It was probably inevitable eventually, but Xbox Cloud Gaming is joining NVIDIA and other platforms in putting hourly limits on its streaming service.

Xbox Cloud Gaming is a platform tied to Xbox Game Pass right now, giving you unlimited access to stream games from Game Pass as well as hundreds upon hundreds of digital games you own. In fact, thanks to Xbox's disc-to-digital program, you can now even play disc-based Xbox games you own if they're included in Xbox Cloud Gaming.

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Many users use Xbox Cloud Gaming on Xbox One to play current-gen Xbox Series X|S games that aren't available natively on older systems. It's also great for running games on laptops, tablets, and other devices that aren't powerful enough to run said titles natively.

Up until now, Xbox Cloud Gaming was unlimited, but Microsoft just announced that it will begin introducing limits.

The new hourly cloud gaming limits via Xbox Game Pass

"We recognize that introducing limits is a meaningful change, particularly for players who regularly spend more time gaming through the cloud," Microsoft said on Xbox Wire. "We expect this upcoming change to impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers. Once subscribers use their included hours, they will be able to purchase additional cloud playtime through the XBOX Store."

I'm told that the "additional cloud playtime" bundles will not have a "use by" expiry window once purchased, although Microsoft hasn't listed exactly how much these passes will cost as of yet.

Indeed, you will not need an Xbox Game Pass subscription to use these cloud playtime hours, which will grant you access to your own library of compatible Xbox Play Anywhere cloud games even if you don't fancy owning the Game Pass subscription.

"We’re introducing this model because the cost of providing cloud gaming grows as more people use it and play for longer," Microsoft explained. "Moving to monthly limits allows us to keep offering the service while continuing to invest in its reliability and performance."

"We understand that for some players the practical result is a higher cost. In November, we’ll provide more information about pricing, purchasing additional hours, eligible games, market availability, and how players can check their remaining time. We’ll listen closely to player feedback before and after the change takes effect and share any adjustments we make."

The RAMpocalypse is coming for cloud gaming, too

Microsoft has been long-rumored to be exploring an ad-based tier for Xbox Cloud Gaming and Xbox Game Pass in general. It's also true that the video ads business is incredibly tough, making me wonder if Microsoft decided to opt for this approach instead of trying to compete with Google / YouTube for video ad slots.

Indeed, many recent reports suggest that Twitch, despite being absolutely rammed with ads, is nowhere near profitable. What prayer would an ad-based Xbox Cloud Gaming tier have, given the monstrous amount of bandwidth required for Xbox Cloud Gaming video encoding?

The RAMpocalypse is impacting consumer electronics prices, but also cloud server prices too. Microsoft has reportedly joined NVIDIA and Google in earmarking 70% of Samsung's total DRAM output through to 2031. Unfortunately, I don't think a significant chunk of that memory is going towards gaming.

One advantage Xbox Cloud Gaming probably does have (at least in terms of Microsoft corporate politics) is that it does help keep cloud inference up — which in turn helps Microsoft justify infrastructure capital expenditure to shareholders. Xbox Cloud Gaming servers, while idle (at night, for example), can be used for training AI models potentially, which helps anchor Xbox's future in a corporation dominated by AI hype.

I suspect that introducing these limits now revolves around a plan to begin marketing Xbox Cloud Gaming more aggressively. If Microsoft ever did manage to find some form of mainstream breakthrough with Xbox Cloud Gaming, creating huge server queues (which we've seen in the past) wouldn't exactly represent a positive first-time experience for new players.

If Microsoft's goal is to form habits around Xbox Cloud Gaming in regions where console availability and affordability are low, ensuring a stable experience is obviously within their interests.

It remains to be seen if Xbox Cloud Gaming will ever be anything more than a niche kind of thing. It's useful for testing out games without installing them, but in most scenarios where you might want to use it, i.e., on a plane, on hotel Wi-Fi, or on a long-distance commute ... you're probably not going to have good enough internet speeds.

The laws of physics and the speed of light preclude Xbox Cloud Gaming from seeing any significant improvements from here, probably, but the upcoming direct-to-Wi-Fi Xbox controllers should offer a meaningful latency boost — if they ever actually come out.

It's a hot topic right now. With Xbox Helix and the PS6 threatening to be the most expensive consoles ever, perhaps even cloud gaming will end up too expensive to be worth it.

I'm tired of this AI stuff, mannnnnnnn.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

Xbox's disc-to-digital program was revealed in full last week, and at first, it seemed too good to be true.

Codenamed Positron, Xbox's disc-to-digital program lets Xbox gamers unlock digital rights to physical games, including things like Xbox Cloud Gaming for streaming on the go, and Xbox Play Anywhere for entitlements on Windows PCs and gaming handhelds like the Xbox Ally.

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There's somewhat insanely no downsides whatsoever: simply insert the disc, claim the entitlement from the disc tile's menu, and boom. The game is now digitally attached to your account. If you sell the disc or pass it on, the digital license will transfer from your account to the new owner. You could claim it back too if they return it.

I'm told this was ultimately how the original Xbox DRM was supposed to work back in 2013, before bad messaging confused the situation and triggered a massive ill-informed backlash (which was ultimately Microsoft's own fault.)

Fast forward to 2026, and people are far more accepting of digital convenience, even as debates over digital rights continue to swirl. PlayStation announced that it will sunset physical discs entirely by 2028, and collectors are not happy. At least Xbox's 2013 DRM has served this system in 2026, Microsoft's manufacturing process for its game discs means that it's able to track rights from physical discs. It's unclear if PlayStation can match it at this time.

Either way, you might be wondering exactly how many games are available. XCT.Live (via IdleSloth) is compiling a database of every disc that is currently compatible with the program, and the list is already quit exhausted. Over 200 completely de-listed games work too, which is phenomenal news for game preservation purposes.

The full list of Xbox Disc-to-Digital games (so far)

