Three more games have been revealed or reconfirmed for Xbox Game Pass within the past 24 hours. Football Manager 27 arrives November 10 with day-one Game Pass, while A Game About Digging a Hole Together is an expanded multiplayer version of the existing hit with no exact date yet. Grave Seasons has been reannounced for March 9, 2027, and has long been pencilled in as a Game Pass title.
The Elder Scrolls Online is holding the High Seas of Tamriel event, where players can seek sunken treasures. The news was posted on Xbox Wire.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma pushed back on speculation that Microsoft could spin off its games division, telling the New York Times that Xbox is not for sale and that the company will look at the right partnerships and operating model. According to the NYT, Xbox now accounts for around 6% of Microsoft's total profits. Sharma took over Xbox in February with no prior video game industry experience; under her, Xbox cut a fifth of its staff this summer, shut down or sold five studios, proposed closing Ninja Theory and cut a further 268 roles last week, while Game Pass subscribers peaked at 34 million before starting to drop. Sharma says Xbox retains 500 million monthly players and wants to expand into Africa, Latin America and South Asia via cloud gaming.
A New York Times profile of Xbox CEO Asha Sharma reported that Microsoft's deal for Hideo Kojima's Physint was substantially below what Xbox would typically spend to develop a premium game, and included film and TV rights. Kojima pitched the project to Sharma after Sony canceled the previously PlayStation-exclusive game. Physint still has no release window and is expected after OD, Kojima's next game for Xbox.
A PC preorder of Star Wars: Galactic Racer is $44.99 on Newegg with the code "STARWARS," $15 off ahead of its October 6 release. The Gears of War: E-Day Limited Edition Xbox Wireless Controller is $6 off at Amazon and Walmart, and Walmart has a 25" TCL G64 Series FHD 300Hz monitor for $149.
Kotaku's John Walker argues that Xbox's cloud gaming push is shrinking. Owners of 2020 Samsung Smart TVs were told the XBOX app will lose support on November 3, while Game Pass's most expensive tier is cutting cloud streaming from unlimited to 15 hours a week with per-hour surcharges. Separately, New York Times sources say the rumored Xbox cloud controller was a real project seemingly shelved after the Activision acquisition, though an Xbox spokesperson says it is still in development.
A Reddit user relays a New York Times report saying Kojima's upcoming game Physint was signed with Xbox for substantially less than what Xbox would typically spend to develop a premium game, and that the agreement included film and TV rights. Asha Sharma said she was happy Kojima chose to work with Xbox and that work with Sony would continue, saying competition and collaboration can coexist. The poster notes this does not settle the discussion, though the previously floated $400 million figure may not have been on the table.
Alinea Analytics' Rhys Elliot has argued that Gears of War: E-Day shouldn't have been cancelled on PS5, citing "soft" Steam pre-orders. He said the game has amassed just 120k pre-orders on Steam, low for a big-budget AAA production, and noted the port was reportedly already in the works. He also stressed the game's online multiplayer focus requires a large crossplay audience.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told the New York Times that Xbox is not for sale, denying reports that Microsoft could spin out or restructure its gaming division. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella praised Sharma's streamlining of the Xbox business on the Sources Podcast and reiterated a focus on big games and new business models to return to growth. Microsoft's Xbox layoffs began this summer with 1,600 jobs affected and another 1,600 planned by the end of its business year, with the second wave about 75% complete this week.
Former Halo franchise creative director Frank O'Connor has advised Activision Blizzard to hire laid-off developers from Bungie, Halo Studios, and elsewhere for the next mainline Halo game. In a September 25 LinkedIn post, he outlined three possible directions: a classic sandbox shooter, a modern reinvention, or an Activision-style sandbox game with player progression and business models. He also warned against tying the game to hardware or services launch cycles and against abandoning its sandbox.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma told The New York Times that "Xbox is not for sale," adding the company will do "whatever it takes" to set itself up for success through the right partnerships and operating model. Microsoft executives also told the paper that speculation about a potential Xbox sale has always existed but never materialized, and Sharma said there's a "long way to go with Microsoft" with a "long-term view."
Gcores' weekly roundup covers the week's news: Bungie announced that all vaulted Destiny 2 content will return, and Microsoft's Xbox cut another 268 jobs, with Halo handed to Activision while Rare and World's Edge move under Activision and Obsidian under Bethesda, leaving Xbox Game Studios with only three direct studios. Gears of War: E-Day narrative director Juan Vaca was laid off two weeks before release, with the game's future tied to its commercial performance; Build A Rocket Boy, developer of MindsEye, entered bankruptcy proceedings; TGS 2026 cancelled its final public day due to a typhoon; and Pokemon Pokopia won the Japan Game Awards 2026 Grand Award, with Masahiro Sakurai announcing this year's Game Designers Award will be the last.
Xbox's disc-to-digital program is now live for all Xbox owners after being rolled out to Xbox Insiders. Inserting an eligible Xbox Series X or Xbox One disc grants a digital license tied to that disc, while the original disc still works normally. A support page states that losing, selling, giving away, or no longer possessing a qualifying disc may limit or revoke access to the associated digital license.
