of the best Wii U games, but the gap narrows a lot when you limit your selection to exclusive games.

Last year, Xbox Game Pass got a massive, 50% price hike that made the top tier of the subscription service a whopping $30 per month. New Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma seems to recognize that's a problem, according to a leaked memo which suggests she's keen to offer a cheaper – or at least "more flexible" option for players.

"Game Pass is central to gaming value on Xbox," Sharma says in an internal memo to Xbox employees, which was obtained and published by The Verge. "It's also clear that the current model isn't the final one. Short term, Game Pass has become too expensive for players, so we need a better value equation. Long term, we will evolve Game Pass into a more flexible system which will take time to test and learn around."

The Verge additionally reports that part of the reason for the massive Game Pass price hike was the decision to include Call of Duty with the subscription. It's worth noting that the prices increased just one month before the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, so the timing certainly feels meaningful.

It would ultimately be a weak sales year for COD, though you could guess at a million different reasons why. Maybe Game Pass did eat into sales. Maybe there was lingering malaise over Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Maybe FPS fans were more on board for Battlefield 6. Or maybe people just didn't like Black Ops 7 all that much.

Microsoft attempted to justify the Game Pass price hike to consumers by citing additional day one releases, bonus Fortnite and Ubisoft subscriptions, and cloud gaming, but if Sharma's apparent comments are anything to go by, Xbox isn't fully satisfied with the results. Certainly, Xbox's most recent revenue reports haven't been particularly inspiring.

Xbox's popularity peaked in the middle of the Xbox 360 generation, and it's been losing ground to PlayStation ever since. At various points, I'm sure Microsoft bosses would've said that PlayStation isn't even their primary competition, but all the moves it's made to court new audiences – the Kinect, the entertainment box ambitions of Xbox One, and the push away from being a console brand in recent years – have served more to alienate the core audience than to bring in new fans.

Rebuilding that old brand value and community goodwill has clearly been a priority since the big executive shakeup earlier this year, which saw Sharma come in with big – but vague – promises about "the return of Xbox." The upcoming Project Helix console will likely be the most central factor in whether Microsoft can truly change the fortunes of its gaming division, but getting Game Pass prices under control wouldn't be so bad, either.

If you're trying to save some money now, here are the best Xbox Game Pass deals currently available.

While the PS5 might be facing its own price concerns, the PlayStation 6 is the console on everyone's lips this week. The next generation is claimed to consist of three new devices, launching at the same time between $350 and $1,000, running across a budget model, main console, and a handheld.

The rumors come from popular leaker Moore's Law is Dead, who ran through the PS6's likely pricing structure (from the host's perspective) in a live stream three days ago. Outside of the obvious component discussion, though, the rumors suggest three devices heading to shelves in 2027; an 'Orion' chipset-based full model and a 'Canis' chipset that will power a cheaper console and a handheld separately.

The Sony Canis handheld is perhaps the worst kept secret in PlayStation's roster right now, and has been compared to a bunch of the gaming handhelds across the spectrum. However, should these leaks run true there's a much bigger conversation to be had around the next-gen console war.

A console and companion handheld marks a shift in Sony's strategy towards prioritizing its ecosystem over its platform. Traditionally, the actual PS5 device has been the be-all, with the Portal supporting its efforts via streaming. Now we're looking at multiple devices designed to natively play your PlayStation games in different ways at their own price points.

It's this battle for ecosystem that could come to define the next generation of play. After all, Xbox's Project Helix is going all in on Windows' positioning in the market - offering a hybrid console and PC design that can take over the living room while falling back on the ROG Xbox Ally handhelds for portable play. Microsoft's ill-fated 'This is an Xbox' marketing campaign was on the right lines, even if it was veering off in the wrong direction. The cash really will be in the storefronts you choose, not the hardware you play it on.

It also means Valve is going to lumber onto the console battlefield for the first time - and I can easily see a future where it scoops up the trophy.

The Steam Machine is already on pace to beat the PS6 to market (though that window is closing a little quicker), and with RAM shortages and component pricing through the roof it could well bring a generation of traditional PC players with it. As the costs of buying and upgrading PC parts continues to skyrocket, with no sign of slowing, many are looking to prebuilt solutions instead. If you've spent years building up a Steam library, you're not exactly going to throw it away for a PlayStation when the battle for the living room begins. Hell, even Xbox's co-creator is more hyped for the Steam Machine than Project Helix.

