AlexanderTheGreat

It's been announced today that your Xbox console's home screen is getting three new personalisation options in the near future, and two of them are actually rolling out to Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead Xbox Insiders this week.

Team Xbox says it's responding to direct feedback with this update:

"We’ve heard from many of you that Home should feel more like your space. Whether it’s surfacing your favorite games, hiding what you don’t use, or simply making Home feel less crowded, this update is a direct response to that feedback."

So, beginning this week, some Xbox Insiders will be able to hide system apps (such as Netflix, Microsoft Edge, etc.) on an Xbox console's home screen, as well as pin up to three favourite games to the home screen permanently.

Then, in the near future, you'll be able to reduce the number of tiles in the recently played games and apps list, allowing you to see more of the background and ultimately "streamline" how the dashboard looks.

Here's exactly how Microsoft is describing these three personalisation options on the Xbox website:

• Hide System Apps – Want a cleaner view focused on your games and entertainment? You can now hide system apps from the recently played games and apps list on Home, reducing clutter and keeping your Home focused on what matters most to you.

• Pin Favorites to Home – You can now pin up to three of your recently played games or apps directly to the recently played games and apps list. These pins will stay near the front of the list as you launch other things, giving you quick access to your go-to titles.

• Reduce Tile Count (Coming Soon!) – Prefer a more minimal look? This setting allows you to reduce the number of visible tiles in the recently played games and apps list, helping you streamline your Home and surface only the essentials. We’re still refining this setting, and it will be coming soon.

There's no word yet on when these features will expand to all Xbox users, but we expect it'll happen at some point over the next few weeks. Before then, they'll likely roll out to all tiers of Xbox Insiders on a gradual basis.

It's almost that time of the year again! The Xbox Games Showcase 2025 is just around the corner, and it's set to be joined by a barrage of other showcases at the same time - many of which will feature Xbox-related reveals as well.

This is all part of Summer Game Fest season, previously known as E3 season, with pretty much every showcase taking place within just a few days (or even hours) of each other. It all kicks off with Summer Game Fest Live on June 6th, while other particularly notable events include the Future Games Show, the PC Gaming Show (hopefully featuring some PC Game Pass reveals) and the yet-to-be-announced Ubisoft Forward show.

Obviously the main event for us is the Xbox Showcase though, followed by the Outer Worlds 2 Direct! Related Articles

We're going to provide a more comprehensive look at all of next month's Xbox-related showcases nearer the time and when they've all been announced, but for now, here's what's been confirmed for Summer Game Fest 2025 so far:

Access-Ability Summer Showcase (Friday, June 6) - 8am PDT / 11am EDT / 4pm BST

Summer Game Fest Live (Friday, June 6) - 2pm PDT / 5pm EDT / 10pm BST

Day of the Devs (Friday, June 6) - 4pm PDT / 7pm EDT / 12am BST

Wholesome Direct (Saturday, June 7) - 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST

Future Games Show (Saturday, June 7) - 1pm PDT / 4pm EDT / 9pm BST

Xbox Games Showcase (Sunday, June 8) - 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 6pm BST

PC Gaming Show (Sunday, June 8) - 12pm PDT / 3pm EDT / 8pm BST

Naturally, we'll be covering as many of these showcases as we can here at Pure Xbox in June, providing you with recaps for all the Xbox (and PC Game Pass) reveals as they're announced over a very busy few days.

Before we get there, it's also worth noting that the Warhammer Skulls showcase is taking place next week on May 22nd, and we're expecting a few Xbox reveals at that event as per-usual too.

So, are you ready for a crazy June? Excited for the Xbox Showcase? Come tell us in the comments below!

Avowed's already a bit of a winner, but Obsidian Entertainment has pledged to make its acclaimed RPG even better over the remainder of 2025. As per the studio's latest development roadmap, a new game plus, photo mode, and more are all on the horizon, and that's alongside the additions now available in its newly-released 1.4 update.

Avowed's 1.4 patch is available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S, introducing a range of tweaks and improvements. Top of the list is a new Arachnophobia safe mode, for players wanting to experience the game without the creeping threat of spindly legs and eight piercing eyes. This option can be switched on via the accessibility menu and replaces spider enemies with round, floating - and delightfully rainbow-hued - orbs.

