Microsoft’s Xbox has been around since 2001, and over that time the gaming brand has given us huge hits like Halo, Gears of War, Forza, and more. Today, the Xbox brand covers consoles like the Xbox One, PC gaming, and has even expanded to other platforms. You can play Minecraft on everything from a computer to an iPhone to a Nintendo Switch. Along the way, Microsoft has pioneered modern services like Xbox Live and Game Pass, introducing new ways to play games. And with Project Scarlett on the horizon, the Xbox looks to have a bright future.
Just a few years after Overwatch 2’s free-to-play 5v5 replaced the original, Blizzard announced it’s dropping the “2.” There’s been a steady flow of other changes lately (like the return of 6v6), but the plan for this next year includes 10 new heroes (Domina, Emre, Mizuki, Anran, and Jetpack Cat arrive when S1 launches February 10th), new maps, menu updates, a Conquest meta event, Reign of Talon narrative arc, and more.
Forza Horizon 6 and Fable look promising, but they continue the trend I just wrote about of big publishers leaning more on familiar franchises. (Xbox’s 2026 also includes a new Gears and the Halo remake.) Happy Double Fine is doing its thing, though, and Game Freak’s Beast of Reincarnation seems right up my alley.
Double Fine just announced a new multiplayer party game called Kiln where you can make and play as pots. It all looks quite silly. Kiln will be available this spring on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, and there will be a closed beta.
You can catch the show on YouTube starting at 1PM ET. The event will feature the Playground Games’ Fable and Forza Horizon 6 and Beast of Reincarnation from Game Freak. We’ll be watching the livestream and covering what’s announced.
Microsoft also said that “more than 85% of the Game Pass catalog is compatible with these PCs,” now, after a rocky journey for ARM gaming support on PC.
Other new Xbox app updates, like the new Game Save Sync Indicator and Handheld Compatibility Program labeling, also seem to be well-timed ahead of a possible Qualcomm PC gaming handheld launch in March.
We knew that Obsidian’s fantasy RPG was getting a major update soon, and during the New Game Plus livestream the studio also confirmed a nice surprise: the game is coming to the PS5 on February 17th. You can check out the full reveal below.
Microsoft is adding Star Wars Outlaws to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass on January 13th, followed by Resident Evil Village for Ultimate, Premium, and PC Game Pass subscribers a week later on January 20th. Other titles coming to Game Pass this month include Brews & Bastards, Little Nightmares Enhanced Edition, Final Fantasy, My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery, and Mio: Memories in Orbit.
Microsoft’s first Xbox announcement of 2026 is the launch of Xbox Cloud Gaming on select Hisense and V homeOS-powered smart TVs. The Xbox app first launched on Samsung TVs, followed Amazon Fire TV devices, then select LG TVs, and now Hisense TVs. We don’t have an exact date for when the Xbox app will be available on Hisense and V homeOS-powered TVs, but Microsoft says it’s coming at some point in 2026.
“The newest models of the Fire TV 4-Series and Fire TV Omni QLED Series now feature the Xbox app built right in, with additional models coming in the future,” according to Amazon.
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Last night was the first Xbox Bowl, with Arkansas State taking the trophy, presented by Halo’s Master Chief, over Missouri State. Every player received a free ROG Xbox Ally handheld ahead of the game, but the winning team also received a playable trophy to, presumably, lock away in their case.
According to a new blog post:
...we do not plan to introduce new cars, tracks, features, or regular bug fixes for Forza Motorsport. However, we will continue supporting the game by keeping online servers active, hosting special events and competitions, and reintroducing previously released Featured Tours and reward cars on a monthly basis, until all content is available for you to enjoy anytime.
Developer Turn 10 was hit hard by this summer’s Xbox layoffs.
Ahead of The Game Awards, Compulsion Games has announced that South of Midnight is going multi-platform. The southern gothic action-adventure game, first released on Xbox earlier this year, is coming to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch 2 in spring 2026. Come for the incredibly cool southern folklore inspired narrative, but stay for your adorable companion Crouton and the yarn-spinnin’ Catfish.
Following a Fallout-themed Xbox controller released last year featuring Vault Boy, Microsoft has announced a new version inspired by Pip-Boy. The standard controller is available now for $82.97, but both it and the Elite controller can be further customized through the Xbox Design Lab. Season two of Amazon’s Fallout series debuts on December 17th.
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It’s “Wrapped” season, so it’s fitting that Microsoft shared the top third-party game for Game Pass. It was none other than Sandfall Interactive’s well-paced and overall fantastic Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which had more unique users after 30 days post-launch than others. Y’all have good taste. This is my GOTY.
As the increasingly pricey future of Xbox depends less on an actual box, Microsoft announced the recent launch of Xbox Cloud Gaming in India (just as Nvidia delayed its GeForce Now launch), and some new stats:
Players are streaming their games more than ever — cloud gaming hours from Game Pass subscribers has increased 45% compared to this time last year. And, console players are embracing flexibility, spending 45% more time cloud streaming on console and 24% more on other devices.
Over one year after its release on PS5 and PC, the Silent Hill 2 remake has finally made its way to Xbox Series X | S consoles. To celebrate its release, Konami is making Silent Hill 2 available on Xbox and PS5 for $34.99 instead of $69.99 for a limited time, with a similar discount coming to PC next week.
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[Konami Digital Entertainment]