Valve already has its pieces in play, and we're still only talking rumors for Microsoft and PlayStation. With 23 years of fans behind it, fans who are now being pushed out of their previous hardware platforms, the Steam Machine could well take the lead in the 10th gen.

For more prebuilt options, check out the best gaming PCs and the best gaming laptops.

It might be hard convincing thousands of laid-off developers, industry leaders who had their studios suddenly shut down, and the dedicated staff behind abandoned projects that the video game industry is a flourishing rainforest. But Ed Fries, who led the original Xbox team and Microsoft's gaming division as vice president until 2004, is going to try.

Speaking to The Expansion Pass podcast channel host Luke Lohr in an April 8 interview, Fries dismisses the idea that gaming is falling apart due to generative AI and says, "It's just not true." He stresses the fact that "PC games was the largest growing part of the game business last year. So here we are, 25 years later [from the original Xbox release], and you know, it just shows the potential for games is still huge. The potential for growth is still huge."

Fries also seems sated by the evolving importance of global game markets, agreeing with developers based in China that the country is moving to the forefront of AAA gaming. He says, "when we launched Xbox, India and China looked very similar. Now, some of the biggest game publishers in the world are Chinese. So India is growing. Middle East, obviously, with owning Electronic Arts now."

I wonder if some of Fries' optimism also comes from his own career trajectory – he joined Microsoft to work on its office software like Excel in 1986, three years after the infamous video game crash, until eventually moving up and helping establish Microsoft Game Studios by 2000. As an executive, he's guided devs through enough critical change to know, as he tells Lohr, "There's like this pendulum that swings back and forth from excitement to conservatism over and over again in the game business, and to me, it's frustrating, because it's like, I've seen so many of those swings of the pendulum.

"It's like, 'Oh, you're laying off too many people, you're canceling too many projects. OK, now you're starting too many projects.' You know, it's like, 'Hey, why can't we just go down the middle?' But it just doesn't seem to work that way."

Nonetheless, Fries says the issue boils down to, "if you look at the game business over the last, you know, more than a decade – it's grown, on average, 5% year-over-year, very steady."

But, again, I'm aware of the fact that this is a former Microsoft executive who's summarizing the carnage of the modern game industry as just market ebbs and flows. Meanwhile, Wizardry developer Brenda Romero recently commented that she and husband John Romero, who co-founded id Software and designed Doom, "were there in the '80s for the crash, and this is definitely crashier."

If Fries senses that, he isn't letting it show. "To me, it was like the destiny of games to take over," Fries says.

The OG Xbox was meant to be a PC-console hybrid, and the console's co-creator says Project Helix is "very similar."

Have you bought an Xbox Series X controller in the last four months? You could be owed thousands... of hours of gameplay.

Microsoft yesterday took to Twitter to announce a mistake with its shipping of Xbox controllers - it seems that "a limited number" of gamepads have been sent out without their accompanying Duracell batteries since December last year. As originally spotted by Pure Xbox, the brand is offering free rechargeable battery packs to those affected - just head to the dedicated support page to start your request.

Xbox controllers have used a simple set of AA batteries for wireless connection ever since the 360. Whether you love the freedom or hate the landfill (or both), it looks like they're here to stay. Duracell conspiracy theories aside (some argue that the two brands signed a marketing deal at some point, but that's never been proven), there are plenty of reasons the base controller uses replaceable charges.

After all, there's nothing stopping players picking up a set of rechargeable AAs (about $13 at Amazon) or a charge kit (the PowerA version comes in at $20, currently $12.99 at Amazon). It's an extra fee, of course, but if you value that versatility it's worth the extra freedom.

For now, Microsoft is righting its mistake- the rechargeable battery pack it's offering to all customers who received battery-less controllers is worth far more than a set of replaceable sticks. The official pack will run you around $24.99 at full price (but is regularly on sale, and currently $15.69 at Walmart).

To claim yours, head to account.microsoft.com/devices, register your controller, and then select the 'Start order' option from the controller menu. Use 'Accessory' for the category and 'Charge Kit' for the Issue Type when prompted.

• See all Xbox rechargeable batteries at Amazon

We're also rounding up all the best PC controllers and the best PS5 controllers for more options - or check out the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers.

Xbox's next-gen console, currently known as Project Helix, is set to bridge the gap between consoles and PCs. Microsoft has been vague about the details – other than the fact that it'll play "Xbox and PC games" – but rumors have long suggested that this machine will have some version of Windows running underneath the hood. To Ed Fries, one of the key creators of the original Xbox, it sounds a whole lot like the idea the console was building around in the first place.

