{"id":456141,"date":"2026-02-05T20:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/456141\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T20:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T20:19:10","slug":"heres-what-xbox-is-working-on-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/456141\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what Xbox is working on for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Microsoft has a big year ahead for Xbox as it marks its 25-year milestone. After the tough decision to release more Xbox games on rival consoles two years ago<\/a>, 2026 is a chance to refocus on the platform and celebrate some of Xbox\u2019s biggest franchises. It\u2019s also an opportunity for Microsoft to define its vision for the future of Xbox, after months of confusion from fans and plummeting Xbox hardware sales.<\/p>\n

Xbox kicked off 2026 with its annual Developer Direct<\/a> last month, a preview of some of the games it\u2019s publishing this year. Microsoft is lining up its \u201cfour horsemen\u201d for 2026: Forza, Halo, Fable, and Gears of War. These franchises have been the driving force behind Microsoft\u2019s own Xbox games over the past 25 years, and I\u2019m told there\u2019s a big effort internally to ensure all four games debut on time this year.<\/p>\n

Forza Horizon 6 is first up on May 19th, and sources at Microsoft tell me that Halo: Campaign Evolved is tentatively targeting release over the summer. Microsoft is planning to release Fable in the fall, with Gears of War: E-Day also scheduled for the second half of 2026. I understand Microsoft has a good idea of when both should launch, but it\u2019s also keen to avoid being too close to Grand Theft Auto VI\u2019s November 19th date. Rockstar\u2019s modern day Vice City could still slip further, but Take-Two announced this week<\/a> that marketing for Grand Theft Auto VI is due to start in the summer.<\/p>\n

Outside of the big four, I understand Double Fine is also preparing to launch its new Kiln game in April. Bethesda is also working on new content for Starfield that looks set to debut soon. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if we also hear about a PS5 version of Starfield, years after it was first rumored<\/a>. Don\u2019t be surprised if any of these game dates slip or change \u2014 such is the reality of video game development.<\/p>\n

Blizzard is also celebrating 35 years, with a series of showcases<\/a> for World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, and Diablo. Overwatch 2 is now back to being just Overwatch, and there are plans for 10 new heroes<\/a> over the course of the year, new maps, and more.<\/p>\n

Fallout fans are also desperate for news about the Fallout 3 remaster we heard about in FTC documents from 2023<\/a>, or news of a Fallout: New Vegas remaster. The Fallout season 2 TV show finale debuted on Tuesday, and many fans were hoping a countdown website<\/a> was hinting at a Fallout 3 remaster. The game is still in active development, and I understand Bethesda is keen to ensure it\u2019s as well polished as the surprise release<\/a> of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered last year.<\/p>\n

Beyond Xbox games, 2026 is also an important year for Microsoft\u2019s Xbox hardware and software platforms. The release of the Xbox Ally handhelds from Asus last year marked a new effort to bring Windows and Xbox closer together<\/a>. This model of third-party devices now looks like the future of Xbox hardware and software.<\/p>\n

Microsoft is working on several improvements to the Xbox \u201cfull screen experience\u201d that powers the Xbox Ally devices. An Automatic Super Resolution (Auto SR) feature, which uses an NPU to upscale games, is set to debut in the coming months for the Xbox Ally X. Microsoft is also planning to use the NPU inside the Xbox Ally X to launch a new highlight reel feature that uses AI models to automatically capture gameplay and make it easy to share the footage on social media.<\/p>\n

An improved Xbox PC UI is also being developed. It\u2019s based on the changes Microsoft has been testing<\/a> in the new desktop mode for Xbox Cloud Gaming. It features a floating Xbox guide interface and smooth animations, and I expect to see this UI unified across Xbox consoles, PC, and cloud.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll probably hear more about Xbox PC plans and further hints at the direction of Xbox consoles at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) next month. Microsoft has used GDC in the past to detail key developer changes to Xbox, as well as next-gen Xbox development plans<\/a>. While I\u2019m not expecting to hear full details about the next Xbox, I\u2019d expect the various sessions will shed further light on the plans to merge Xbox and Windows, as well as more of Microsoft\u2019s AI work in gaming<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t be seeing a next-gen Xbox release this year, though. AMD CEO Lisa Su hinted this week<\/a> that Microsoft could launch its next-gen Xbox in 2027. \u201cDevelopment of Microsoft\u2019s next-gen Xbox, featuring an AMD semi-custom SoC, is progressing well to support a launch in 2027,\u201d said Su in an earnings call on Tuesday. Microsoft has only vaguely teased its next-gen Xbox plans so far, and I\u2019m hoping that a bigger teaser is set for later this year.<\/p>\n