That's alongside a range of quality of life improvements including mouse and keyboard support for Xbox, additional gold and crafting materials, and unique gear improvements. Obsidian has also highlighted a number of changes introduced based on community feedback: critters can now be defeated, with a chance they'll drop loot; time can be advanced by waiting at the Party Camp; new optional settings enable players to view chests on the minimap or cancel Bow and Arquebus power attacks; Soul Pads now dispel illusions, and there are fog of war improvements too. Full patch notes are available on Obsidian's forum.

So that's that for update 1.4, but Obisidian has also now confirmed more's on the way as 2025 continues. The studio has so far outlined two additional updates for the year, one coming this summer and another this "fall". Avowed's summer update will, for instance, include cooking and crafting improvements, new NPC abilities and behaviours, new active and passive abilities, new unique weapons and armour, plus custom map markers.

Then, as the nights start drawing in and the scent of autumn fills the air, Avowed players can look forward to some pretty significant new additions. A new game plus mode is top of the list, followed by a photo mode, and a new weapon type. Obsidian is also teasing new character presets, more Godlike feature presets, and the ability to change appearance in-world.

"We also want to acknowledge our players in Korea, Japan, and French-speaking regions," the studio adds in its latest blog post. "We know how important it is to experience a game in your preferred language, and we are actively working on localised versions for Korean and Japanese, along with ongoing improvements for French. We're committed to delivering these updates as soon as they are ready, and we deeply appreciate your patience and support as we make sure they meet the quality you deserve."

Mike Kayatta, game director of Remedy’s upcoming FBC: Firebreak, supports the notion of making games "that respect player time and don't try to overcharge."

This suggestion comes in the wake of a flurry of recent games successfully being released at a lower price point than we’ve come to expect. These include two of the most critically acclaimed titles of the year so far, Split Fiction and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which have sold over 4 million and 2 million copies respectively so far this year.

It’s a pattern that both Mafia: The Old Country – recently revealed to cost $50 when it launches on August 8 – and FBC: Firebreak will be hoping to continue.

Launching on June 17, 2025 and costing $39.99/£32.99 (as well as on both Game Pass and PS Plus), Firebreak is looking towards this newly emerging mid-tier space between wildly budgeted AAA games and indies to find its success. It’s a notion that Kayatta explained to IGN:

“I read somebody describe this recently in a very eloquent way as game developers building cathedrals competing to build these more and more complex, beautiful, expensive things," Kayatta said.

“And it's gotten to the point where you've got a lot of games that cost half a billion dollars to make. And then, of course, when you get into marketing and promotion, I mean, the amount of money involved is staggering. And that can produce some incredible, incredible experiences that I am very thankful exist, but only some of those can exist, and everyone can't compete in that space."

Kayatta continued: “And then on the other side, you've got all of these incredible indie developers. Everything from Inscryption to Stardew Valley to Blue Prince feel like they come out of nowhere and light the world on fire. But then I do think we're seeing that emergence of that middle ground now of, it's messy to call it AA, right? But it is something kind of new. It’s not quite God of War Ragnarok or GTA 6, but it's also something more than a Slay the Spire. And that's not a comment on either end of those spectrums. Those are fantastic games, but it does feel like there is something kind of emerging in the middle, at least to me.

"If it's the future, I'm not sure. I wouldn't say in the sense that it implies that that's where all games need to go, but this idea of a responsible team size, a responsible budget, a responsible amount of time to develop a game, just get it out there, make something that respects player time and don't try to overcharge and don't try to be greedy with time. I do think there's a space for it, and we're trying to touch on it with this game.”

That respect for players’ time and money goes hand-in-hand with Remedy’s all-in-one approach to Firebreak. This is a game you pay once for and get everything for that $40. The idea of a free-to-play model was something never even entertained by the team.

“A lot of that has to do with reducing FOMO (the fear of missing out), which I think has kind of infected a lot of modern games," stated Kayatta.