In a new episode of The Expansion Pass podcast, host Luke Lohr remarked to Fries that "Project Helix sounds so much like the original vision for the Xbox."

"I was hoping that's what you would say," Fries laughs. "Exactly, exactly. That's exactly right. I had the exact same reaction to it. It's very similar to what the original Xbox plan was. Not the Xbox we shipped. The original plan was that it was going to be a PC running Windows. It was basically just a PC that looked kind of like a console and pretended it was a console. But it was really a PC underneath."

The actual Xbox, which launched in 2001, "ended up being somewhere in between," Fries says. "It architecturally still had a lot in common with the PC. The CPU was a CPU you could have put in a PC. The graphics card was a graphics card that could have been in a PC. But really – this happens a lot in tech, by the way – it's like you have a great idea, but is it the right time for your great idea?"

These days, the best gaming handhelds are equal parts PC and console, and devices like the Steam Machine are further bridging the gap. You can plug a controller into your computer and expect it to simply work, and there's even cross-play between many PC and console titles. In 2001, things were very different, and each platform offered distinct types of games for wildly different audiences.

Fries mentions the design challenges of bringing PC-style games to console, and while Bungie had incredible success making FPS games console-friendly with Halo, Microsoft was struggling with its own catalog of titles like Age of Empires and Flight Simulator. The real problem with this PC-console hybrid approach, though, was a technical one.

"The reason it didn't work is because we were still really constrained on system resources," Fries explains. "In particular, RAM. Any bit that you had allocated to the operating system was a piece you couldn't use in a game, and game developers desperately needed every little bit they could get. That was ultimately why – because we talked to a lot of game developers as we were building Xbox – why we did what we did, which was shift into something that was much more custom and had very low overhead as far as the operating system part goes so that we could give as much of the machine as possible to the game developers."

Yes, Fries does note the irony: the big constraint preventing the original Xbox from being a PC was a lack of RAM, and now that the Xbox-PC crossover console is finally happening, we've got a pricing crisis on the stuff. "We're in some weird glitch of the global economy where RAM is expensive again," he says "But still there's a mind-blowing amount of memory in my phone, in my PC, whatever. Even though we still never have as much as we would love to have, we still have way more than we had in the past, so it makes it possible again to think, 'What if we could make a machine that was great for both?'"

Ultimately, Fries reckons that the original Xbox concept was simply ahead of its time. It's only now, as hardware has become more capable and the design gap between PC and console games is nearly non-existent, that the idea can be made a reality. Of course, Project Helix now has to deal with the fallout from all the rakes Xbox has so gleefully stomped on over the past decade, so even if the time is right technically, it's hard to say whether it's right in the hearts and minds of players.

Maybe it's time to dive back into the best original Xbox games ever made.

The Xbox Games Showcase 2026 will take place on June 7 at 10am PT / 1pm ET and be immediately followed by the Gears of War: E-Day Direct, which should offer a magnifying glass look at the shooter – and Xbox's return to the red-blooded Gears of War franchise after years away.

Xbox explains in a news post on the Microsoft website, the Gears of War: E-Day Direct will be a "deep-dive" into the prequel, while its annual Games Showcase includes "first gameplay looks and huge news on upcoming titles from our first-party studios across the Xbox family, as well as our third-party partners around the globe – from the biggest franchises to soon-to-be indie darlings."

After, the Gears of War: E-Day Direct will go granular on "new details, gameplay and insights," Xbox says, "about the hugely anticipated origin story to the Gears of War saga." The game was originally announced in 2024 – but it notably does not yet have a precise release date, only a general, "2026" release window. It'll be Xbox's first new Gears of War title since it released spin-off Gears Tactics in 2020, and its first main Gears game since Gears 5 launched in 2019.

The Xbox family also brings good tidings through Xbox FanFest, the 2016 in-person community event Microsoft is now dusting off for June 7. Xbox explains in its post, "To help celebrate the Xbox 25th anniversary, we're excited to bring back Xbox FanFest at Showcase. This year's experience will include a look back at the last 25 years, alongside a forward view of what’s next." The publisher is currently hosting a sweepstakes for a trip to FanFest in Los Angeles.

Save yourself a flight: there are already a few confirmed upcoming Xbox Series X games.

Now that Sony has raised the prices of the PlayStation 5, the starting points for the next generation of consoles have just gotten higher, analysts believe. As they see it, be prepared to potentially drop $1,000 on the PlayStation 6 and the Xbox Project Helix, based on current projections.

