All articles tagged with #game pass
Microsoft’s Xbox strategy under Phil Spencer—massive investments in Game Pass, cloud gaming, and acquisitions of Bethesda and Activision Blizzard—has been accompanied by layoffs, studio closures, and muddled branding. With Spencer retiring and a leadership reshuffle (Asha Sharma to lead, Sarah Bond leaving), the future direction remains murky: is Xbox a console, a platform across devices, or something else entirely?
Xbox’s weekly roundup previews 30+ upcoming releases for Feb 23–27 across Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, led by Resident Evil Requiem; three Game Pass titles (TCG Card Shop Simulator, Dice A Million, Towerborne 1.0) join a slate of indie and multi-genre games releasing through February 27.
A weekly roundup of new Xbox releases for Feb 23–27 across Xbox consoles, Windows PC, and Game Pass, led by Resident Evil Requiem and Towerborne on Feb 26, with a broad mix of remasters, indie titles, and co-op/platformer experiences arriving from Feb 24–27 (e.g., Tales of Berseria Remastered, Bread & Fred, Capy Spa, Pogui, UFOphilia, Sands of Aura, WorldNeverland: Elnea Kingdom, Aquamarine: Explorer’s Edition, and more). Pre-orders and Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere options are noted where available.
Bethesda boss Todd Howard says the upcoming Starfield update is not Starfield 2.0 and will add content rather than a full sequel; the update is coming soon and Starfield will continue to receive updates for a while as Bethesda prioritizes Fallout and The Elder Scrolls 6, with the game described as a major 'Game Pass hours beast' for its large audience.
Xbox Game Pass announces a February slate led by Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition, with Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, Avowed, and Aerial Knight’s DropShot also joining. Additional titles roll out February 24–26 (Card Shop Simulator, Dice A Million, Towerborne), and on March 3 Final Fantasy III and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II join Game Pass across Cloud, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
With High on Life 2 now live on Xbox and Game Pass for a weekend, critics’ early scores sit slightly above the first game, and Pure Xbox is inviting readers to share their initial impressions via a poll. Community comments are mixed—praising the humor and gameplay while noting polish issues, bugs, and performance questions on Series S. The piece also points to ongoing roundups of early reviews and impressions.
Next Week on Xbox previews a Feb 16–20 lineup across Xbox consoles and PC/Game Pass, featuring strategy survival (Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown), the Quartz Edition of Styx: Blades of Greed, fast shooters and platformers (Aerial_Knight’s DropShot, Hex Park, HeadHunters), horror experiences (Backrooms Level X, Horror Tale 2: 4k Remaster), and many indie titles releasing Feb 17–20, with prices and pre-orders noted.
Xbox’s Feb 9–13 lineup brings over 20 new games across Xbox One and Series X|S, including six Game Pass titles (Relooted, BlazBlue Entropy Effect X, Roadside Research, Starsand Island, High on Life 2, Kingdom Come: Deliverance) alongside notable releases such as Romeo Is a Dead Man, Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, Reanimal, Crisol: Theater of Idols, and more.
Madden NFL 26 is heavily discounted through February 11, with digital PSN and Xbox stores at $21 and the PC Steam version also $21; Switch 2 digital remains $70, while physical copies for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Switch 2 run around $35 at major retailers. The game also arrives on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass via EA Play as of February 5, allowing play on console, PC, or cloud. EA’s Super Bowl LX simulation predicts Seahawks 23–20 over the Patriots for this week’s game.
This week’s Next Week on Xbox previews a busy Feb 9–13 release window across Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Game Pass, featuring dozens of titles from Relooted (Feb 10) to Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties (Feb 11), BlazBlue Entropy Effect X (Feb 12), Ride 6 (Feb 12), Roadside Research (Feb 12), High On Life 2 pre-order (Feb 13), Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma (Feb 13), Monterey Jack (Feb 9), and more; many games support Xbox Play Anywhere or Game Pass, and several are available for pre-order. Release dates are subject to change.
Xbox Game Pass adds a broad February slate: today you can play Final Fantasy II and Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii; upcoming highlights include Madden NFL 26 (Feb 5), High on Life 2 (Feb 13), Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (Feb 17), and Avowed (Feb 17), plus various other titles and updates across Cloud, Console, and PC, with some games leaving the library on Feb 15.
Xbox is offering a one-month free trial of Game Pass Premium for new subscribers with no payment details required. To claim it, read Sea of Thieves: Last Bite on Webtoon and wait for an offer email (which may take hours). The Premium tier grants access to 200+ games and cloud streaming, but is limited to select countries and does not include Game Pass Ultimate perks.
Xbox’s Feb 2–6 release window headlines Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, with Carmageddon: Rogue Shift, MY HERO ACADEMIA: All's Justice, and a slate of indie titles, plus three new Game Pass additions for Xbox and PC.
Xbox’s quarterly revenue declined due to weakness in its first‑party lineup and a slower release pipeline. While current games are solid, none have provided a standout performance to lift revenue, and Game Pass spending patterns may be contributing to the dip. Analysts suggest stronger, more frequent exclusives are needed to boost engagement and revenue, though this could simply be a temporary lull as the pipeline catches up.
Microsoft’s latest earnings show Xbox hardware revenue down 32% year over year and the gaming division down 7%, with the company attributing the drop to a weak late-2025 release slate. While Ninja Gaiden 4 and The Outer Worlds 2 are in the works and Flight Simulator arrived on PS5, the Xbox Series X/S remains a shrinking part of Microsoft’s business as the company pivots toward platform/services and AI initiatives, aided by a Game Pass price hike and churn, with subscriber numbers not disclosed.