Xbox fans will get a new controller this year, though. I\u2019m hearing that Microsoft has greenlit next-gen Xbox controllers that include Wi-Fi connectivity to reduce Xbox Cloud Gaming latency. A new Xbox controller was originally planned for 2024<\/a>, alongside a canceled Xbox Series X refresh. Windows Central<\/a> also expects an Xbox Elite Controller Series 3 debut in 2026, which would align with a rollout of next-gen Xbox controllers.<\/p>\n

New Xbox controllers that connect directly to Xbox Cloud Gaming could help boost Microsoft\u2019s Game Pass numbers and complement plans for free ad-supported access<\/a> to cloud games. I understand Microsoft is getting close to testing free Xbox Cloud Gaming streaming with Xbox Insiders, ahead of a broader rollout this year.<\/p>\n

While the free Xbox Cloud Gaming won\u2019t be a new Game Pass tier, sources tell me Microsoft is in the early stages of exploring ways to expand its Game Pass subscription lineup. After a Game Pass Ultimate price hike in October<\/a>, I understand that Microsoft is looking at ways to bundle third-party services with Game Pass subscriptions and potentially even merge Xbox Game Pass Premium and PC Game Pass together. I wouldn\u2019t expect to see any major changes to Game Pass this year, though.<\/p>\n

Microsoft already added PC games to its various Xbox Game Pass subscriptions in October, with the dedicated PC Game Pass subscription rising by nearly 40 percent to cover the cost of day one releases. Microsoft is still seeing growth in PC Game Pass subscriptions, but it needs to clear up its fragmented subscription options if the future of Xbox consoles is PC.<\/p>\n

All of the Xbox platform changes and pressure on big game releases add up to an important year for Xbox as it marks its 25-year anniversary. I\u2019m certainly hoping that by the end of the year we\u2019ll have a much better idea of Microsoft\u2019s vision for the next 25 years of Xbox.<\/p>\n