1. 007 First Light
2. 7 Days to Die
3. 8 To Glory - The Official Game of the PBR
4. 8-Bit RTS Series
5. [PROTOTYPE]
6. A Plague Tale: Innocence (X1)
7. A Plague Tale: Requiem (Win)
8. A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead
9. Ad Infinitum
10. Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations
11. Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion
12. AEW: Fight Forever
13. Agatha Christie - Death on the Nile
14. Agatha Christie - Hercule Poirot: The First Cases
15. Agatha Christie - The ABC Murders (X1)
16. Agents of Mayhem
17. Agony
18. AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES Nirvana Initiative
19. Airoheart
20. Alan Wake 2
21. Alan Wake: Remastered
22. Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX
23. Aliens: Fireteam Elite
24. Alone in the Dark (2024)
25. Amerzone - The Explorer's Legacy
26. Among Us
27. Anthem
28. Apex Legends
29. Arcadegeddon
30. ARK: Survival Evolved
31. Armello
32. ARSLAN: THE WARRIORS OF LEGEND
33. Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore
34. Ashes Cricket
35. Assetto Corsa
36. Asterix & Obelix Slap Them All! 2
37. Asterix & Obelix XXL3: The Crystal Menhir
38. ASTRONEER
39. Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration
40. Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 1
41. Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 2
42. Atari Flashback Classics Vol. 3
43. Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land (SX)
44. Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand (Win)
45. Atomic Heart
46. Attack on Titan
47. Attack on Titan 2
48. Aven Colony
49. AVICII Invector
50. Back 4 Blood
51. Back to the Future: The Game - 30th Anniversary Ed. (X1)
52. Baja: Edge of Control HD
53. Balatro
54. Baldur's Gate 3
55. Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Ed.
56. Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden
57. Banner Saga 3
58. Barbie: Project Friendship
59. Batman: Arkham Knight
60. Batman: Return to Arkham - Arkham Asylum
61. Batman: Return to Arkham - Arkham City
62. Batman: The Telltale Series (X1)
63. Battle Chasers: Nightwar
64. Battleborn
65. Battlefield 1
66. Battlefield 2042 (SX)
67. Battlefield 2042 (X1)
68. Battlefield 6
69. Battlefield V
70. Battlefield: Hardline (X1)
71. Beast Quest
72. Ben 10
73. Beyond a Steel Sky
74. Biomutant
75. BioShock 2: Remastered
76. BioShock: Infinite - The Complete Ed.
77. BioShock: Remastered
78. Black Desert
79. Black Mirror
80. Blackguards 2
81. BLADESTORM: Nightmare
82. Blair Witch
83. Blasphemous 2
84. BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Extend
85. Bleeding Edge
86. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (X1)
87. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
88. Borderlands 2 (X1)
89. Borderlands 3
90. Borderlands 4
91. Borderlands: Game of the Year Ed.
92. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel (X1)
93. Bramble: The Mountain King
94. Bridge Constructor: Portal
95. Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons (X1)
96. Bulletstorm: Full Clip Ed.
97. Burnout Paradise: Remastered
98. Bus Simulator 21 Next Stop
99. Cabela’s African Adventures
100. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (X1)
101. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
102. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
103. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (X1)
104. Call of Duty: Black Ops III (X1)
105. Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare (X1)
106. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (X1)
107. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (X1)
108. Call of Duty: Vanguard (X1)
109. Call of Duty: WWII (X1)
110. Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium
111. Carmageddon: Max Damage
112. Carnival Games
113. Cars 3: Driven to Win (X1)
114. Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers
115. Castlevania Advance Collection
116. Castlevania Dominus Collection
117. CHAOS;CHILD
118. Charon's Staircase
119. Chicken Run: Eggstraction
120. Chronos: Before the Ashes
121. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
122. Clash: Artifacts of Chaos
123. Classified: France '44
124. Clock Tower: Rewind
125. Company of Heroes 3
126. Conan Exiles
127. Construction Simulator
128. Constructor
129. Contra: Operation Galuga
130. CONTRA: ROGUE CORPS
131. Control (X1)
132. Control Ultimate Edition (SX)
133. Crackdown 3: Campaign
134. Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy
135. Crayola Scoot
136. Cricket 24: The Official Game of the Ashes (X1)
137. Crimson Desert
138. Cris Tales
139. Crysis 2 Remastered
140. Crysis 3 Remastered
141. Crysis Remastered
142. Cuisineer
143. Cuphead
144. Cyberpunk 2077
145. CYGNI: All Guns Blazing
146. Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion
147. Danger Zone 2
148. Dangerous Driving
149. Darksiders Genesis (X1)
150. Darksiders II Deathinitive Ed.
151. Darksiders III (X1)
152. Darksiders Warmastered Ed.
153. DARQ Ultimate Ed.
154. Day of the Tentacle: Remastered
155. DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace
156. DC's Justice League: Cosmic Chaos
157. DCL-The Game
158. de Blob
159. de Blob 2
160. Dead Alliance: Multiplayer Ed.
161. Dead Island 2 (X1)
162. Dead Island: Definitive Ed.
163. DEAD OR ALIVE 5 Last Round: Core Fighters
164. DEAD OR ALIVE 6: Core Fighters
165. Dead Rising (X1)
166. Dead Rising 2 (X1)
167. Dead Rising 4 (X1)
168. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster
169. Dead Space
170. Deadlight: Director's Cut
171. Deadpool (X1)
172. DEATHLOOP
173. Deformers
174. Deliver Us The Moon
175. Demon Turf
176. Desperados III
177. Destroy All Humans!
178. Destroy All Humans! 2 - Reprobed
179. Devil May Cry 5
180. Devil May Cry 5 Special Ed.
181. Devil May Cry HD Collection
182. Diablo III: Reaper of Souls – Ultimate Evil Ed.
183. Diablo IV
184. DiRT 4
185. DIRT 5
186. DiRT Rally
187. Disciples: Liberation
188. Disco Elysium - The Final Cut
189. Dishonored 2 (X1)
190. Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (X1)
191. Dishonored: Definitive Ed. (X1)
192. Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King
193. Disney Dreamlight Valley
194. Disney Epic Mickey: Rebrushed
195. Disney Illusion Island
196. Disney Infinity 3.0 (X1)
197. Disneyland Adventures (X1)
198. Divinity: Original Sin - Enhanced Ed.
199. Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Ed.
200. DmC Devil May Cry: Definitive Ed.
201. Doctor Who: The Edge of Reality
202. Doctor Who: The Lonely Assassins
203. Dolmen
204. Don Bradman Cricket
205. DOOM
206. DOOM + DOOM II
207. DOOM 64
208. DOOM Eternal (X1)
209. DOOM: The Dark Ages
210. Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons
211. Dragon Age: Inquisition (X1)
212. Dragon Age: The Veilguard
213. Dragon's Dogma 2
214. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
215. DreamWorks Dragons Dawn of New Riders
216. DREDGE
217. Dungeons 3
218. Dying Light
219. Dying Light 2: Stay Human - Reloaded Ed.
220. DYNASTY WARRIORS 8 Empires
221. DYNASTY WARRIORS 9
222. DYNASTY WARRIORS 9 Empires
223. DYNASTY WARRIORS: ORIGINS
224. EA SPORTS College Football 25
225. EA SPORTS College Football 26
226. EA SPORTS FC 25 (X1)
227. EA SPORTS FIFA 17
228. EA SPORTS FIFA 20
229. EA SPORTS NHL 16
230. EA SPORTS Rory McIlroy PGA TOUR
231. Earthfall
232. Earthlock: Festival of Magic
233. eFootball PES 2020
234. eFootball PES 2021 SEASON UPDATE
235. Elex
236. ELEX II
237. Endling - Extinction is Forever
238. Enotria: The Last Song
239. EVERSPACE 2
240. Evil Dead: The Game
241. Evil Genius 2: World Domination
242. Evil West
243. Evolve
244. Exoprimal
245. Extinction
246. F1 2015
247. F1 2016
248. F1 2017
249. F1 2018 (X1)
250. F1 2019 (X1)
251. F1 2020
252. F1 2021
253. F1 22
254. F1 23
255. Fallen Legion Revenants
256. Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory
257. Farming Simulator 15 (X1)
258. FATAL FRAME II: Crimson Butterfly REMAKE
259. FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves
260. FIFA 15 (X1)
261. FIFA 16 (X1)
262. FIFA 21 (X1)
263. FIFA 22 (SX)
264. FIFA 22 (X1)
265. FIFA 23 (X1)
266. Firefighters: Airport Fire Department
267. Fishing Sim World: Pro Tour (X1)
268. Five Nights at Freddy's
269. Five Nights at Freddy's 2
270. Five Nights at Freddy's 3
271. Five Nights at Freddy's 4
272. Five Nights at Freddy's Into the Pit
273. Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach
274. Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location
275. Flashback 2
276. FlatOut 4: Total Insanity
277. Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
278. Fortnite
279. Forza Horizon 4
280. Friday the 13th: The Game
281. FRONT MISSION 1st: Remake
282. FRONT MISSION 2: Remake
283. Frostpunk (X1)
284. Funko Fusion
285. G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout
286. Game of Thrones - The Telltale Series (X1)
287. Gears 5
288. Gears of War 4
289. Gears of War: Ultimate Ed.
290. Gears Tactics
291. Generation Zero
292. Gex Trilogy
293. Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed Ecto Ed.
294. Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered
295. Ghostbusters
296. Ghostrunner
297. Ghostrunner 2
298. Goat Simulator (X1)
299. Goat Simulator 3
300. God of Rock
301. Gotham Knights
302. Gothic Classic
303. GRADIUS ORIGINS
304. Grand Theft Auto III – The Definitive Ed.
305. Grand Theft Auto V (X1)
306. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Ed.
307. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Ed.
308. Grandia HD Collection
309. Gravel
310. GreedFall
311. GRID
312. Grim Fandango Remastered
313. Grounded
314. Hades
315. Halo 5: Guardians
316. Halo Infinite
317. Halo Wars 2
318. Halo: The Master Chief Collection
319. Halo: The Master Chief Collection (China)
320. Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions
321. Harvest Moon: One World
322. Harvest Moon: The Winds of Anthos
323. Has-Been Heroes
324. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (X1)
325. Hello Neighbor
326. Hello Neighbor 2
327. Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek
328. Hi-Fi RUSH
329. High On Life
330. High On Life 2
331. HITMAN 3
332. HITMAN 2
333. Hogwarts Legacy (X1)
334. Hogwarts Legacy (SX)
335. Homefront: The Revolution
336. Hot Wheels Let's Race: Ultimate Speed
337. HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED
338. HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED 2 - Turbocharged
339. HOTEL BARCELONA
340. Hotel Transylvania 3: Monsters Overboard
341. House Flipper 2
342. Human Fall Flat
343. Immortal: Unchained
344. Immortals of Aveum
345. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
346. Indivisible (X1)
347. Industry Giant 2
348. Infinite Air with Mark McMorris
349. Injustice 2 (X1)
350. INSIDE
351. Iron Harvest: Complete Ed.
352. John Carpenter's Toxic Commando
353. John Wick Hex
354. JoJo Siwa: Worldwide Party
355. Journey to the Savage Planet (X1)
356. Jumanji: The Video Game
357. Jumanji: Wild Adventures
358. Jurassic World Evolution
359. Jurassic World Evolution 2
360. Jurassic World Evolution 3
361. Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
362. Kena: Bridge of Spirits
363. KeyWe
364. Killer Frequency
365. Killer Instinct
366. Killing Floor 2
367. Kingdom Come: Deliverance (X1)
368. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
369. Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
370. Kung Fu Panda Showdown of Legendary Legends
371. L.A. Noire (X1)
372. Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1&2 Remastered
373. LEGO 2K Drive
374. LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (X1)
375. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
376. LEGO CITY Undercover
377. LEGO DC Super-Villains
378. LEGO Dimensions (X1)
379. LEGO Harry Potter Collection (SX)
380. LEGO Harry Potter Collection (X1)
381. LEGO Jurassic World (X1)
382. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
383. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2
384. LEGO Marvel's Avengers (X1)
385. LEGO Party!
386. LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens (X1)
387. LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
388. LEGO The Incredibles
389. LEGO Worlds
390. LEGO Brawls
391. Let's Build a Zoo
392. Let's Sing 2022
393. Let's Sing 2024
394. Let's Sing 2026
395. Let's Sing Country
396. Lichdom: Battlemage
397. Lies of P
398. LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW RePOP
399. Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports
400. Lords of the Fallen (2014)
401. Lords of the Fallen (2024)
402. LUNAR Remastered Collection
403. Mad Max
404. Madden NFL 16 (X1)
405. Madden NFL 17 (X1)
406. Madden NFL 18
407. Madden NFL 19
408. Madden NFL 21 (X1)
409. Madden NFL 23 All Madden Ed. (X1) (SX)
410. Mafia II: Definitive Ed.
411. Mafia III
412. Mafia: Definitive Ed. (X1)
413. Mafia: The Old Country
414. Maneater
415. MARVEL Cosmic Invasion
416. Marvel Pinball Epic Collection Vol. 1
417. Marvel's Midnight Suns (SX)
418. Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series (X1)
419. Mass Effect: Andromeda
420. Mass Effect: Legendary Ed.
421. Matchbox Driving Adventures
422. Mato Anomalies
423. Mega Man 11
424. Mega Man Legacy Collection 2
425. Mega Man X Legacy Collection
426. Mega Man X Legacy Collection 2
427. Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection
428. Mega Man Legacy Collection
429. METAL GEAR & METAL GEAR 2: Solid Snake
430. Metal Gear Solid - Master Collection Version
431. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - Master Collection Version
432. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - Master Collection Version
433. METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Guns of the Patriots - Master Collection Version
434. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (X1)
435. Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater
436. METAL GEAR SOLID: Peace Walker - Master Collection Version
437. Metal Gear Survive
438. Metal Slug Tactics
439. Metro Redux
440. Micro Machines World Series
441. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor - Game of the Year Ed.
442. Middle-earth: Shadow of War
443. Mighty No. 9
444. MindsEye
445. Minecraft (X1)
446. Minecraft Dungeons
447. Minecraft Legends
448. Minecraft: Story Mode (X1)
449. Minecraft: Story Mode - Season 2 (X1)
450. Minecraft: (X1) Ed.
451. Mirror's Edge: Catalyst
452. MLB The Show 21
453. MLB The Show 22
454. MLB The Show 24
455. MLB The Show 25
456. Monster Crown
457. Monster Energy Supercross - The Official Videogame 4
458. Monster High Skulltimate Secrets
459. Monster Hunter Wilds
460. MONSTER HUNTER: WORLD
461. Monster Jam Steel Titans
462. Monster Jam: Crush It!
463. Mortal Kombat 11
464. Mortal Kombat X
465. Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection
466. Mortal Kombat 1
467. Mortal Shell: Enhanced Ed.
468. MOTHERGUNSHIP
469. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord
470. MOUSE: P.I. For Hire
471. Moving Out
472. Moving Out 2
473. Mutant Football League
474. Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden
475. MX vs ATV All Out
476. MX vs ATV Legends
477. MX vs. ATV Supercross Encore
478. MXGP2
479. MXX
480. MY LITTLE PONY: A Maretime Bay Adventure
481. My Time At Portia
482. My Time at Sandrock
483. MySims
484. MySims Kingdom
485. NASCAR Heat 2
486. NASCAR Heat 4
487. NASCAR Heat 5
488. NASCAR Heat Evolution
489. NBA 2K15 (X1)
490. NBA 2K16 (X1)
491. NBA 2K17 (X1)
492. NBA 2K19
493. NBA 2K20
494. NBA 2K21 (X1)
495. NBA 2K22 (X1)
496. NBA 2K23 (X1)
497. NBA 2K24 (X1)
498. NBA 2K25 (X1)
499. NBA 2K26 (SX)
500. NBA BOUNCE
501. Necromunda: Hired Gun
502. Need for Speed
503. Need for Speed: Heat
504. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered
505. Need for Speed: Payback
506. Need for Speed: Unbound
507. Neptunia Game Maker R:Evolution
508. Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters
509. NERF Legends
510. Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Ed.
511. New Tales from the Borderlands
512. NHL 19
513. NHL 20
514. NHL 15 Full Game
515. NHL 21 Great Eight Ed.
516. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl
517. Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2
518. Nickelodeon Kart Racers
519. Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix
520. Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway
521. Nicktoons & The Dice of Destiny
522. NINJA GAIDEN 4
523. No Man's Sky
524. No More Heroes 3 (X1)
525. No Place Like Home
526. No Straight Roads
527. Northgard
528. Now That's What I Call Sing 2
529. Now That’s What I Call Sing
530. Observer: System Redux
531. OCCULTIC;NINE
532. Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Ed.
533. OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes
534. ONRUSH
535. Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Ed.
536. Ori and the Will of the Wisps
537. Outcast - A New Beginning
538. Outlast
539. Outlast 2
540. Overcooked! All You Can Eat
541. Overwatch
542. Painkiller
543. Paleo Pines
544. Past Cure
545. Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Definitive Ed.
546. PAW Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls
547. Paw Patrol: On a Roll
548. PAYDAY 2: CRIMEWAVE ED.
549. PAYDAY 3
550. Pentiment
551. Peppa Pig: World Adventures
552. PGA TOUR 2K25
553. Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate
554. Phar Lap - Horse Racing Challenge
555. Pharaonic
556. Phoenix Point
557. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (X1)
558. Pillars of Eternity: Complete Ed.
559. PJ Masks: Heroes of the Night
560. Planet Coaster: Console Ed.
561. Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
562. Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2
563. Plumbers Don't Wear Ties: Definitive Ed.
564. Police Simulator: Patrol Officers
565. Port Royale 4
566. Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid
567. PRAGMATA
568. Prey (X1)
569. Pro Evolution Soccer 2015
570. Pro Evolution Soccer 2016
571. Pro Evolution Soccer 2017
572. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2018
573. PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2019
574. Professional Farmer 2017
575. Project Cars
576. Project Highrise: Architect's Ed.
577. Project Spark
578. Promenade
579. Prototype 2
580. PSYCHO-PASS MANDATORY HAPPINESS
581. Psychonauts 2
582. Quake
583. Quake 2 (2023)
584. R-Type Final 2
585. R.B.I. Baseball 16
586. Race with Ryan
587. RAGE 2 (X1)
588. RAID: World War II
589. Raiden III x MIKADO MANIAX
590. Raiden IV x MIKADO remix
591. Rare Replay
592. REANIMAL
593. ReCore
594. Red Dead Redemption 2
595. Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered
596. Redfall
597. Redout 2
598. Redout: Lightspeed Ed.
599. Remothered: Broken Porcelain
600. Remothered: Tormented Fathers
601. Resident Evil (X1)
602. Resident Evil 0 (X1)
603. Resident Evil 2
604. Resident Evil 4 (2023)
605. Resident Evil 4 (X1)
606. Resident Evil 5 (X1)
607. Resident Evil 6 (X1)
608. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
609. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Japan)
610. Resident Evil: Requiem
611. Resident Evil: Revelations (X1)
612. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (X1)
613. Resident Evil: Village
614. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy
615. RetroRealms Arcade
616. Return to Monkey Island
617. RICO London
618. RIDE
619. Ride 2
620. RiME
621. Risk of Rain
622. Risk of Rain 2
623. RoboCop: Rogue City
624. RoboCop: Rogue City - Unfinished Business
625. Rock Band 4
626. Rocket Arena
627. Rocket League
628. Rogue Trooper Redux
629. Roman Rumble in Las Vegum - Asterix & Obelix XXL 2
630. Rugby 15
631. Rugby League Live 4
632. Rugby World Cup 2015
633. Rush: A Disney/Pixar Adventure (X1)
634. Rustler
635. RWBY: Arrowfell
636. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
637. Saints Row
638. Saints Row IV: Re-Elected (X1)
639. Saints Row: Gat out of Hell (X1)
640. Saints Row: The Third - Remastered
641. SAMURAI SHODOWN (Standard Ver.)
642. SAMURAI WARRIORS 5
643. Scar-Lead Salvation
644. Scars Above
645. Scott Pilgrim EX
646. Screamer
647. ScreamRide (X1)
648. Scribblenauts Showdown
649. Sea of Stars: Sunset Ed.
650. Sea of Thieves
651. Session: Skate Sim
652. Severed Steel
653. Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
654. Shadow Warrior
655. Shadows of Doubt
656. Shadows: Awakening
657. Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution
658. Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn
659. Shenmue
660. Shenmue II
661. Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter
662. Shi In
663. Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (X1)
664. Sid Meier's Civilization VI
665. Sid Meier's Civilization VII (SX)
666. Sifu
667. SILENT HILL f
668. Sine Mora EX
669. Skull Island: Rise of Kong
670. Skylanders Imaginators
671. Skylanders SuperChargers Portal Owner's Pack
672. Slay The Spire
673. Slime Rancher
674. Slime Rancher 2
675. Sniper Elite 4
676. Sniper Elite 5
677. Sniper Elite V2 Remastered
678. Sniper Elite: Resistance
679. SNIPER Ghost Warrior 3
680. Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts
681. Snooker 19
682. Song of the Deep
683. Sophstar
684. Soulstice
685. SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY!
686. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated (X1)
687. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake
688. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Patrick Star Game
689. SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide
690. Spyro: Reignited Trilogy
691. Squirrel with a Gun
692. Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova
693. Star Trek: Resurgence
694. Star Wars - Episode I: Jedi Power Battles
695. Star Wars - Jedi: Fallen Order
696. Star Wars - Jedi: Survivor
697. STAR WARS Zero Company
698. Star Wars: Squadrons
699. STAR WARS Battlefront
700. STAR WARS Battlefront II
701. STAR WARS: Bounty Hunter
702. Stardew Valley (X1)
703. Starfield
704. Starship Troopers: Extermination
705. State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Ed.
706. State of Mind
707. Steelrising - Standard Ed.
708. Stern Pinball Arcade
709. Steven Universe: Save the Light
710. STORY OF SEASONS: A Wonderful Life
711. Strange Brigade
712. Stray
713. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
714. Street Fighter 6
715. Street Outlaws: The List
716. Street Power Soccer
717. Streets of Rage 4
718. Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
719. Styx: Shards of Darkness
720. Subnautica
721. Subnautica: Below Zero
722. Sudden Strike 4 - European Battlefields Ed.
723. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
724. Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars
725. Sunset Overdrive (X1)
726. SUPER BOMBERMAN R
727. SUPER BOMBERMAN R 2
728. Super Lucky's Tale
729. Surviving Mars (X1)
730. Syberia - The World Before
731. Syberia 3
732. System Shock
733. Sébastien Loeb Rally EVO
734. Tales from the Borderlands - A Telltale Games Series (X1)
735. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants
736. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge
737. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Cowabunga Collection
738. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
739. Tempest 4000
740. Temtem
741. Tennis World Tour
742. Terminator 2D: NO FATE
743. TERMINATOR: RESISTANCE
744. Terraria
745. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
746. The Addams Family: Mansion Mayhem
747. The Banner Saga
748. The Banner Saga 2
749. The Book of Unwritten Tales 2
750. The Callisto Protocol
751. The Chant
752. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
753. The Elder Scrolls Online
754. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Ed. (X1)
755. The Elf on the Shelf: Christmas Heroes
756. The Escapists
757. The Eternal Cylinder
758. The Evil Within (X1)
759. The Evil Within 2 (X1)
760. The Falconeer
761. The First Berserker: Khazan
762. The Grinch: Christmas Adventures
763. The Inner World - The Last Wind Monk
764. The Invisible Hours
765. The Jackbox Party Pack 7
766. The Karate Kid: Street Rumble
767. THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV (SX)
768. The Knight Witch
769. The Last Kids on Earth and the Staff of Doom
770. The Last Stand: Aftermath
771. The LEGO Movie Videogame (X1)
772. The LEGO NINJAGO Movie Video Game
773. The Medium
774. The Occupation
775. The Precinct
776. The Quarry (SX)
777. The Riftbreaker
778. The Sims 4
779. The Smurfs - Mission Vileaf
780. The Surge (X1)
781. The Survivalists
782. The Technomancer
783. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (X1)
784. The Town of Light
785. The Unicorn Princess
786. The Voice
787. The Voice, la plus belle voix
788. The Walking Dead Collection - The Telltale Series
789. The Walking Dead: Season 2 (X1)
790. The Walking Dead: The Final Season (X1)
791. The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series
792. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
793. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Ed.
794. The Wolf Among Us
795. theHunter: Call of the Wild (X1)
796. Them's Fightin' Herds
797. This Is the Police
798. This War of Mine: The Little Ones
799. Thymesia
800. Tiny Tina's Wonderlands (SX)
801. Titan Quest
802. Titanfall 2
803. Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft
804. Tony Stewart's All-American Racing
805. Tony Stewart's Sprint Car Racing
806. TopSpin 2K25 (SX)
807. Torment: Tides of Numenera
808. Tour de France 2016
809. Tower of Guns: Special Ed.
810. TRANSFORMERS: BATTLEGROUNDS
811. TRANSFORMERS: Galactic Trials
812. TRANSFORMERS: Devastation
813. Trepang2
814. Trine 2: Complete Story
815. Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power
816. Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince
817. Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy
818. Trine Enchanted Ed.
819. Troll & I
820. Tropico 5 - Penultimate Ed.
821. Tropico 6 - Next Gen Ed.
822. TUNIC
823. Turok
824. Turok 2: Seeds of Evil
825. Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion Remastered
826. TY the Tasmanian Tiger HD
827. UFO ROBOT GRENDIZER – The Feast of the Wolves
828. Ufouria: The Saga 2
829. UglyDolls: An Imperfect Adventure
830. Undertale
831. Unravel
832. Unravel 2
833. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2
834. Vampyr (X1)
835. Victor Vran
836. Vikings - Wolves of Midgard
837. Wanted: Dead
838. Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor - Martyr
839. Warhammer: Chaosbane (X1)
840. Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide
841. Warhammer: Vermintide 2
842. WARHAMMER 40,000: Darktide
843. WARHAMMER 40,000: Mechanicus
844. WARHAMMER 40,000: Space Marine 2
845. WARRIORS OROCHI 4
846. Wasteland 2: Director's Cut
847. We Happy Few
848. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2020)
849. Wild Hearts
850. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
851. Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus (X1)
852. Wolfenstein: The Old Blood (X1)
853. Wolfenstein: Youngblood (X1)
854. World War Z (X1)
855. Worms W.M.D
856. Wreckfest (X1)
857. Wreckreation
858. WUCHANG: Fallen Feathers
859. WWE 2K Battlegrounds
860. WWE 2K15 (X1)
861. WWE 2K16 (X1)
862. WWE 2K17 (X1)
863. WWE 2K18
864. WWE 2K19
865. WWE 2K20
866. WWE 2K22 (SX)
867. WWE 2K22 (X1)
868. WWE 2K23 (X1)
869. WWE 2K24
870. XCOM 2
871. Xenon Racer
872. XIII
873. Xuan Yuan Sword 7
874. Yooka-Laylee (X1)
875. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair (X1)
876. Yooka-Replaylee
877. You Suck at Parking Complete Ed.
878. Ziggurat
879. Zombie Army 4: Dead War
880. Zombie Army Trilogy
881. Zoo Tycoon: Ultimate Animal Collection
882. Zorro The Chronicles (SX)
883. ŌKAMI HD