“And by the way, that's not a blanket statement. I think a lot of games are able to use FOMO to be exciting. So I'm just saying that for this game in particular, it didn't work for us, but it's not just about monetization, I think it's about the value that the game has. So one example would be, I don't know if you've ever played Path of Exile, for example, and you open up that skill tree and you see 10,000 things that you're going to be able to do.

“And for a type of person, they're really excited, like look at that depth and look how many hours I've got, all these other things. And then for another type of person, they're looking at that saying, 'I will never extract the value from this game even if I want to.' And even if those devs, and this is no longer a comment about Path of Exile, which I love by the way, even if you say, 'Well, but you don't have to interact with those systems, you can still have fun.' That may be true, but the minute you see those systems exist, you're instantly put into that frame of reference where you say, 'There is something that I'm not getting from this, and that just feels bad.'

"So for us, we wanted to make sure that the game, both from the way we monetize it, we don't do daily check-ins, timed battle passes, all that other stuff that dictates your time. There's that side.

“But the other side, too, is that we don't want to present a game that feels so complex, like, oh, if you don't come back and do six more sessions, you're not going to be able to do this, and progression's important. You feel like you're accomplishing something over time. So we definitely have that, and we definitely wanted to have a strong meta game, but we also just wanted to keep things feeling like, you know what? I get as much out of this as I want at any given time, and at any given moment, I have the complete experience.”

Firebreak will be hoping to capture both fans of Remedy’s uniquely weird work and fans of co-op shooters alike when it launches on June 17. For an in-depth look at how it’s shaping up, check out our hands-on preview.

The Sinking City Remastered - the Unreal Engine 5 spruce-up of developer Frogwares' 2019 Lovecraft-inspired detective adventure - has slithered out of its tenebrous seclusion sooner than expected, and is available now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

For the uninitiated, The Sinking City tells the story of troubled private investigator Charles Reed as he travels to the supernaturally flooded city of Oakmont, Massachusetts, in search of a way to quell his hellish visions. There's a bit of gunplay as the cosmic horror begins to take hold, but mostly it's a game of exploration and investigation, playing out across a series of open-ended cases and the titular open world.

All that's true of The Sinking City Remastered, of course, but Frogwares is also promising an "upgraded visual experience alongside some requested quality-of-life features". There's talk of enhanced and fully relit locations with additional levels of detail and objects, for instance, alongside 4K textures, improved reflections, "various" gameplay adjustments, and new accessibility features. There's also a photo mode and, on PC at least, support for the likes of DLSS, FSR and TSR upscaling.

To mark The Sinking City Remastered's arrival, Frogwares has released a new trailer showcasing some of the differences between the 2019 original and its new Unreal Engine 5 update. And if that's got you in the mood for some eldritch adventuring, The Sinking City Remastered gets its digital release today on Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S - and it'll be available as a free upgrade for all existing owners.

Frogwares' remaster comes ahead of The Sinking City 2, which was successfully crowdfunded on Kickstarter earlier this year. The sequel is again set in 1920s America, but this time sees players exploring the flooded streets and crumbling buildings of Arkham in an survival horror-style adventure said to shift away from the deduction focus of its predecessor in favour of combat and exploration.

All this activity follows Frogwares' lengthy dispute with publisher Nacon over the rights to the original The Sinking City. Since a resolution was last year, the studio has taken over as The Sinking City's publisher, updated the Steam build, and released new DLC. The Ukrainian studio also found time to crowdfund and release 2023's Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, as it continued to adjust to life during Russia's ongoing invasion.

"We plan to do big things with The Sinking City IP, starting with the sequel and then beyond," Frogwares publishing director Sergiy Oganesyan wrote in a statement accompanying today's remaster news. "So, after our rather well-known struggles with the original, it feels amazing to have this positive moment be part of the game's twisted history and for us to be the ones to fully decide it. Making it free to all our existing fans is our way of giving back to them for having supported us all this time through thick and thin."

Mafia: The Old Country is not following Mafia III's open-world format but will instead take the shape of a "linear, narrative-driven" experience, according to 2K Games.