Nobody's surprised by Sony's move, as multiple economic and political factors have necessitated higher price tags, although veteran Circana games industry analyst Mat Piscatella tells GamesRadar+ that "this one is a bigger price jump than I had been anticipating."

"The relentless effort by the US administration to disrupt the global economy is backfiring exactly as expected," Joost van Dreunen, video games professor at NYU and industry researcher, tells us. "Already in 2024 did console manufacturers signal that any tariffs would have a major impact on pricing. The cost for DRAM and NAND have surged 80-90 percent since the start of 2026."

He points toward data centers for AI hoovering up hardware and turmoil in parts of Asia making distribution of parts difficult as well, creating a storm of bad circumstances. The leaps up are immediately noticeable, as the PS5 Pro will now cost $900, increasingly close to four figures. The belief is that Sony's taken a couple of potential jumps into account, while giving it room for reduction if the worst-case scenario isn't what happens.

"It looks like Sony baked in potential future fluctuations and decided to go for one substantial increase in early 2026 instead of raising prices more frequently and over a longer period of time," Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of consultancy firm Kantan Games, tells GamesRadar+. "This strategy also gives them some leeway to lower prices and offer 'deals' if things surprisingly get better."

We're on the cusp of hearing about the latest machines in the Xbox and PlayStation lineage, and it does seem like this is a harbinger for what they'll cost consumers at launch. "I think $999 at least for one variant of the PS6 is not impossible," Toto states. Meanwhile, van Dreunen agrees that "we're quickly moving towards a world in which a $1,000 console will be the norm, and console gaming will become a luxury expenditure."

He continues: "They really don't want to raise prices on their hardware, because that part is usually a heavily subsidized part of the equation and the sale of games is the gravity point of their revenue model. I predict that the next generation of console hardware will start at a 50% higher price point than the current one did."

Piscatella believes "both the timing and pricing of something like a PS6 must be considered to be in flux," noting that "there is just far too much volatility and uncertainty."

He continues: "Could we see $1k+ pricing? Sure, that's possible. Would really hate to see that, but it's possible. Could it be 2027? Maybe. Could it be 2028? Sure. Later? Why not. I do not think that current market conditions allow for much certainty at all in the hardware market. Hopefully the conditions improve. They could get worse. Who knows."

Project Helix "might be Microsoft's last attempt to make their hardware business work," analyst suggests: "There is nobody in this industry who believes there will be another Xbox if this next machine fails."

Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant is arriving on "current-generation consoles" later this year, as Xbox announced during a Game Developers Conference 2026 panel attended by GamesRadar+, but a coinciding tech demo suggests the bot isn't ready for the responsibility.

Gaming AI at Xbox's partner group product manager Sonali Yadav shared at the Responsible Innovation for Gameplay Experiences lecture that Copilot should be able to help players seeking "coaching to improve a skill that matters to them," and to make sure "more players start to reach that threshold of feeling successful." It at least attempts to do that in example clips featuring Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves, and Diablo 4 by also trying to change your diaper.

In the Sea of Thieves example, the player Microsoft named "WarlocksPWN" like a 2001 Law & Order cyberbullying victim wonders, hm, "It's my first time playing. How do I get to a ship?" If a human person asked me, another human person, this question, I might reply, "Hey, so if you play the game and follow its tutorial prompts, you will be able to learn all basic gameplay mechanics, including boarding and commanding a ship, yourself." But I would say that because I believe that people are capable of doing what they set out to do, and I have faith in the intelligence of the general population.

Here's how Gaming Copilot will work on Xbox when it arrives later this year. According to Microsoft, 19 percent of early usage was just to chat with the AI as a companion. The guides are seemingly lifted without credit from the internet. It's unclear if that will change before console launch.

— @ethangach.bsky.social (@ethangach.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-03-20T15:18:05.380Z

Copilot does not. The bot manages to be patronizing and vague at the same time, and it advises WarlocksPWN to "just head down to the dock area," "hop on board, raise your anchor, and start figuring out the ropes." But this pointless hand-holding seems to be what WarlocksPWN needs. In Microsoft's Diablo 4 example, they somehow can't figure out how to open their Duriel's Hoard chest of rewards despite apparently defeating the boss Duriel on the highest difficulty, Torment 4.

