7 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Xbox

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.

Doom: The Dark Ages is for lovers and slayers

Rip and care.

Ash Parrish
Ash Parrish
Ash Parrish
Virtua Fighter 5 comes to the Switch 2.

During the Virtua Fighter spring 2025 direct, Sega has announced that Virtua Fighter 5: R.E.V.O., released on Steam earlier this year, will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and the Nintendo Switch 2.

R.E.V.O. is actually a port of 2021’s Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown with the extra bells and whistles of 4k resolution and other goodies including the fighting gamer’s favorite feature: rollback netcode. The console edition of Virtua Fighter 5: R.E.V.O. doesn’t yet have a release date yet but hopefully we’ll get one soon.

Tom Warren
Tom Warren
Oblivion Remastered and Expedition 33 arrive on GeForce Now.

This week’s two big new RPG releases are now both available on Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud streaming service. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered has been added to GeForce Now today, alongside Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Both are on PC Game Pass, so you can even access them on GeForce Now through Microsoft’s subscription service.

Ash Parrish
Ash Parrish
Hell is empty, and all the devils are coming soon.

With just a few weeks left before its May 15th launch date, Bethesda has released a second trailer for Doom: The Dark Ages. The last two Doom games have slowly been building up the mythology of the Doom Slayer, the nigh godlike entity whose favorite hobby is ripping and tearing until it is done. With this The Dark Ages trailer, it seems like Bethesda is poised to give us the most story laden Doom game yet.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer: “I want to support Switch 2.”

From a big Variety interview published yesterday: “I’m really a big believer in what Nintendo means for this industry and us continuing to support them,” Spencer said. “And getting the support from them for our franchises, I think, is an important part of our future.”

Tom Warren
Tom Warren
Xbox has some new Doom Slayer accessories.

Doom: The Dark Ages is launching in May and Microsoft is celebrating the new release with not one, but two special edition Xbox controllers. You can pick up a regular Xbox controller with the Doom Slayer’s armor for $79.99, or go for a transparent red top Xbox Elite 2 controller for $199.99. There’s even a $54.99 Xbox Series X wrap, too.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II comes to Game Pass in May.

While GTA V (and GTA V Enhanced on PC) is available, again, on Game Pass as of today, Xbox announced that 2022’s Call of Duty game will join the library in a couple of weeks. A reboot of 2009’s Modern Warfare 2, and predecessor to 2023’s Modern Warfare III reboot, it will include the “...globe-trotting single-player campaign, immersive multiplayer combat, and an evolved Special Ops game mode.”

If that’s not modern enough, it notes Game Pass subscribers also have access to a bundle of in-game items for the current Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Call of Duty: Warzone.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has forced crossplay
Image: Activision
Blue Prince will steal your time just like Balatro

The game is an architectural puzzle mystery that is all-consuming.

Ash Parrish
South of Midnight is a game worth hollerin’ about

South of Midnight pays homage to Black and Southern culture in a way no other game has before.

Ash Parrish
Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Indy comes to PS5 next week.

Here’s a launch trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, which releases on April 17th, and a blog post detailing some PlayStation-specific features for the game.

On PS5 Pro, you can expect “optimized console performance” that “ensures you achieve higher and more consistent frame rates.”

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
The rat with the gamer tattoo.

Continuing the tradition of established directors making weird-as-hell video game commercials, here’s David Fincher partnering with French director Romain Chassaing for an Xbox ad. It honestly wouldn’t look out of place as a new Secret Level episode.

Ash Parrish
Ash Parrish
And the clock strikes South of Midnight.

The review embargo is up for Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight. I desperately wanted to have this up in time but I was off tearing up my wrist and shoulder trying out the the Nintendo Switch 2’s new Joy-Con mouse functions among other Nintendo-related shenanigans. The review is on the way though and I’m really excited to share my thoughts. For now though, whet your appetite with my interview with the game’s developers including voice and motion capture director Ahmed Best.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
GTA V is coming back to Game Pass, again.

Microsoft announced that Grand Theft Auto V is returning to the Game Pass library (with the Enhanced edition on PC) on April 15th, continuing a trend that seems to keep the long-in-the-tooth title popping up every couple of years.

After exiting the bundle in 2020, Rockstar and Microsoft brought the game back in 2021, 2023, and now 2025, but with GTA VI’s scheduled release date looming just a few months away.

Tom Warren
Tom Warren
Here are Microsoft’s 50th anniversary Xbox themes and wallpapers.

Microsoft turns 50 on Friday April 4th, and its celebrating early with a new Xbox Dynamic Background, some nostalgic wallpapers, and a 50th anniversary theme for Solitaire. You can grab the wallpapers from here, apply the Dynamic Background on Xbox Series S / X console, grab an Xbox profile badge from the Xbox Insider Hub, and apply the 50th anniversary theme directly in Solitaire. Microsoft is also holding a special event on Friday to announce some new additions to Copilot.

The new Xbox Dynamic Background.
The new Xbox Dynamic Background.
Image: Microsoft
Here are some must-have accessories for your Xbox Series X / SHere are some must-have accessories for your Xbox Series X / S
Cameron Faulkner and Antonio G. Di Benedetto
Umar Shakir
Umar Shakir
A full-screen gaming mode might come to Windows soon.

A Windows Insider build deep diver found a reference for a “full screen experience” startup mode in Windows 11. As noted by Windows Central, the reference implies that multiple gaming interfaces will likely be selectable. Could it all point toward the next-gen Windows handheld gaming experience change Microsoft has been talking about?

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
There’s some news coming about a new handheld...

From Asus and, seemingly, Xbox. My colleague Tom Warren reported earlier this month about how the two companies were working together.

Andrew Liszewski
Andrew Liszewski
8BitDo embraces the translucent green controller trend.

Following Hyperkin announcing a translucent green controller at CES 2025 based on the Halo-themed Xbox Microsoft introduced in 2004, and Backbone releasing a green Xbox-branded Backbone One last week, 8BitDo almost feels late to the party with its new $69.99 Ultimate 3-mode Controller for Xbox.

The controller features Hall effect sticks and triggers plus Bluetooth connectivity, but can only connect to the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles using a USB-C cable.

<em>The controller’s glowing Xbox logo shines through its translucent jade-colored housing.</em>
<em>It features Hall effect sticks and triggers, can be reconfigured using the 8BitDo Ultimate Software X, and includes a charging dock.</em>
<em>The controller can connect to Windows PCs using a 2.4GHz dongle or iOS and Android devices over Bluetooth. But only connects to Xbox consoles using a USB-C cable.</em>
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The controller’s glowing Xbox logo shines through its translucent jade-colored housing.
Image: 8BitDo
Ghosts in the Kinect

Microsoft’s motion-sensing camera lives on as a tool for paranormal investigations.

Geoffrey Bunting
Umar Shakir
Umar Shakir
A Backbone controller fit for the Master Chief.

There’s now an Xbox-branded Backbone One inspired by the Halo-themed original Xbox Controller S (like the one that Hyperkin recently modernized). It is no different than the standard Backbone — or even the PlayStation 5 version — but it’s got Xbox-specific buttons that are great for those who primarily play GamePass. This translucent green color is also undoubtedly nicer than Death Stranding’s amniotic-y yellow one.

You can get one today for $109.99 at Backbone’s website or via Best Buy Drops online.

<em>Matcha green-colored Xbox Backbone One.</em>
<em>It uses a USB-C connector.</em>
<em>Fits an iPhone.</em>
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Matcha green-colored Xbox Backbone One.
Image: Backbone