The publisher confirmed this in an FAQ that was published today alongside news of the game's release date and a new gameplay trailer. Additionally, Mafia: The Old Country is bucking a AAA trend and will sell for $50 (a more expensive, digital-only Deluxe edition is also going to be available).

"We think there's a large audience for compelling stories that don't require massive time commitments," 2K President David Ismailer said in a press release. "We're excited to offer a game like Mafia: The Old Country in our portfolio, and to provide a linear highly-polished narrative experience that can easily complement the other more persistent games our players also love and engage with on a more consistent basis."

This is a notable development considering many games and publishers have leaned into bigger open-world designs that require significant time investments to play and enjoy. These might be referred to as "lifestyle" games. Players have so far generally responded positively to the news that Mafia: The Old Country is taking a different approach, but of course, it's still early days.

The $60 Deluxe edition includes a range of bonus items, including special guns, outfits, and accessories, along with the game's score and a digital artbook. Everyone who preorders The Old Country gets the Soldato Pack, which includes various cosmetics.

The Old Country takes place in 1900s Sicily, with players taking on the role of mobster Enzo Favara. 2K says the game will play out like a "classic mob movie," featuring a "cast of unpredictable allies and cutthroat enemies." In terms of combat, players will shoot and stab people with knives and shotguns, while players can traverse the Sicilian countryside on horseback or in cars.

The Old Country launches on August 8 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It'll be followed by another big 2K game, Borderlands 4, in September.

Another one of Microsoft's key franchises will arrive on PlayStation this year, via a revamped edition of the original Gears of War game.

Gears of War: Reloaded's announcement comes almost 20 years since the series first made its Xbox debut.

This modernised version of the original Gears of War will launch for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 26th August. It will cost $40, and also be available via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

Gears of War: Reloaded has been developed by The Coalition in partnership with Sumo Interactive and Disbelief. It will feature faster frame rates and "deeper visual fidelity", with the studios promising "clarity, smoothness, and immersion that matches the power of today's hardware", Microsoft has said.

As laid out in an Xbox post, Gears of War: Reloaded players can expect the following enhancements on the game's release this summer:

4K resolution

60 FPS in Campaign

120 FPS in Multiplayer

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

Dolby Vision & 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 3D Spatial Audio

Variable Refresh Rate (VRR)

4K assets and remastered textures

Enhanced post-processing visual effects

Improved shadows and reflections

Super resolution with improved anti-aliasing

Zero loading screens during Campaign

Reloaded will also boast some platform specific features, and support cross-play and cross-progression. Gears of War: Reloaded image comparison from earlier releases Image credit: The Coalition

Those who already own the digital version of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will receive a free upgrade to Gears of War: Reloaded, but only if they purchased the game prior to this announcement. So, if you decide to plump for Gears of War: Ultimate Edition on Xbox now, you will not be eligible for that free upgrade when Reloaded releases.

"As we approach the 20th anniversary of Gears of War in 2026, we're reflecting on what this franchise means. It's about the stories we've told, the friendships we've built, and the unforgettable moments we've shared together," The Coalition studio head Mike Crump said yesterday.

"With Gears of War: Reloaded, we're opening that door to more players than ever."

The next new entry in the series will be Gears of War: E-Day, a prequel title set 14 years before the events of the original game. Gears of War: E-Day is being co-developed with People Can Fly.

Late last year, it was revealed John DiMiaggio and Carlos Ferro will be reprising their roles as Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago in Gears of War: E-Day.

Xbox Game Pass continues its consistent 2025 with a mix of high-profile new games and beloved older ones.

Doom: The Dark Ages is the obvious headliner — the third entry in a series of Doom reboots that revitalized the shooter series back in 2016. But don’t sleep on Revenge of the Savage Planet later this week. It’s a colorful and personable sci-fi shooter, and is also one of the rare couch co-op games slated for 2025.

Meanwhile, Dredge — a horror…fishing? game — is a Polygon favorite, ranking in the top half of our list of the best games of 2023, while Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a solid Left 4 Dead clone.