A huge win for game preservation

The disc-to-digital program is currently available to Xbox Insiders in the Alpha and Alpha-Skip Ahead rings, and it already seems to be fully functional without any issues generally. I expect it'll roll out more broadly in the coming weeks, and then go live publicly probably by October 2026.

Some major publishers are currently not involved in the program, including Sega, Square Enix, Bandai Namco, and Ubisoft. Microsoft is likely working through the legalese with these publishers before some of them come online, but it's also possible that some of these publishers would rather you buy the game twice than enjoy benefits on content you already own.

Ubisoft in particularly has been painfully resistant to supporting things like Xbox Play Anywhere, opting instead to push its own Ubisoft Connect PC platform. It has given some Ubisoft games free licenses for Xbox owners on PC, but they don't come with Xbox Achievements and the like, which is irritating.

It's fantastic to see that Xbox is standardizing how physical discs should operate in the digital-first era ... it just came too little too late. Perhaps if this had been the default from 2013 onwards, disc-based gaming wouldn't be heading the scrapheap as quickly as it is now.

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Xbox's long awaited disc-to-digital program is here, and I just went hands on.

Available now to Xbox Insiders in the Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha rings, users can immediately receive digital entitlement on hundreds upon hundreds of Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S titles without any additional effort or work.

The program formerly codenamed "Positron" leaked as part of code snippets from the Xbox Cloud Gaming web interface. It was later confirmed by Tom Warren at The Verge, and at the time, many thought it was too good to be true.

The way it works is incredibly simple.

1. Insert a compatible Xbox One or Xbox Series X disc into your Xbox Series X.
2. Select the disc tile with the menu button on your dashboard, and select "Claim Digital License." Alternatively, running the game from the disc will also automatically claim the license too.

3. If compatible, a toast message will inform you that digital entitlements have been unlocked, along with an explanation of how it works.
4. You can now remove the disc and put it back on your shelf!
5. You can now install the game from your library without the disc too, and it'll have a symbol on it denoting that it was claimed from a disc.
6. With the digital entitlement unlocked, you can now play compatible Xbox Play Anywhere games on devices like the Xbox Ally, or stream them from Xbox Cloud Gaming.
7. If you sell the disc or lend it to a friend, they will receive the digital entitlement after installing it for the first time. Then, your digital rights will be removed until you get the disc back or re-purchase it.

The process as you can see is incredibly seamless and intuitive. Simply inserting and installing the game immediately unlocks the rights, and the disc remains fully capable of transferring the license onwards if you ever decide to sell the game.

It creates a ton of added value specifically for Xbox discs, and so far, it doesn't seem like PlayStation is planning to replicate the feature.

It's a huge preservation win, too, because it seems that even many fully de-listed games are capable of providing a digital license as long as you own the disc. Users have noted the classic Deadpool game for Xbox One comes with a digital entitlement despite being no longer available for purchase.

Unfortunately, many publishers aren't participating in the program at the moment, including companies like Ubisoft, Sega, Bandai, and others. It could be that Microsoft is working with them to sort out the contractual minutiae, but it could also be that these companies are hostile to the idea of people being able to ... I dunno, actually own the content they paid for, which wouldn't be a shock.

Indeed, digital rights are very squarely in the consumer consciousness right now.

It's a nice bridge to the inevitable digital future, and a huge preservation win

PlayStation caused a ton of controversy when it announced that it will begin gradually phasing out discs completely by 2028, indicating that the next-gen PlayStation 6 will not have a disc drive at all.

Xbox hasn't offered an official alternative narrative yet, although there are some hopes among the disc-using faithful that Microsoft could seek to get a massive PR win over PlayStation by backing disc-based games. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's tweet announcing the disc-to-digital program has a truly absurd 27 million views, with over 200,000 likes — giving you a sense of how passionate the user base is over this issue.

Speaking with Microsoft sources suggests that the future is bleak for disc-based games in general, and that, while no official decision has been made, the expectation is that the next-gen Xbox Helix will also follow in PlayStation's all-digital footsteps.

It's less about the discs themselves, but I've been told that the supply chain that produces optical disc drives like those found in the PS5 and Xbox Series X is effectively collapsing. Factories and assembly lines that produce lasers and lenses required for Blu-Ray drives are pivoting their floor space to industries that are growing and scaling. Practically the only use case for discs these days at any scale is PlayStation 5, with Xbox Series X offering a miniscule opportunity by itself.

The likelihood of Xbox maintaining the disc-based supply chain by itself is vanishingly small in my view. If PlayStation's own ecosystem wasn't enough, I'm not quite sure how Xbox's would be able to go it alone in any way, shape, or form.

Regardless, the whole "digitization" saga is once again shining a huge spotlight on the lack of digital rights we seem to have as consumers. Microsoft has at least been quite fair on this topic in the past, refunding Groove Music (formerly Zune Music) MP3 purchasers no questions asked. It's also maintaining licensing for users who purchased digital content in its defunct Xbox Movies & TV platform, too. But, we shouldn't have to rely on companies "doing the right thing," as many evidently simply won't if given the chance.

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Perhaps the big three will opt-in to another format to maintain the physicality many of us in the hobby enjoy. Perhaps Xbox and PlayStation will opt for key cartridges similar to what Nintendo Switch 2 offers. Perhaps Microsoft will revive Activision's Skylanders and slap the games on cute and collectible toy figurines via NFC chips. Who knows.

What I do know at least is that Xbox's disc-to-digital program is real. It works, and it's fantastic.

Once the testing period is over, it should roll out more broadly to all Xbox Series X owners in the coming weeks ahead.

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The debate over whether or not Xbox should make Elder Scrolls VI exclusive or not isn't letting up, and the UK's BBC News recently turned up the heat.

Ahead of the next-gen Xbox Helix, many are wondering how Microsoft can maneuver here. Xbox's hardware fortunes have been strained to say the least, as Microsoft grapples with strategic mis-steps and an AI-induced memory shortage of epic proportions. The Xbox Series X|S is more expensive than ever, and Xbox Helix threatens to be even more so.

This year, Xbox will return to exclusive content to try and shore up interest in its hardware platform. As sales into its ecosystem collapsed, Microsoft hasn't been able to grow Xbox Game Pass or third-party sales as much as competitors. This year, Microsoft will ship Gears of War: E-Day exclusively on Xbox, after a few years of ditching exclusivity entirely to sell more content via PlayStation. The move dismembered the brand's identity arguably, and the lack of confidence planted a question mark over Microsoft's commitment to remain in the business all up.

On the topic of exclusivity, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma spoke to Laura Cress at the BBC about Elder Scrolls VI. Sharma noted, "every platform needs some form of exclusive experiences and content. We shared Gears [of War: E-Day] and Clockwork [Revolution]. We're going to do the best we can to continue to do that, all in the context of the business being healthy. We have to balance that."

Laura pressed Asha to discuss Elder Scrolls VI exclusivity, Asha smiled and replied "it's a beautiful game ..."

Indeed, Sharma has repeatedly cautioned the state of Xbox's expenditure. Microsoft has blown hundreds of millions on failed projects, such as Avalanche's open-world vehicular service game Contraband, which I'm told was a particularly expensive write-off for its publishing arm. Microsoft has also spun off a variety of studios like Undead Labs, Ninja Theory, and Double Fine, which also weren't able to ship quickly enough to even come close to meeting costs.

Some of Microsoft's pillar gaming franchises like Call of Duty have also seen a downturn in recent years, many of which have been subsidizing parts of the Xbox business that haven't performed as well. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 failed to resonate with fans at the same clip as earlier games. Minecraft has also faced stiff competition from Roblox, and Candy Crush Saga has seen its user base chipped away by other casual games like Block Blast and Monopoly Go.

Elder Scrolls VI skipping PlayStation would be potentially putting hundreds of millions of dollars on the shelf in the short term — but keeping it multiplatform could also be just as risky in the long term.

Will Xbox blink?

For Elder Scrolls VI to be exclusive, Microsoft would have to view it as some form of "loss leader" specifically with boosting Xbox's own platforms in mind. It could be that there simply isn't enough opportunity to justify the risk in Microsoft's view.

In my view, Xbox Series X|S and Steam should be enough. For PlayStation and Nintendo, having a smaller addressable audience is worth it to ensure they don't hollow out their core platform. Asha Sharma has repeatedly emphasized the need to strengthen Xbox's core, as users who own multiple consoles increasingly defaulted away from Xbox due to a collapse in confidence in Microsoft's strategy.