Section 9 Interactive, a small studio founded by three former Tarsier Studios members, announced that its sci-fi action adventure End of Abyss launches October 1 on Xbox Series X|S. Players take the role of young combat technician Cel, descending into an abandoned underground facility to upgrade gear, use a Scanner to explore branching paths, and fight monsters. The team said the game began as a top-down shooter prototype and shifted toward a slower action horror metroidvania focused on exploration and tension, with enemies prototyped in Unreal before their designs were finalized.
Why this: The studio explains how its top-down shooter prototype became an action horror metroidvania, showing how a small team settled on its art and enemy design.
Microsoft Jewel is available now as a standalone app for iOS and Android, the fifth mobile app from Microsoft Casual Games and its first new mobile launch in seven years. Players can earn XBOX Achievements on mobile and sync progress across the iOS, Android, and PC apps with a Microsoft account. XBOX Game Pass members get Premium benefits on PC, while Game Pass Ultimate members get them on both PC and mobile.
The Xbox disc-to-digital program is now officially available to all Xbox One and Xbox Series X users after an initial rollout to Xbox Insiders. Inserting a supported disc while signed in grants a digital license, and an Xbox One console can be used to claim Xbox Series X games. Square Enix and Ubisoft do not appear to support the program yet, and lending the disc to a friend transfers the digital license to them.
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden advised new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to "pick a lane," calling her decision Xbox's "Dreamcast moment." He framed the choice as either competing with PlayStation as a platform or exiting hardware to focus on software as the world's biggest game publisher. Xbox is mid-restructure, with nearly 2,000 staff laid off, multiple studios exiting or facing closure, and various games canceled.
Amid concerns that Microsoft's layoffs and restructuring are a prelude to selling or spinning off Xbox, Xbox chief Asha Sharma told The New York Times that Xbox is not for sale. The Information previously reported internal Microsoft discussions about spinning Xbox off, whether through a sale, a standalone subsidiary or a joint venture. Sharma said Microsoft's gaming business has a long way to go and that the company will take a long-term view.
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden advised Xbox CEO Asha Sharma that Xbox should "pick a lane": either compete as a platform against PlayStation or accept its role as one of the world's biggest game publishers and focus on software. He called it Xbox's "Dreamcast moment," citing Sega's exit from hardware to become a software company. Xbox has recently seen waves of layoffs, parted ways with several studios, and consolidated remaining developers under Activision, Blizzard, King, and Bethesda.
The Guardian broke the review embargo for Gears of War: E Day, publishing its review early with a 3/5 score. The review notes that much of the game is spent in large, open areas filled with hundreds of collectibles, and that an audio chime for nearby pickups drowned out a character's emotional moment during a cutscene.
Former Sony executive Shuhei Yoshida said in an interview with The Verge that Sony should keep the PS5 generation going as long as possible, because people are very happy using PS5 and Switch 2. He pointed to rising component costs and said neither players nor developers are strongly demanding more powerful hardware. He added that Xbox, with Series X|S falling behind and the company going through changes, may be more incentivised to release its next console.
Frank O'Connor, who spent nearly 20 years at Xbox and left in 2023 as creative director of the Halo franchise, shared his view on Halo's future in a LinkedIn comment, laying out three possible directions for Activision: a "classic" Halo experience for the core audience, a modern reinvention of the game and universe, or translating the Halo IP into Activision's proven player, progression and business models. He also advised Microsoft not to tie the next Halo to the Xbox hardware or services cycle, and urged Activision to hire recently laid-off talent from Bungie and Halo Studios.
Xbox has announced that "Mythic Achievements" are now available for Xbox Insiders, granted for completing all original achievements for a game. They do not add new challenges or Gamerscore, and have also been added to certain older games including Xbox 360 titles. A new Gaming tab on profiles and a progress bar in each game's achievement list show progress toward Mythic status.
Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave topped the Japanese physical charts with 127,131 copies sold in the week of 14th-20th September, per Famitsu. Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter debuted at No. 2 on Switch 2 with 24,724 sales and No. 4 on PS5 with 21,753. Switch 2 led hardware with 34,341 units, while Xbox Series S came last with just 19.
Minecraft Dungeons 2 launches this Tuesday as the next Xbox first-party release, and early reviews are already out. Destructoid gave it 9/10, while Day One, CGM and TheSixthAxis each scored it 8.5/10, with GamesRadar at 3.5/5, GameSpot 7/10 and IGN 6/10. At the time of writing its Metacritic average sits at 76 for Xbox Series X and 74 for PC, compared with 70 on PC and 74 on Xbox One for the 2020 original; it costs £24.99 / $29.99 and is included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.