Here’s everything coming to Xbox Game Pass in the first half of May 2025:

Dredge (cloud, PC, Xbox Series X) — May 6

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 (cloud, console, PC) — May 7

Revenge of the Savage Planet (cloud, console, Xbox Series X) — May 8

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed (cloud, console) — May 8

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 (cloud, console) — May 13

Doom: The Dark Ages (cloud, PC, Xbox Series X) — May 15

Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo (cloud, console, PC) — May 16

Firefighting Simulator: The Squad (cloud, console, PC) — May 20

Police Simulator: Patrol Officers (cloud, console, PC) — May 20

On May 7, the following games will be added to the Xbox Game Pass Standard core offerings:

Dungeons of Hinterberg

Metal Slug Tactics

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn

And on May 15, five games will leave >Xbox Game Pass entirely:

Brothers A Tale of Two Sons (cloud, console, and PC)

Chants of Sennaar (cloud, console, and PC)

Dune: Spice Wars (cloud, console, and PC)

Hauntii (cloud, console, and PC)

The Big Con (cloud, console, and PC)

Former Dragon Age series executive producer Mark Darrah says he doesn’t feel EA and BioWare efficiently supported his team during the early development of Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

The ex-BioWare developer shed light on his time working on the legendary fantasy RPG franchise during a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel. His story recounts events that transpired throughout 2017 or, according to Darrah, “the most impactful 12 months in BioWare’s history.” He touches on not only decisions that affected the early development of last year’s Dragon Age game but how a change in attitude was tied to the final days of development on Mass Effect: Andromeda.

It starts in late 2016, when Darrah was moved over to the team that would handle the last stages of development on Andromeda. He says his “feeling at the time” was that the Dragon Age team felt “jerked around” and had “no support from BioWare or EA.” The hope was that Darrah could aid in getting Mass Effect out the door so the next Dragon Age could utilize more resources, though this ultimately didn’t quite pan out.

“This was the first time where we had this leadership discontinuity, where the person in charge of a project left that project to help someone else, some other project, while the project continued to run,” Darrah explained. “In the cast of Mass Effect: Andromeda, I don’t think the impact to Dragon Age was huge. It wasn’t very long, but it did set this precedent as this being a thing that we could do, and it’s not a good thing to do. It is incredibly dangerous to have a project run while it’s missing some of its core leadership.”

Mass Effect: Andromeda launched in March 2017 and, in Darrah’s own words, “it doesn’t go well.” Throughout this time, BioWare was still adjusting to a structural change that saw the team reporting to new leadership at EA that was “hyper interested” in its projects and plans. He calls the change dramatic, noting that the studio’s new bosses weren’t interested in continuing work on Mass Effect due to its recently troubled launch. However, Darrah didn’t feel like Dragon Age was getting the support it needed even after Andromeda was shipped.

The former BioWare lead says he approached current EA CEO Andrew Wilson and former EA executive Patrick Söderlund with his concerns and was reassured of Dragon Age’s importance to the company. While EA offered few resources in an attempt to maintain the studio’s work in the summer of 2017, Darrah along with the rest of the BioWare staff were told that studio veteran Casey Hudson would be returning. It was a major shakeup that staff was made aware of without notice.

“You have to remember: I am the second most senior person at BioWare,” Darrah said. “Casey was interviewed, and hired, and prepared to be brought back entirely without me being consulted in any way. Would me have being involved in the process have changed the decision? No, I don’t think it would have, but there is an immense amount of disrespect involved in making a hire of this impact, in making a decision of this import, without involving the second-most senior person at your studio in any way.”

Darrah then predicted that BioWare would shift its focus to Anthem. When his concerns were shared with EA, he was told that leadership was committed to giving Dragon Age the attention it deserved.

“As we all know, that’s not what happened at all,” he added.

EA’s interest in Anthem ballooned until its similarly troubled launch in 2019, all while Darrah felt his trust in the company was being “constantly hammered” and “constantly challenged.” Resources were continuously pulled away from what would eventually be known as Dragon Age: The Veilguard all the way through 2019, leading to what Darrah says were “fundamental” changes to the nature of the project.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard would go on to release in late 2024 as BioWare’s latest AAA fantasy RPG. Despite positive reviews from critics (we gave it a 9/10 in our review), EA painted its launch as a letdown, saying in February that it failed to “resonate with a broad enough audience.” These were comments former BioWare developers later pushed back on, with some suggesting the company should follow the lead set up by Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios.