Despite mass layoffs earlier in the summer, Xbox is enjoying some positive momentum with consumers right now. Huge marketing deals with Ikea and McDonalds just dropped, for example, and Microsoft's X20 anniversary celebrations are in full swing. Xbox also just announced a disc-to-digital game preservation program which is a direct shot at PlayStation, who is enduring widespread anger from its vocal decision to end support for physical media. If there was ever a time for Microsoft to double down on Xbox, it's probably right now.

I feel like people will show up on other platforms to buy Elder Scrolls VI if it's good enough, whether that's PCs people already own, Xbox Cloud Gaming, or perhaps even buying an Xbox Helix or Series X|S as a companion console. The goal should be getting users into Xbox's ecosystem, creating a flywheel for third-party developers, and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions — the latter of which will never be allowed on Nintendo or PlayStation.

Whether or not Xbox is willing to give Elder Scrolls VI some form of exclusivity will be a sign post for how much faith Microsoft has in its gaming brand in my view. I think Sharma's refusal to commit either way suggests Xbox is still in deep debates and analysis about which way to go ...

The Xbox platform would benefit immeasurably from a longer term commitment to highly visible exclusives, but Microsoft of 2026 revolves around short-term thinking and quarterly returns for shareholders. What might be best for Xbox third-party developers and customers is probably in direct opposition to what is best for shareholders, unfortunately.

Time will tell.

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Today was supposed to be an opportunity for "fans" to get a chance to pre-order the new, limited edition Xbox Series X25. Yet it's questionable as to how many genuine fans may have actually got their hands on one.

Reddit is filled with bad experiences, people talking about having a console in their cart and it was gone before they could check out. That stock evaporated in "milliseconds."

And yet almost instantly they were cropping up on eBay. The highest listing I saw was for a ridiculous THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

To its credit, eBay seems to be taking action and shutting these listings down, as three I've already seen have been ended due to the "item no longer being available", not "sold". It was never available in the first place, and frankly, handing over thousands on a promise of getting a thing in the future is the dumbest idea anyway.

Obviously this is a limited edition, with each console uniquely numbered, and was always going to be in hot demand. But while eBay might be taking listings down, more are popping up across the globe.

Scalpers are going to scalp. They're not going to cancel their order, and they're going to try somehow to move it on for a premium price. It's the Pokémon card fiasco all over again.

My advice is clear: Do not buy a console from a scalper. In fact, if you can't get one directly from a retailer, don't buy one unless you actually see it and can pick it up with your bare hands. These people have no morals; don't hand over your money and trust that you'll actually even get the thing.

I was never going to try and get one myself, as I don't have a spare $899 to throw at a console I already have in a different body. But scalpers really make me angry. It's a constant battle in trading card collecting, especially. There's reselling and then there's just existing to rip people off by using your bots to scoop up stock from legitimate buyers.

Anyway, rant over. If you did manage to secure an Xbox Series X25 let us know in the comments. Unless you're a scalper.

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Frankly I have no idea why it didn't always work this way, but better late than never eh?!

Speaking at Gamescom, Microsoft confirmed that the long-expected disc-to-digital program is going live on Monday for Xbox Insiders, and it works exactly as you would've hoped and expected.

First detailed by Tom Warren at The Verge following datamining leaks, codename "Positron" is a new feature that will be available across Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles with a disc drive. Simply insert your Xbox physical game disc into a console, and you'll be prompted to redeem a digital version of the game too.

Naturally, it needs to be a game that actually works on Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S. OG Xbox and Xbox 360 discs aren't compatible, since they were never manufactured with digital identifiers in mind.

The digital version will have all the same benefits as any other digital Xbox copy of a game: Xbox Play Anywhere support, meaning access on an Xbox Ally handheld or Windows PC and support for Xbox Cloud Gaming. If you console share with a family member, they'll also get access to the license via your account. Once you've activated the digital version, you won't need the disc to play the game. However, the disc you used doesn't become inert — it still contains the digital license, too.

Just like sharing a physical game in the real world, if you sell or give the disc away, the digital license will then transfer to the Microsoft Account of the new user, and off your account.

The system will go live for Xbox Insiders on Monday will support for "thousands" of games, sources tell me. Microsoft plans to roll out support for more discs over time as it refines and polishes the service, although it seems that some discs may be incompatible due to how they were manufactured at the time.

It's unclear if PlayStation will be able to replicate this feature on PS4 and PS5. Indeed, it's an awkward discussion right now potentially, given that Sony recently announced that it is phasing out disc-based games entirely to a visceral backlash.

Microsoft still hasn't really put its mark on the debate, although sources tell me it's less about the discs and more about the disc drives themselves; the entire supply chain for the components required to make optical disc drives is collapsing, with assembly lines pivoting away from the tech as users actively opt for digital-only.

Microsoft has also been actively building out Xbox game emulation on PC as well, with planned support for all Xbox 360 games, and potentially Xbox One and above in the future too. It's great, in my view, that Xbox is offering some sort of exit for those with digital collections — it remains to be seen if those on other platforms will be so lucky.

It'll be interesting to see how they navigate the inevitable phase out with the next-gen Xbox Helix as well, as users call on Xbox to take a different path to PlayStation.

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Last July, Xbox users finally got their hands on one of the most viral games of the past couple of years. The celebrations were shortlived.

Wuthering Waves is a free-to-play gatcha RPG, similar to the likes of Genshin Impact. Wuthering Waves is available on every platform now, including Xbox, consoles, mobile, and PC, complete with a high-quality story and decent combat depth.

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The game is incredibly popular and has amassed a global audience across every platform, landing itself 30 million~ players across its versions. It won the Player's Choice award at last year's Game Awards, and continues to find growth owing to large free content updates.

Unfortunately, though, the Xbox version is broken.

Wuthering Waves (affectionally nicknamed WuWa by the community) recently got a sizeable content patch, adding new story beats and features to the game. The update has, however, once again put a spotlight on the Xbox version, which seems more broken than ever.

"The situation has worsened as I’ve progressed through the game. I’m currently in Lahai-Roi, and it’s been impossible to play for 40 minutes without the game closing unexpectedly," one user wrote on Reddit. "I play on Xbox Series X, but the same bug persists even on Xbox Cloud Gaming, where high local processing power isn't required. Other players have reported similar issues."

The most recent video showcases new visual glitches introduced in this week's patch, where textures get stretched infinitely across the playspace until the game crashes.

Users have been tracking Wuthering Waves' lack of quality on Xbox since the game launched, and had hoped it would be improved in subsequent updates. Sadly, things have gotten worse rather than better.

There are theories that Wuthering Waves on Xbox is a port of the iOS and Android version of the game, owing to a lack of shadows, foilage, and other post-processing improvements. The PlayStation 5 version is is far far better looking, far less crash-prone, and generally more performant than the Xbox Series X version. This absolutely shouldn't be the case in a game designed to run on low-end mobile phones.

We've reached out to Wuthering Waves' developer Kuro Games via their PR firm to get a comment, but I would be surprised if they offered one up.

If they thought the Xbox audience wasn't worth providing a high-quality port for, I'm confused as to why they bothered spending the money to deliver a port in the first place. Genshin Impact and other HoYoverse gatcha games like Zenless Zone Zero run incredibly well on Xbox. HoYoverse also did dedicated launches for Xbox, complete with bonuses and freebies for new players joining the ranks via Team Green.

Wuthering Waves' treatment of the Xbox audience by comparison has been a sad joke.

There's also some blame to be levied at Microsoft here I would argue. PlayStation demands that developers create visual parity with their multiplatform versions within reason. Xbox's certification processes are also notoriously strict compared to other platforms — what's the point of those apparent strict rules if they allow games like Wuthering Waves to launch in such a lamentable state? It makes Xbox look inferior for one thing, and treats Xbox customers like second class citizens in the other.

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Either way, it sucks for Wuthering Waves fans on Xbox that Kuro Games doesn't seem to consider them worthwhile. I would recommend players stick to HoYoverse options instead. Hopefully Honkai Star Rail makes its way across to Xbox in the future too. PerhaHoYoverse' next big games come to Xbox on day one as well, further reducing the need to consider Wuthering Waves as an option.

If Kuro replies, I'll be sure to update this piece, but I wouldn't hold my breath. They don't seem to care about the Xbox version even slightly.

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A limited-edition translucent green Series X console was unveiled earlier this year at the Xbox Showcase as the "Xbox Series X25", planned for release in November with no confirmed pricing, alongside a matching Series X|S wireless controller.

Fans who attended the show were told they'd receive one for free, but regular consumers have been left in the dark until an apparent €899.99 European price and November 27 release were revealed by "billbil-kun" via Dealabs' High-Tech magazine earlier today.

It's connected to a previous rumor that potential pre-orders for the translucent controller could start during Gamescom 2026, but billbil-kun couldn't confirm whether that aligns with listings for the Series X25 console. Interestingly, Black Friday lands on November 27 this year, kicking off the holiday shopping season.

How much will the Series X25 cost in the US?

Right now, a standard Xbox Series X "1TB Disc Drive Carbon Black" on the official Xbox Store costs €799.99 in France and $799.99 in the US. The same currency-symbol switch applies in the same way to the "1TB All-Digital Robot White" at €749.99/$749.99, so it's reasonable to assume that the limited-edition Xbox Series X25 could cost $899.99.

Dealabs rightly assumes the same, with another translation explaining, "the equivalent of this price is expected to be $899.99 in the US," putting what is otherwise a functionally identical Xbox Series X console at $100 above its standard variant for the benefit of its "OG Green" shell and green-tinted light on its power button.

It all follows Microsoft's earlier hardware price hike announcement, which increased the Xbox Series X price from $649.99 to its current $799.99. That $150 increase was already unpopular among Xbox fans, and particularly so with our readers, who voted that "Xbox consoles are too expensive now." If the price leak is true, asking for another $100 will presumably be equally shunned.

Since the start of its 25th-anniversary celebrations, I've been more interested in the translucent green controller. The original console is special to me, but I can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on something like a build-your-own OG Xbox console. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an affordable X25 joypad.

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Xbox has been on a bit of a tear recently with platform updates, and Microsoft just announced another raft of improvements big and small.

The biggest features recently include boosts to how Xbox Cloud saves work, the ability to record your own voice in gameplay clips, and improvements on Xbox achievement visibility. Announced today on Xbox Wire, we're now getting some other goodies, set to go live later today to Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha members.

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Here's what's new for Xbox Insiders today

• Users can now customize any item in the recent games and apps list.

Using the Menu button (start button) you can remove items from the list of recents apps and games, including the "Play History" segment which some don't find as useful as others. I personally like it, but understand those who don't.