Xbox hosted a FanFest event in London this past weekend with around 500 attendees, offering playable games including Fable, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, Gears of War: E-Day and Minecraft Dungeons 2. Activities included a Fable-themed Chicken Kicker booth, a Gears-themed indoor grenade-throwing game, controller customisation, an Xbox tattoo station and classic games on scattered consoles, with Major Nelson and AceyBongos hosting an Xbox pub quiz. Attendees received swag bags with a London FanFest t-shirt, pint glass, Fresh Ego Kid Xbox25 hat and 8BitDo Xbox25 controller dock, plus three free drinks, though queues were long and Fable and Gears slots booked up quickly.
Xbox has teamed up with Prince St. Pizza to offer a limited edition "Emergence Pie" in the U.S. and Toronto, starting November 1st, which comes with a unique code to unlock a Gears of War: E-Day in-game pizza emblem. A Gears-shaped pizza cutter is also available on the Prince St. Pizza website for $60 USD, but it appears to have already sold out.
Six games launch on Xbox today, September 29, led by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered, which is a free update for existing owners and includes the Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine expansions. September's final Xbox Game Pass addition is Minecraft Dungeons 2, available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC. Other releases today include Gothic 2 Complete Classic, NEIGHBORS: Suburban Warfare, Transport Fever 3 and Way of the Hunter 2.
SEGA has officially begun rolling out its games onto Xbox's Disc to Digital program, though it currently appears limited to Xbox Insider testing. Reported successes include Persona, Like A Dragon, Yakuza, and Unicorn Overlord, while titles such as Alien Isolation are not yet included. It remains to be seen whether other major publishers like Square Enix or Bandai Namco will join.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Remastered is out now on Xbox and is a free update for existing owners. CD Projekt Red's Marcin Momot said the patch is around 45GB, and disc owners can insert the disc to have the game update automatically, though some users reported disc versions not updating properly until a console restart. The article also lists the steps to find and install the remastered version on Xbox.
Gears of War: E-Day is now available to pre-install on Xbox and PC, at roughly 120.5GB on Xbox Series X|S and around 120.04GB on the Xbox PC app. The game launches October 1 for early access players via the Premium Edition and October 6 for Standard Edition / Xbox Game Pass Ultimate players. An install manager lets players individually select Campaign, Horde Siege, and Versus, with opting out of modes shrinking the overall install size.
8BitDo has revealed officially licensed Xbox PC peripherals in collaboration with Gears of War: E-Day, including the Retro 87 keyboard and Retro R8 mouse. Pre-orders are live now ahead of an October 30th release, priced at $119.99 for the keyboard and $59.99 for the mouse. Both support Bluetooth LE 5.3, 2.4G wireless, and wired USB connectivity.
SEGA's Football Manager 27 launches November 10th on PC, with the Console version arriving the same day on Xbox, and both will be available via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on day one. It is the third Game Pass title confirmed for November, alongside the 1-4 player co-op action builder Gravhounds and the minimalist strategy game Thronefall. Developer Sports Interactive is focusing on a cleaner interface, smoother flow and enhancements to the 3D match engine after criticism of Football Manager 26's UI.
Game Informer's review says Minecraft Dungeons II improves on its 2020 predecessor with a new jump mechanic, clearer menus, and more enemy and weapon variety. But its item-driven progression feels linear and aimless, and the reviewer finished the game in under 10 hours and felt done after about 15, with an endgame limited to side quests and destroying Storm Generators for randomized loot. The game introduces a new dimension called the Sift, which is coming to Minecraft proper in 2027.
A player reflects on his RedOctane X-Plorer controller for Guitar Hero, which came bundled with Guitar Hero 2 and is about to turn 20 years old, noting that it still works and remains his favorite guitar controller. He owns several other guitar controllers, but says the X-Plorer's fret buttons feel the best and it works plug-and-play on PC, unlike the 2015 Guitar Hero Live guitars that require remapping software. The only issue he has had in twenty years is a broken whammy bar, which he fixed with an elastic band.
Double Fine announced that Thank You Bus Driver, its first game since being dropped by Xbox, will launch on October 14 for Steam, GOG, and Itch.io, and is now available to wishlist. The driving sim is described by the studio as Crazy Taxi meets Papers, Please, and is published under Double Fine Action Labs, a label for experimental games. CEO Tim Schafer said such titles are complete but rough, scrappy, and small, meant to be cheap and played in shorter sessions, and not something like Psychonauts 3.
Minecraft Dungeons 2 launched on September 29, and after playing it with his almost-12-year-old, the author says it keeps the original's kid-friendly co-op ARPG design while splitting armor into helmet, chest, leggings and boots and adding the explorable Brave Haven map plus rifts to the new dimension The Sift. In the pre-release Xbox build he hit bugs including unselectable inventory slots and characters vanishing when switching between online and offline play. The Sift is due to be added to Minecraft at some point in 2027.
Frank O'Connor, Halo's Franchise Creative Director for nearly 20 years at 343 Industries/Halo Studios, has outlined three possible paths for Halo under Activision. They include a classic Halo movement, sandbox and shooter experience for the core audience, a modern reinvention of the game and universe, or translating the Halo IP and sandbox into Activision's proven player, progression and business models. He also advised against tying the series to hardware or services launch cycles and suggested hiring talent from Bungie, Halo Studios and other laid-off developers.