Microsoft is experimenting with a top menu bar for Windows 11. Microsoft\u2019s PowerToys team is contemplating building a top menu bar for Windows 11<\/a>, much like Linux, macOS, or older versions of Windows. The menu bar is actually a dock for Microsoft\u2019s Command Palette PowerToy, and will provide quick access to tools, monitoring of system resources, and much more. You\u2019ll be able to position this dock at the top, left, right, or bottom edge of a screen, which already makes it more flexible than the Windows 11 Start menu. We\u2019re now waiting to see if Microsoft goes ahead and fully builds this dock or not.Jeffrey Epstein was permanently banned from Xbox Live. Microsoft booted Jeffrey Epstein from its online gaming platform in 2013<\/a>. It was part of a ban wave of registered sex offenders. It\u2019s not clear if Epstein ever played Xbox, and the rest of the so-called Epstein files don\u2019t reveal much more about Epstein\u2019s Xbox habits.Former Windows 8 boss recruited Epstein to help negotiate his messy Microsoft exit. Not only did the Epstein files reveal an Xbox ban for Epstein and claims that Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates allegedly contracted an STD<\/a>, they also appear to show how former Windows 8 boss Steven Sinofsky recruited Epstein to negotiate his messy exit from Microsoft. The emails appear to show<\/a> that Sinofsky constantly sought Epstein\u2019s advice as he negotiated his surprise exit from Microsoft in November 2012, forwarding emails to him in nearly real time as talks progressed. Sinofsky also appears to have forwarded a confidential email between Microsoft executives to Epstein in July 2013 that details the issues around the launch of Surface, warning that the Surface RT tablet was \u201cabout to catastrophically fail in a very public way.\u201dMicrosoft says it\u2019s building an app store for AI content licensing. Microsoft is creating a new Publisher Content Marketplace (PCM), a licensing hub that could make it easier for AI companies to pay for \u201cpremium\u201d content. Microsoft says it\u2019s been codesigning PCM<\/a> with companies including Verge parent Vox Media, The Associated Press, Cond\u00e9 Nast, People, and others. It\u2019s certainly an improvement over scraping and ingesting content into AI models without payment, but The New York Times is still in the middle of a copyright lawsuit against Microsoft and OpenAI, claiming that the companies built their AI models by \u201ccopying and using millions\u201d of the publication\u2019s articles.Call of Duty tries to block XIM and Cronus cheaters again. Activision is trying to crack down on third-party hardware cheating devices in Call of Duty again. Devices like XIM, Cronus Zen, and ReaSnow S1 can enable unfair advantages that exploit aim assist, and now Activision is introducing new detections<\/a> to ban the devices. Activision attempted to detect the devices in the past, but it\u2019s now switching its detection software to focus on player inputs, rather than attempt to detect devices that are designed to be hidden. The new detections will go live with season 2 of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 this week.Google Cloud\u2019s customer chief returns to Microsoft as head of security. In a surprise move, Microsoft announced a new head of security this week. Hayete Gallot, who left Microsoft in October 2024 to become the president of Google Cloud\u2019s customer experience, is returning to the software giant<\/a> as the executive vice president of security, reporting directly to CEO Satya Nadella. This leaves Charlie Bell, Microsoft\u2019s former security chief, in a new role at the company. While Bell and Nadella claim this move was planned, Microsoft\u2019s security record over Bell\u2019s four years in charge speaks for itself. In 2024, the Cyber Safety Review Board concluded that \u201cMicrosoft\u2019s security culture was inadequate and requires an overhaul,\u201d after a series of high-profile security issues. Microsoft has been focused on cybersecurity ever since, in a bid to win back trust.GitHub adds Claude and Codex AI coding agents. GitHub is making Claude by Anthropic and OpenAI\u2019s Codex AI coding agents directly available inside GitHub this week. A new public preview adds Claude and Codex to GitHub<\/a>, GitHub Mobile, and Visual Studio Code, for users with a Copilot Pro Plus or Copilot Enterprise subscription. GitHub is increasingly embracing multiple AI models to build its Copilot offering. Developers are already able to access models from Anthropic, Google, xAI, and OpenAI in GitHub Copilot, so integrating in rival AI coding agents feels like a natural next step.Windows 11 testers can now try out built-in Sysmon. Microsoft announced at Ignite in November that it was planning to add Sysmon into Windows<\/a>, and now Windows Insiders can test this integration<\/a>. Sysmon was first released in 2014 as a utility for security analysis into the Windows Event Log, and adding it to Windows will make it easier for security teams to detect and respond to threats.Inside Xbox, a game studio is trying to reinvent itself. Bloomberg\u2019s Jason Schreier takes an inside look at Microsoft-owned Obsidian Entertainment<\/a> this week, profiling the prolific Xbox game developer. Studio head Feargus Urquhart reveals that Obsidian is trying to cut game development timelines to three or four years per title, instead of the more than six years it took to ship Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2. Urquhart also appears to acknowledge Microsoft\u2019s aggressive 30 percent profit margins for games and hopes Microsoft will still fund riskier projects and accept that \u201cmaybe where we are going to be from a profitability standpoint isn\u2019t going to be 30 percent.\u201d Nvidia is investigating PC gaming issues with Microsoft\u2019s latest Windows update. The ongoing saga of the January 2026 Windows 11 update isn\u2019t slowing down. After shutdown issues, Dropbox crashes, and boot failures, Nvidia now says<\/a> shadow artifacts in games like Forza Horizon 5 could be related to the January 2026 update. \u201cEven though it started after a Windows 11 update, we are looking into it,\u201d says Manuel Guzman, a software QA at Nvidia. \u201cAs far as I know, the only way to resolve it appears to be uninstalling KB5074109.\u201dXbox achievement redesign spotted in Xbox Cloud Gaming UI refresh. Microsoft appears to be redesigning its Xbox achievements system. Xbox fans have spotted a new achievement design<\/a> inside the Xbox Cloud Gaming overhaul. Rare achievements have an updated purple diamond icon, and regular ones have a new trophy surrounded by a wreath. It\u2019s not clear if this same design will appear on Xbox consoles anytime soon, though.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m always keen to hear from readers, so please drop a comment here, or you can reach me at notepad@theverge.com<\/a> if you want to discuss anything else. If you\u2019ve heard about any of Microsoft\u2019s secret projects, you can reach me via email at notepad@theverge.com<\/a> or speak to me confidentially on the Signal messaging app, where I\u2019m tomwarren.01<\/a>. I\u2019m also tomwarren on Telegram, if you\u2019d prefer to chat there.<\/p>\n

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Correction, February 5th: Removed mention of special edition consoles as they\u2019re unlikely to launch this year.<\/p>\n

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