• You can also hide all the home screen tiles by pressing the right stick, leaving your dynamic background to take center stage on your TV.

This is a fun cosmetic change I've seen people ask for. Xbox has a range of dynamic backgrounds which are hidden by the tiles and ads on the home screen. If you want to show off your dynamic background and turn your wall-mounted TV into an interactive work of art, now you can, simply by pressing the right stick. Would be cool if they could add slideshows to this in the future too. A connected OneDrive photos album might be rad.

• Improvements to local game storage management.

Microsoft is now letting you manage local game saves more easily, giving you the ability to sort save files by size. For those using smaller storage solutions, sometimes games can take up deceptively large amounts of space. In the new Settings > System > Storage > Manage Local Game Saves section, you can now see all of your local saves in one place, and delete them at will.

If you eventually want to play the game again, Xbox will download your most recent save file from the cloud instead, saving you local storage. Xbox Cloud saves are free by the way, unlike many other platforms.

• You can now click into profile badges, giving users an explanation of what they represent.

Xbox profile badges are getting a big improvement. You can now click on a user's profile badge to see an explanation of what the badge represents.

Part of me is wondering whether this change is designed to facilitate Xbox's future "Platinum" trophies. I wouldn't be surprised if the reward for 100%'ing an Xbox game's achievements comes not with a "platinum" trophy, but instead a custom badge you can place on your profile instead. It would give developers an extra way to let their biggest fans show off some flair for their games, but we'll have to wait and see on that.

• More wishlist improvements.

Wishlisting games has become a major part of the industry's marketing layer, with Steam wishlists becoming a cornerstone for financial projections on how well a game is likely to perform. Microsoft is also trying to ride this wave, adding a variety of improvements and visibility options for its own wishlisting system.

Now, purchased games will automatically be removed from your wishlist for example, which I think is a good change considering how often I've fallen afoul of this one.

I think Microsoft could/should do more to surface wishlisting features on the web, and I'm sure they're working on doing more in this space.

More goodies

The Xbox Insider Program has been pretty boring the last few years, with Microsoft's engineering teams focusing primarily on features like Xbox Cloud Gaming and things beyond Xbox Series X|S. With Xbox CEO Asha Sharma coming on board, the focus has returned to the core user base (namely us), delivering many long-awaited improvements a lot of us have been asking for for over a decade in some cases.

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Microsoft says this update will hit Xbox Insiders on the Alpha Skip Ahead and Alpha rings today, with other updates arriving for all users as well more quickly.

If you want to leave feedback for the Xbox Series X|S OS, you should check out the Xbox Feedback Portal over here.

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Everyone knows Xbox isn't doing so hot these days, but new research from Statista Consumer Insights has put that common belief to the test.

Xbox is "unhealthy" according to new CEO Asha Sharma, which has led to thousands of layoffs this summer and many more throughout the next fiscal year. Gaming as a whole is struggling from a variety of headwinds, including the memory crisis, dilution of attention, competition from non-gaming hobbies, and potentially an unhealthy dependence on free-to-play forever games like Fortnite.

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Indeed, Microsoft's gaming division saw a decline to the tune of 11% last fiscal year, which sources tell me almost entirely revolves around Call of Duty having an off year. I suspect diversifying the Xbox business would probably be a good idea to reduce dependence on the firm's handful of mega-games, but that's a discussion for another time.

It's no secret that Xbox One was ill-received by the core gaming community, and Microsoft is still paying for those mistakes over a decade later. New data from Statista Consumer Insights put common beliefs about Xbox's performance to the test, surveying over 3,200 gamers in the United States.

Users were asked which console platforms they frequently play on specifically, with PC and mobile excluded from the picture. Of console players in the United States, some 85% frequently play on PlayStation platforms, 76% play on Nintendo platforms, with Xbox coming in last at 58%. The figures suggest that most people own multiple consoles and frequently play across different platforms. What is perhaps most striking is how popular the Xbox 360 still is, which is even giving the Nintendo Switch 2 a run for its money. It aligns with what I've previously heard about Xbox 360 engagement, which is uniquely sticky for Microsoft.

In a universe where some service games last "forever," there are arguably few reasons to upgrade from a PS4 or an Xbox One if all you enjoy playing is Fortnite or Minecraft and the like, which are still updated and fully functional on older platforms. At least it shows that users remain engaged, even if they are playing on older platforms. The challenge is figuring out how to convince them the upgrade is worth it.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is exclusive to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, which in a usual console cycle would likely have a dramatic upward impact on the current-gen systems. That uptake is likely going to be a tad muted for Xbox, which is struggling to source memory at reasonable prices for its Xbox Series X|S range. The box is already more expensive than ever, and has firmly slipped beyond your average luxury purchase.

It'll be interesting to see how Xbox CEO Asha Sharma addresses the delta here. Xbox PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming are obviously excluded from the results here, and both of these platforms represent a huge growth area for Microsoft. Microsoft has barely marketed Xbox Cloud Gaming arguably, and Xbox Game Pass on PC remains a fantastic deal too. Putting more investment into these products (and maybe I dunno, marketing them?) could make for an easy win.

Sharma said that there are "200 million" Xbox players last month, but it's unclear exactly how Microsoft arrives at this figure. Does that include Minecraft players on PS5 or Nintendo Switch for example? It's hard to parse. What isn't hard to parse is the scale of the challenge facing Xbox, whose identity has been rocked by a variety of experiments that landed with mixed results.

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Xbox has a new console on the horizon, in the form of Project Helix, but so too will PlayStation. The competition for the future will remain fierce, but it's unclear if Microsoft still has the stamina to keep investing in gaming as shareholders heap demands for more AI.

It'll be interesting to see how Xbox weathers the next few years, with no end in sight for memory shortages, demographic shifts to PC, and the rise of free-to-play perpetuating something of a race to the bottom.

We've seen where the United States prefers to play, but where do YOU prefer to play, Windows Central reader? Vote in our poll below!

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Xbox has been on a bit of a tear when it comes to new platform features lately.

Yesterday, Microsoft announced the latest build for the Xbox Insider Program, with a variety of new features big and small. The features included better management for Xbox cloud saves, better sorting of your games library, and other bits and pieces. The headline act, however, is voice clip recording on the Xbox Game DVR. This is a feature people have been asking Microsoft to add for over a decade, all the way back to the Xbox One era.

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When you have an epic gameplay moment with friends, it would be awesome if you could also capture their reactions without having to use a complex capture rig. You'd need to use a streaming PC with StreamLabs OBS or a capture card like the Elgato 4K S to extract the audio alongside your Xbox gameplay. But yesterday's update has made it a million times easier.

Here's a clip from a quick gameplay session on Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 I had this morning, showing how the first iteration works.

As you can see (or ... well, hear) the audio levels aren't ideal out of the box. You can barely hear me in this capture over the audio of the game. You would have to lower the gameplay sound a fair bit in order to be able to hear me, but it would be ideal if Microsoft would add settings for this.

In order for this feature to work, users have to enable it in the settings. Only users who have enabled game or party chat audio capture will appear in the sound mix, giving you total control over whether or not your reactions are captured (potentially saving your more embarrassing gameplay moments from going viral.)

You can also set whether your voice is clippable in public audio settings too, such as lobby chat on Call of Duty (oh boy) or in proximity chat games like Arc Raiders and the like.

Hopefully, Microsoft will add audio mix granularity sliders in the future, as it's far too quiet in my opinion as of writing. Additionally, capturing a clip seems to temporarily freeze a game for 0.2 seconds when you have voice capture turned on. I'm not sure if that's a consequence of the feature or an instability in the latest Alpha build, but I'm sure the experience will be improved before hitting general availability.

It's potentially exciting how this feature could evolve in the future. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma is a former Meta executive, and likely has thoughts on how to leverage social media virality as a vector for growing Xbox's footprint. Perhaps there's a future where Xbox supports webcam picture-in-picture clipping too, and maybe we'll even get direct sharing to social networks back again some day on top. Perhaps even native Xbox Series X|S video editing tools will return as well, who knows?!

Microsoft has been listening to user feature ideas more aggressively lately via the Xbox Player Voice portal over here. The top most requested feedback is still "Xbox exclusive games," which Xbox has delivered in the form of Clockwork Revolution and Gears of War: E-Day. Xbox also confirmed it will deliver "Platinum" completion achievements later in 2026.

What features would YOU like to see Xbox deliver? Let us know in the comments.

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One thing we haven't had so much of with the Xbox Series X|S compared to previous generations is limited edition consoles. There have been some, like the Halo Xbox Series X and some competition specials, but compared to the Xbox 360 and Xbox One especially, it's been a pretty dry time.

Some of the older limited editions command a pretty penny on the used market these days, and obviously there's a finite supply of them. But there are some real gems, like the Gears 5 Xbox One X (pictured above) or even the blood red Gears of War 4 Xbox One S. Later this year we'll also see the Xbox Series X25, with its classic translucent green shell. Though unfortunately, a vastly increased price, now.

But over on the Xbox subreddit there's a thread rolling right now where folks are talking about these consoles, so I thought I'd bring it on over here, too. So what's your favorite limited edition Xbox console of all time?

There are some incredible choices on the Reddit thread, from the classic Crystal Green OG Xbox through the Halo 4 Xbox 360, the Titanfall Xbox One, and some others that folks like myself based in the UK might not even have known existed.

I didn't know there was a Taco Bell Xbox One X, for example, nor a green Mountain Dew OG Xbox. Granted, neither of these were actually sold, but they still exist, and I'd definitely go for a Mountain Dew Xbox if I could get my hands on one without selling a kidney.

I've never actually owned a limited edition console myself. The closest I've come so far is the Project Scorpio launch edition Xbox One X, which I still have in my office looking pretty.

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If I had to pick, it'd be between two. The Xbox console I always coveted the most was the Crystal Green first-generation. I wish I'd chopped in my standard black console to get one, but given I'd already spent a whole paycheck from a part-time job on one at the age of 17, I decided against it lest I risk the wrath of the parents.

The other might be one most wouldn't pick given some of the wild designs, but as a massive fan of the franchise, I always wanted the blue Forza Edition Xbox One. It didn't help that a friend of mine actually had one, taunting me every time I went over.

So, those are my picks, but I'm more interested in yours. There's no shortage to choose from, so hit the comments below and share your own favorite limited edition Xbox console design from the last 25 years!

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Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled its fiscal performance for the past year, and most segments were up, save for Windows and Xbox.

