Latest Xbox, multi-platform Game News & Updates
☁ Xbox, multi-platform News
634 articles
Halo: Campaign Evolved Sergeant Johnson mod replaces every human NPC
Halo: Campaign Evolved mod turns every human NPC into Sergeant Johnson, including key characters like Captain Keyes.
Xbox’s huge outage even blocked games on disc
An extended Xbox outage that began Sunday evening hasn't just caused issues for people trying to play digital games - it blocked people from playing their disc-based games, too. Xbox's status page initially reported the outage on Sunday at about 11PM ET, and it has also prevented people from logging in, launching apps, or finding &8230;
PSA: Xbox Platforms Suffering Major Service Outage
!Microsoft Gaming Xbox Series X/S CEO Asha Sharma Layoffs(https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/bodydefault/public/2026/06/11/b14c2ec5/Xbox%20New%20Logo.jpg.webp) Xbox is currently suffering a major service outage, days after PlayStation was hit with a similar issue(https://gameinformer.com/psa/2026/07/24/update-the-majority-of-playstation-network-services-are-back-online). Services such as booting up digital games, logging into your account, and browsing the Xbox Store are said to be affected. The service was first reported last night, July 26, at 11:10 p.m. ET. As of publishing, Xbox is still working to resolve these problems, according to the Xbox status page(https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-live-status), which was last updated at 2:48 p.m. ET. Four features are affected across Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and backwards compatibility. We've listed them below along with the official descriptions of their issues. Account & Profile: You may not be able to sign-in to your Xbox profile, may be disconnected while signed in, or have other related problems. Features that require sign-in like most games, apps and social activity won't be available. Store & Subscriptions: You might not see a game you're looking for in the Store right now. Games & Gaming: You may have problems playing your digital games right now. Apps & Mobile: You may have problems launching apps. These outages may not affect everyone equally; to test the outage for this story, I logged into my Xbox account on my Series X and booted up several games, both owned and downloaded from Game Pass, without problem. Still, this situation is worth keeping an eye on if you’re planning to jump into your Xbox over the next couple of hours.
New Trailer For S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2's Cost Of Hope Expansion Reveals August Release Date
!Game Informer News(https://www.gameinformer.com/sites/default/files/styles/bodydefault/public/2026/07/27/e8658972/stalker2-costofhope-screen-1.jpg.webp) S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl’s first major story expansion, Cost of Hope, is coming on August 20. The expansion was first announced(https://gameinformer.com/xbox-partner-preview/2026/03/26/stalker-2-heart-of-chornobyls-first-expansion-cost-of-hope-arrives) during the Xbox Partner Preview in March, and it will launch alongside Update 2.0, a massive overhaul to the entire post-apocalyptic adventure. In Cost of Hope, which is a paid expansion, players once again assume the role of protagonist Skif in a new narrative that unfolds in parallel to the events of the base campaign. A mysterious PDA signal draws Skif into a new storyline centered on rising tensions between the Duty and Freedom factions. Cost of Hope introduces two new regions, Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Iron Forest, along with new weapons, gear, and, naturally, mutated enemies. Cost of Hope will be the first of several planned expansions for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. Alongside Cost of Hope will be the arrival of Update 2.0(https://en.gamegpu.com/news/igry/patch-2-0-dlya-stalker-2-s-obnovleniem-do-unreal-engine-5-5-4-vyjdet-etim-letom), which upgrades S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to a new version of Unreal Engine 5 to improve stability and performance. Additionally, this free update introduces new content and gameplay improvements for all owners of the game. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Cost of Hope will be available for all versions of the base game on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The price of the expansion is currently unlisted, but it will be included in the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions of the game.
Stalker 2’s First Major Expansion Arrives Very Soon
Stalker 2 has been out for nearly two years, and if you've been itching to jump back into the post-apocalyptic hellscape, you'll have a great reason to do so. The game's first expansion, Stalker 2: Cost of Hope, releases in just a few weeks across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Cost of Hope puts you back in control of Stalker 2 protagonist Skif, with the character following a "mysterious PDA signal" as the dangerous Zone's Duty and Freedom factions come into conflict. GSC Game World promises "dozens of hours of content" along with new allies and enemies, weapons, and locations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5BwA-OUyNY The expansion will launch alongside the base game's Update 2.0, which will include "a new version of Unreal Engine 5" alongside "a variety of new content and improvements." Unlike the expansion itself, this update will be free. Stalker 2: Cost of Hope arrives on August 20. You can watch the release-date trailer above. The game originally launched on PC before coming to Xbox Series X|S and later to PS5. In our Stalker 2 review(https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/stalker-2-heart-of-chornobyl-review-in-the-zone/1900-6418320/), Richard Wakeling said, "It doesn't reinvent the wheel, and at times it feels like you're playing a game straight out of 2010, but that's part of the charm and feeds into what makes Stalker 2 the quintessential Stalker experience."
Xbox Network Is Down Right Now, Microsoft Confirms
It's not just you; the Xbox network--or parts of it, depending on when you read this--is down. After users across the globe began reporting issues with the Xbox Network, Xbox identified several issues affecting its online services today. At the time of writing, the following functions are still experiencing "major issues" on the Xbox network: - Account and profile - Store and subscriptions - Games and gaming - Apps and mobile These problems are widespread(https://support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-live-status), and include an inability to sign into network services, disconnections, and missing games from the storefront. Xbox says that the problems have been identified, and it is working on a solution, but there's no ETA for when these fixes will be applied. "We are aware that some users are encountering errors when attempting to sign in, see your game library, or launch games," Xbox's official support account posted online. "Our engineers are actively working to mitigate the issue." Console gamers also had to contend with an outage on the PlayStation Network(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/psn-is-down-2/) last week, which saw account management, gaming and social, PlayStation Video, the PlayStation Store, and PlayStation Direct go down for several hours--bad timing for anyone looking to jump into the Marvel Tokon open beta, and more fuel for the fire that PlayStation's social media has become as users demand that Sony reverse its decision to kill discs in 2028(https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-confirms-playstation-disc-production-will-end-in-2028/). Outages like these have also brought into question the decision for companies to embrace a digital-only future, as they effectively prevent users from accessing their game libraries.
You can get three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for almost half off
Subscribing to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on a recurring basis has been tough to justify recently, even after Microsoft reduced the monthly cost from $29.99 to $22.99. But you can get a better deal on a three-month subscription (valued at $69) by grabbing a digital code at Eneba that costs $39.01 at the time of &8230;
Halo: Combat Evolved invented Xbox, and that was just for starters
Bungie's 2001 masterpiece has been remade as Halo: Campaign Evolved, but no game ever needed it less
Persona 6 fans are already dreading the return of the wacky hot springs scene
A series staple since Persona 3, fans on reddit are debating whether the trope needs to return in the next installment of Atlus's RPG series
How to gift drop in Forza Horizon 6
Gift drop in Forza Horizon 6 lets you send cars to random players, and you might end up getting one, too. Here's how to gift drop in Forza Horizon 6
Halo: Campaign Evolved won't let you boundary break, annoyed fans say
Halo: Combat Evolved let you use tricks to escape levels, but players of the Halo: Campaign Evolved remake are mad that it removed that perk.
Halo: Campaign Evolved Legendary ending teases Halo 2 remake
Halo Studios is both teasing a Halo 2 remake and finally addressing a story problem that was only explained in a Halo novel.