Many Dragon Age developers were laid off in January of this year as the studio shifted its focus back to Mass Effect 5.

I want publishers to go back to the old ways. They help publish games by backing ones they think are good. Now they own all the IP's and don't let the development team make any decisions.

A year after laying off five percent of its workforce - impacting 670 employees - EA has reportedly cut more than 300 additional jobs, as part of what it called "select changes" at the company. The move has also seen the publisher cancel a number of in-development projects, said to include a new Titanfall game.

EA's latest round of layoffs was initially reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, who - citing a source "familiar with the cuts" - claimed "between 300 and 400 positions" had been eliminated. Around 100 of those cuts were said to have been made at Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi studio Respawn Entertainment.

An EA spokesperson confirmed layoffs had been made in a statement shared with Bloomberg, writing, "As part of our continued focus on our long-term strategic priorities, we've made select changes within our organisation that more effectively aligns teams and allocates resources in service of driving future growth."

A follow-up statement from Respawn acknowledged it had made some "targeted team adjustments", specifically impacting its Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi teams. "These decisions aren't easy and we are deeply grateful to every teammate affected," it added. The studio also confirmed it had "made the decision to step away from two early-stage incubation projects".

Bloomberg reports one of these projects, codenamed R7, was an extraction shooter set in the Titanfall universe. It seems likely this is the same Titanfall project - lead by Titanfall 1 & 2 director Steve Fukuda - confirmed to be in early development at the start of 2024. Notably, this is the second Titanfall project cancelled by EA in recent years; an Apex/Titanfall crossover, dubbed Titanfall Legends, was reportedly canned in 2023.

"Looking ahead," Respawn's statement continued, "our commitment to player-first experiences remains unchanged... For Apex Legends, that means not just delivering competitive, innovative seasons - but expanding what Apex can be." The studio also highlighted its continuing work on the next Star Wars Jedi game, saying it was "aiming to raise the bar again for storytelling and gameplay."

Today's layoffs mean EA has now laid off more than 1800 employees since March 2023. Despite that figure, the company's top executives earned $60m in the fiscal year 2024, $25.6m of that going to CEO Andrew Wilson.

Alongside its next-gen console plans, Microsoft reportedly has three new Xbox controllers in development, including the Elite Series 2's long-awaited successor.

Windows Central's Jez Corden has suggested that three new controllers are in development. However, it's worth noting that the claim during a recent episode of the Xbox Two podcast, as Corden says it's "not necessarily something I'm willing to put into a report yet because I don't have a huge amount of information on this stuff — so take it with a pinch of salt for now."

With that in mind, Corden suggests that alongside a new base controller that will likely be the next generation of the current Xbox Series X|S controller, there are apparently two other premium controllers in the works. One of the controllers is said to be an Elite Series 3, the long-awaited successor to 2019's Elite Series 2.

"We are getting some kind of Elite Series 3," Corden said. "I don't know if it'll be announced in June, though — I think maybe you see it next year, maybe it launches with the next-gen Xbox, we'll see."

As for the other controller, it's reportedly the codenamed Sebile controller that was leaked during Microsoft's Activision Blizzard acquisition. Corden suggests it'll be a mid-range option, with a more expensive version that uses a new feature called Direct-To-Cloud, letting you connect the controller directly to your router as a Wi-Fi connection to eliminate lag when playing games via Xbox Cloud Gaming. According to the original leak, the Sebile controller will also feature haptic feedback, an accelerometer, new modular thumbsticks, and other upgrades over the basic Xbox controller.

Earlier this year, Corden reported that the next generation of Xbox consoles has been greenlit at Microsoft, and could potentially arrive in 2027. Backwards compatibility is said to be a key feature, and the consoles will reportedly be "closer to Windows than ever before," making it easier for developers to port PC games to Xbox. The company is also working on an official Xbox handheld, although Phil Spencer says it is still "years away." With that said, a partnered device could launch later this year from ASUS, and the company seems to be teasing it already.