Microsoft's consumer-oriented segments saw material declines, albeit coming in slightly ahead of expected guidance. The memory crisis has weighed on PC shipments as we all know, and Xbox has seen an immense amount of disruption in various ways.

Microsoft was up overall, buoyed by demand for its Azure AI service delivery. Where does that leave Xbox in a world where shareholders are demanding more of Microsoft than ever? Here's what Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had to say on the matter.

Microsoft's c-suite promises Xbox will return to growth by the end of FY27

In comments on X (Twitter), Xbox CEO Asha Sharma remarked upon Xbox's journey, noting that it now had "200 million" active players, although it's hard to quantify exactly what that means in real terms. Xbox's platform is incredibly confusing and fragmented; does 200 million include players on PlayStation 5? Does it only include players on Xbox Series X|S, One, and Xbox PC? Does it include Candy Crush Saga players on Android? Who knows.

Either way, 200 million is nothing to scoff at, but she hinted at a core issue: Xbox isn't monetizing those players as well as they perhaps could or should be.

"Regarding Xbox, we are making the necessary decisions in our portfolio, platform, and operations to restructure the business and ensure sustainable long-term growth," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told investors. "We have the best titles in the industry along with highly talented studios around the world. We trust in our ability to unite these assets and leverage them, and we expect Xbox to return to the path of growth during fiscal year 2027."

I've seen some try to pin blame on last year's Game Pass u-turn for Xbox's decline this year, but the timeline doesn't really add up. Game Pass did lose a ton of subscribers in the short-lived price hike, but it would've also monetized remaining users more heavily. In fact, subscription services remain a bright spot in an otherwise pressured industry.

"US non-mobile subscription video game spending grew 16% in the first half of 2026 when compared to the same time a year ago, to $3.6 billion," Circana Senior Director Mat Piscatella told us. "Total video game content spending across, PC, console, mobile, VR and cloud was flat, at $24.3 billion. Non-mobile subscription spending includes everything subscription, from service like Xbox Game Pass, Switch Online, etc. to the MMOs and everything in between."

What's the real culprit for Xbox's decline here?

Xbox insiders point to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 as the primary driver of this past year's decline, although the lack of major tentpole AAA titles is also worth pointing the finger at as well. The previous fiscal year saw a pretty huge amount of content hit Xbox's coffers, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 was touted as the biggest in franchise history. Exceeding that expectation simply didn't come to bear.

Call of Duty had some unprecedented competition last year from a resurgent Battlefield 6 and incumbents like Arc Raiders. And debates around Call of Duty's cartoony skins impacted perceptions around the game in general.

There are also other major titles at Xbox seeing pressure right now. Minecraft saw a huge explosion on the back of the 2025 movie in the previous fiscal, and hasn't really had a comparable boost in 2026. Roblox is likely doing more damage to Minecraft than Microsoft is willing to publicly admit right now, as Asha Sharma brings Mojang in-house as a direct report to her.

Candy Crush Saga is an absolutely monstrously huge franchise that core gamers often ignore, and even that has seen immense pressure on mobile from similar casual games, like Monopoly Go.

Xbox Game Pass has seen disruption from its ill-advised price hike last year, and Xbox hardware is under strain from the memory rout. But they're a drop in the bucket compared to the mega franchises Xbox now governs.

The challenge facing Xbox is tough, but is NOWHERE near insumountable

Despite challenges, there are already green shoots of recovery worth pointing towards. Call of Duty Black Ops 1+2's unexpected bare-bones (i.e. very cheap) ports to PlayStation 5 has seen it inexplicably claim the top spot on PS5, beating out Fortnite itself. It could open up a very big opportunity for Call of Duty "Classic" ports that nostalgic millennial cohorts are eager to re-experience, without the ridiculous skins and pop-culture bloat the modern games often tout.

Xbox is also returning to exclusive games to try and boost its hardware visibility. The memory crisis will likely prevent real growth in this area for at least a year or more, but Xbox Helix is around the corner — there's an opportunity for Xbox to innovate on the traditional console business model here.

Microsoft insiders have reiterated to me that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood are giving Asha Sharma some breathing space on accountability margin expectations, in order to let the new strategy play out. The price of this has been absolutely massive layoffs, the biggest in Xbox history, as the brand resets various studios to staffing levels seen pre-Covid.

Xbox has become an enormous and unwieldy operation, though. Ensuring each part of the business is delivering on the opportunities ahead of it represents a massive and complex undertaking that Xbox arguably has struggled with. Since it acquired Minecraft, Activision, Blizzard, ZeniMax, and others over the past twelve years, Xbox has solidified itself as arguably the biggest content house on Earth this side of Disney. Maximizing the opportunities therein will take real investment, innovation, and risk-taking that I'm not sure Microsoft (or its shareholders) have the stomach for.

It should be clear how much potential there is here. The Fallout TV show, the Minecraft movie, and other big wins have proven beyond all doubt that Xbox can create a cohesive content portfolio that spans mediums and devices. But can it achieve this without sacrificing the core of what Xbox is?

It'll be interesting to see how Asha Sharma navigates all of these challenges in the coming years ahead. Asha Sharma arguably has the biggest business challenge in all of gaming right now.

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If you got in from work or school today hoping for a chill evening playing Xbox, you might've been greeted with an array of annoying errors.

Indeed, the Xbox network (don't call it Xbox Live) was down for 15~ hours for many today, with services still intermittent for some even now. For the most part, it seems to have recovered as of writing.

It's not a great look, considering how much of a spotlight PlayStation has thrown onto digital ownership rights in the past few weeks. Sony's decision to announce that it is sunsetting delivering games on physical discs has gamers questioning what they stand to lose, and today's major Xbox outage is a big hint.

The Xbox network (not Xbox Live) has a generally good uptime. It suffered an outage last week during Halo Campaign Evolved's launch window, but before then I can scarcely remember the last time it had a major outage. Still, that's of little comfort for those actively paying for a service they aren't receiving, particularly given how strapped for free time many of us are.

Xbox's shiny new CTO Scott Van Vilet agrees, and posted a lengthy article on X (Twitter) to explain what went wrong, and what Xbox plans to do better.

"This is an unacceptable situation, and we must do better to support you. Over the coming weeks, you'll hear more from me about our services, our platform, and the work we're doing to make XBOX better. And that starts with some transparency about this incident."

Van Vilet explained that Microsoft's licensing library system began failing yesterday, which had a cascading affect on dependencies outside of the the core Microsoft Store. Microsoft engineers prioritized Xbox traffic to other parts of Microsoft's cloud array while repairing the faulty license entitlement systems.

Van Vilet explained that Xbox plans to launch a "full post-incident review" with the goal of preventing this from happening again.

"We're running a full post-incident review. I care less about the one-line root cause and more about the real questions: why a failure in one service was able to take down this much, why recovery took as long as it did, and what we change so a single point of failure can't ruin your night again."

Van Vilet closed by thanking Xbox fans for their patience, and promising to "do better."

The downsides of digital are very much in the spotlight right now

Microsoft hasn't responded to PlayStation's decision to kill disc-based games, but there's little reason to think Xbox won't follow suit. I heard that the previous Xbox leadership also made the decision that Xbox Helix would not have a disc drive some time ago, although the absolutely massive backlash to Sony's announcement may have them reconsidering.

Microsoft is expected to be announcing a disc-to-digital entitlement program codenamed Positron, which will allow users to convert their disc-based games to permanent digital licenses on their Xbox account.

It's a great idea, if it works as rumored, and will give physical gamers an opportunity to enjoy digital entitlement benefits like Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Play Anywhere, and protect their licenses on the net.

The downsides are obvious, though. With digital games set to be phased out, digital rights over content are becoming increasingly questioned. There's presently no legal mechanism in most markets to bequeath digital goods to loved ones upon death, for example. There's no mechanism for reselling digital games on a second-hand market. Sharing digital games is also impossible on most platforms, although Steam and Nintendo have provided some innovations in this area — Xbox and PlayStation have yet to follow suit. Many Xbox and PlayStation games won't function offline even if you have the disc, given that many modern games don't actually run from the disc these days anyway, or have weird forced (and oft-unnecessary) always-online systems.

The outage, while relatively brief and annoying, once again shines a spotlight on some of these digital entitlement problems. It'll be interesting to see how Xbox addresses the situation when it reveals Positron.

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One thing that has long bugged me about Ubisoft's involvement in Xbox and PC Game Pass is how terrible their PC versions are.

I literally tweeted about this the other week. Every time I turn on my Xbox Ally, I'm greeted with recommendations for Ubisoft+ Classics as part of my Game Pass subscription. There are a ton of great Ubisoft games available on Xbox PC and Xbox PC handhelds, but they never have Xbox achievements, they don't support Xbox Play Anywhere, and they don't support cloud saves. "Do not buy these," I wrote. Well, Ubisoft is at least fixing that last part.

Announced on Xbox Wire today, Microsoft and Ubisoft announced an extended collaboration between the firms.

For Xbox Series X|S players, if you own the following Ubisoft games, you will now be able to access the PC versions for free. Sadly, it doesn't work in the opposite direction for users who purchased Ubisoft games via the Xbox PC store.

• Assassin’s Creed Mirage
• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
• Far Cry 6
• Immortals Fenyx Rising
• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
• Riders Republic
• Skull and Bones
• The Crew 2
• The Crew Motorfest
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
• Watch Dogs Legion

A couple of weeks ago, Ubisoft added over 80 games to the Xbox PC store, many of which are included in Ubisoft+ Classics, which is included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

NONE of these games support Xbox Play Anywhere, however. Meaning you won't get achievements, save synchronicity, or any other Xbox-adjacent features. These are the most basic, lazy-ass ports Ubisoft could commit to, despite the fact Ubisoft+ Classics has inflated the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. EA games on Xbox PC are similarly bad at supporting Xbox core functionality.

"From today, customers that purchase a digital version of the listed titles will immediately get the XBOX console and XBOX on PC digital versions. For existing owners of an XBOX digital version of the listed titles, you will receive the PC version during a progressive rollout period until August 4."

In order to access these titles, you need to have the latest version of the similarly poor Ubisoft Connect PC app, which as of writing, won't update for me and simply returns an error. If only Microsoft provided a decent delivery mechanism for games publishers could use instead.

On the plus side, the games are at least well-optimized for handhelds like the Xbox Ally X. And some do include progression syncing between PC and Xbox Series X|S consoles via Ubisoft Connect (when it works). Although the functionality is invariably poorer than Xbox's own via Play Anywhere.