Here comes the choo-choo train – Copilot begins spoonfeeding the player and says, "Ah. I see what's on your screen there, WarlocksPWN. To open Duriel's Hoard, you'll need those corrupted horns of Duriel that the prompt is asking for. Basically, you collect those horns by defeating Duriel himself in the Echo of Duriel boss fight. [...] So, it's a bit of a grind, but hey, you're already on Torment 4."

"That's pretty cool," Yadav comments after the video examples end. Note, too, that a 2025 MIT study suggests using AI assistants like Copilot shrivels your brain.

"AI is not a shiny new feature," Xbox AI lead says, and "our games industry has been building AI systems for decades" from cheat detection to pathfinding.

No, it's not just you. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of those weird yet wonderful RPGs that, unless you've come prepared, seems to fight you at every turn. I'm not talking about the Tyger Claws running rampant on the streets of Japantown; rather, the mechanics themselves are a lot to wrap one's head around as a Night City newbie.

I first stepped into CD Projekt Red's thrilling open-world in 2024. A couple of weeks later, I ended up dropping it entirely for two months. There was nothing wrong with the game itself – I'd picked it up alongside then-new DLC Phantom Liberty, with Patch 2.1 very much intact – but something about it pushed back against my every attempt to fall in love.

Fast forward to 2026, and I called Cyberpunk 2077 the best RPG of all time, no exceptions. I thrive on a challenge, and that is precisely what Night City presented me with. It just so happens that challenging games are what Xbox Game Pass needs more of if Microsoft wants to justify that ever-climbing price tag – which is why I need you to give Cyberpunk, which is now on Game Pass, a shot.

Tinkering

Grind is life in some games, but a good game should not come with a reading list. No one should have to research the best builds for a given playstyle, or watch endless explainers to suss out an RPG system – not immediately, anyway. That's one area where, despite how much I love the overall experience, Cyberpunk 2077 falters.

I've mentioned in the past how Night City throwing you into the deep end resonates with the overwhelming muchness of life in the city. Everything is familiar yet alien in this dystopian future. If that just applied to worldbuilding itself, that would be one thing. But I had no idea how cyberware, crafting, Sandevistans, or the skill trees themselves truly worked or synergized until about halfway through the RPG. Nothing is explained, and very little is inferred. I pondered whether that is because so many returning players will have hopped back in (warily, most likely) following Cyberpunk's super buggy initial 2020 launch, but after reading up on how much of the game's systems have changed in the last 6 years, the lack of even basic signposting still strikes me as strange.

But therein lies the fun. For me, at least, having to prove myself to the game was incredibly satisfying. My two-month break was predominantly occupied by Gamescom 2024 prep, and once I'd cleared my plate of Work Games, I could return to a Fun Personal Challenge. That challenge was partly fueled by a refusal to have wasted £80 on a game I would never play, I'll admit. But it's also just how my brain works. I love to prove others wrong, and that includes myself.

Before long, I was able to lock into the game and stop fighting back. Instead, I used my damn brain for a change – and reminded myself how, since this is a CDPR game, it was bound to come with layers of lore-intensive systems to unpick. I had a similar issue with The Witcher 3's mutagen systems. If I could work out what to do with my many-colored monster samples, surely I could conquer a few bits of tech in Cyberpunk 2077?

Cyberhexed

The grind was worth it. I ended up playing four complete Cyberpunk playthroughs one after the other, utterly spellbound by the story, the place, and the characters I'd come to love so much. That makes it one of the best value for money games I've ever picked up, right alongside Baldur's Gate 3.

Cyberpunk 2077's launch on Game Pass has me excited for others to finally give it a go, too – especially if you're still paying for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate following the recent round of price hikes. With Cyberpunk joined by fellow grind-a-thon Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, dare I say that the subscription service actually sounds like pretty decent value again for meaty RPG fans?

Well, maybe. I'll admit right now that I dropped my own subscription down to the cheapest tier almost immediately, and since I already own Cyberpunk 2077, I have no intention of changing that. But I hope this move means that Microsoft is keen to bring longer, denser, more time-intensive experiences to Game Pass atop the slew of shorter entries, if only to reinforce why that extra $10 a month is necessary.

So fear not, fellow stubborn skeptics. Cyberpunk 2077 is extremely, eye-wateringly, mind-blowingly good, and it deserves your full attention – though don't be afraid to give maybe one or two guides a peek if you want to give yourself a cybernetic leg up in those punishing early hours.

Check out all these other games like Cyberpunk 2077 if you're hankering for some other futuristic tales.