While this is at least a nice gesture, it's still incredibly frustrating that Ubisoft refuses to implement even the most basic Xbox features on Xbox PCs and heldhelds like the Xbox Ally. If you want a "true" Xbox experience for these games, you're honestly better off streaming them from Xbox Cloud Gaming or Xbox Remote Play.

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Xbox players have been begging Microsoft for years to give it AAA tentpole games on par with what PS5 players have historically gotten, and right at the finish line, Microsoft said "nah."

Time for a rant.

Microsoft famously confirmed that Xbox players will no longer have exclusive content a few years ago, in a weird "business update" video that has since become notorious. Xbox fans expressed concern that, without exclusive content, nobody would want to buy an Xbox. Lo and behold, the absolute obvious truth was, in fact, correct.

Microsoft's utterly doomed multi-platform strategy is on the way out after the firm admitted it had failed to deliver growth. New CEO Asha Sharma is committing to bringing back exclusive content for Xbox Series X|S consoles. Unfortunately, it may simply be too little too late to save the brand in the long term, but it sounds like what remains of Xbox is going to give it a good old try at least.

Xbox players will get Gears of War: E-Day and mind-bendingly dark RPG Clockwork Revolution as exclusive games in the near term, but various projects are still slated for PlayStation. The biggest and most crucial among these is none other than Fable, developed by Playground Games of Forza Horizon fame.

Microsoft has already committed brand suicide by putting Xbox icon Halo onto PlayStation 5 this past month, although I wouldn't exactly be shocked if subsequent Halo titles end up skipping PS5 moving forward.

The same cannot be said for the next Fable, though, which sources suggest has run "uncomfortably" beyond budget. Microsoft previously noted that any games previously announced as multiplatform would continue to be, and that includes Fable.

The darkly satirical Fable RPG franchise has been (up until next year) Xbox and Windows exclusive, although dormant for some time. Playground took the reins a few years back, with the hopes of delivering a truly ambitious AAA experience on par with the likes of The Witcher 3 and other big-hit expansive RPGs.

Rather than use Fable as Xbox's own answer to PlayStation's high-quality exclusive titles, Microsoft is instead co-shipping it on PS5 day and date in February 2027. And now, it has been revealed that it'll go head-to-head with a massive exclusive from Sony itself.

God of War: Laufey is the next entry in one of PlayStation's most iconic franchises, and it'll launch one day before Fable's early access period on February 16, 2027.

The timing of the launch date is another hilarious reminder of how self-defeating Xbox's multi-platform push will continue to be long into the future. I suspect God of War: Laufey's launch window will punish Fable's PS5 sales quite substantively, even if the latter turns out to be a solid game.

The timing highlights that on PlayStation 5, not only will you be getting a tentpole exclusive from Sony, but also one from Xbox. Xbox fans will be left with less choice for putting their faith in Microsoft over Sony — a stark reminder of how little respect Satya Nadella's Microsoft has for its customers, and Xbox in general.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has been tasked to change the way Xbox consoles are perceived. She did a flurry of interviews in the first half of the year, and repeated that "Xbox starts with console" in various permutations. Xbox consoles have also seen a ton of updates and improvements recently, alongside claims that more exclusive games will come beyond Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution.

The timing couldn't be worse, though. The memory crisis has seen the Xbox Series X|S base price increase for the second time in a year. Despite going multiplatform and delivering record revenue last year, Xbox decided to lay off thousands starting this summer, divesting studios in the process.

In any case, God of War: Laufey's launch date is most likely coincidental. But symbolically at the very least, it's a plain reminder of how dumb Microsoft's approach to Xbox exclusivity has been up until now.

It was a cute vision. The idealist vision that players could access content regardless of platform. Xbox's efforts here got PlayStation to open up to cross-play, and even forced Sony to experiment by putting games on PC and even Helldivers 2 onto Xbox itself. PlayStation decided it was a silly idea not long afterward, pulling out of PC almost entirely. In the end, the whole ordeal just served to scream to potential customers that PlayStation is a more abundant content platform — painting Xbox as a weak, dying ecosystem. I'm sure that's a great way to pitch your platform to potential customers and developers.

There isn't a platform in history that has survived without having at least some form of exclusive content. Apple TV, Netflix, Nintendo Switch, Prime Video ... I'm not sure whether it was simple greed, hubris, or some form of corporate madness that led Microsoft to believe Xbox could survive without a reason to actually buy into the platform. Alas, consumer-facing businesses are absolutely not Microsoft's strength. And certainly not CEO Satya Nadella's strength, who seems laser-focused on turning Microsoft into IBM. But I digress.

Let's see if Microsoft learns its lesson for the 500th time.

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One thing that has dogged Xbox users since the beginning of time is the inconsistent speeds games often download at.

The same seems true across both Xbox PC and Xbox Series X|S (and older) consoles, where download speeds often fail to come close to what you're actually paying for via your ISP.

There are numerous factors at play when it comes to download speeds specifically. Steam generally has set the bar here, with very visible download metrics in its app that show how data is downloading in addition to the speed at which it's writing data to your storage device. Indeed, I was told before that sometimes Xbox downloads can appear "slow" because it gets backed up while unpacking data to your disk space, even it still displays as a "download" in the app. But I digress.

Xbox announced yesterday evening that it is working to boost download speeds across its network, starting with Xbox Alpha Skip-Ahead users on the Xbox Insider Program.

"Users will experience a new feature to optimize game install and update speeds by introducing a smart download client," the update reads. "Shortly after your game download begins, the client will check which content servers are available for the install or update. It will then test the connection speed to each server pool and select the fastest available connection for that install. The speed test will rerun periodically during the install or update to ensure that the client continues using the fastest available connection." The update notes also describe improvements to general stability and performance, as well as a fix for downloads sometimes hanging.

Even though this update is targeting Xbox consoles, it seems to have boosted my experience on Xbox PC devices as well. As someone who plays about 50% of the time on Xbox Ally these days, this boost in download consistency has been a welcome add. My internet at partner's place (in the countryside) is pretty abysmal compared to what you can get in a big city, so every wasted MB is particularly annoying when trying to download big games or updates. I was pleasantly surprised to see Halo Campaign Evolved and Beast of Reincarnation pre-downloads hitting my max 250 mb/s download capacity, which is honestly generally rare to see for me.

It's nice to see the incremental updates flooding back to the Xbox platform. For a long time it felt like Xbox was grossly under-funding its hardware platforms, but new CEO Asha Sharma seems intent on bringing back Xbox as a platform. She's pledged console exclusives again for Xbox for the first time in years, and we've already seen a variety of small and major improvements to the Xbox ecosystem. Xbox achievements are once again getting new additions, Xbox back compat program just hit Windows PC, among other smaller changes.

Although with Xbox's huge layoffs biting throughout this year, it remains to be seen just how long this new feature shipping cadence will last ...

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One depressing part of the Xbox story over the past few years has revolved around Xbox hardware sales, which have been in near freefall decline quarter in, quarter out.

Factoring the memory crisis, attention market saturation, bad marketing, and the general negativity over the Xbox brand — the Xbox Series X|S platform has had a pretty awful gen, despite arguably being the best console Microsoft has ever made (on paper).

RELATED: Xbox Series X|S price / stock tracker (before price hikes)

There's no reason to think that Xbox's hardware fortunes won't continue to struggle in the near term. Price hikes are pending for these consoles, and the memory shortage is expected to get even worse before it gets better. But, hey, positive momentum is positive momentum, I guess.

Xbox Series had a good June in the US. Units up 86% vs last June, avg price up as well. Highest US Xbox Series units this year. Last June, Xbox Series was seeing impact of the May price increase and the Switch 2 launch. So, big % growth on a smaller base last year. Still, good month for Xbox Series.

— @matpiscatella.bsky.social (@matpiscatella.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-07-22T18:35:49.083Z

Mat Piscatella of Circana noted Xbox's positive June upswing on BlueSky, charting that Xbox had its best month ever. He noted that the increase offsets a nasty decrease from last June, owing to the Nintendo Switch 2 launch and Xbox's initial price increase wave. Xbox also has price increases pending for August, which has likely driven additional sales in the short term as users get on board now before rates go up. Piscatella noted that Nintendo Switch 2 was down -78% year over year, and PS5 was down -43%.

There are other potential factors here too for Xbox. Xbox has had a bit of a spotlight on it recently. Forza Horizon 6 has enjoyed massive sales success, and is presently exclusive to Xbox Series X|S on console (exclusives sell systems? who knew). New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has also created some positive excitement for the brand, and hints of a more aggressive posture on exclusive content, a price cut for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and the promise of new games like Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution also might be having some impact. There's also the GTA 6 bounce. The Xbox Series S is going to be the cheapest way to access GTA 6 for the foreseeable future, despite the price hikes.

Microsoft might also simply be allocating more stock to the U.S. market. Japan, for example, has seen Xbox sales dive down from thousands of units, to hundreds, to mere dozens of units in recent years. Prioritizing Microsoft's core market in the short term seems like a smart play than trying to muddle through in markets where it has traditionally struggled. Although longer term, new CEO Asha Sharma has signalled intents to grow Xbox beyond its traditional Western shores.

Xbox isn't out of the woods yet

It's also true that Xbox is growing from a very small base number of units. An 86% increase might seem like a lot, but if you're starting with a low number already, Xbox still has a ways to go to show real growth. Still, up is up, and "up" is probably the only way Xbox can go from here.

I wrote recently how only heavy-hitting exclusives will change Xbox's console fortunes. The overall base of console gamers probably won't grow until Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo figure out a way to siphon youngsters moving directly to Roblox when joining the industry. Roblox is under pressure from world governments to tighten protections for youngsters, as the dangers of the social media-adjacent gaming platform become increasingly apparent.

RELATED: Xbox brings back compat games to PC for the first time

Games like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls enjoy mass market appeal. It's particularly true of Fallout, which has enjoyed mainstream TV show success recently. Minecraft as well represents vast untapped potential as a potential system seller for Xbox. The previous Xbox administration felt content to leave Minecraft to its own devices, but new CEO Asha Sharma has brought Minecraft directly in-house at Xbox, potentially signalling intent to leverage its mainstream status to synergise marketing beats with Xbox hardware.

It remains to be seen if Xbox Series X|S can finish with positive hardware growth for the quarter overall. The RAMpocalypse is on-going, and Xbox Series X|S consoles will pick up price hikes soon, too. But many gamers on Xbox One will likely be looking to upgrade for the first time specifically for GTA 6 soon, as well as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, which is cutting off last gen for the first time.

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