Xbox Journalist Denies Report About Backwards Compatibility Plans For 2026

xbox-journalist-denies-report-about-backwards-compatibility-plans-for-2026

“This particular scenario isn’t on the cards today”.

Earlier today, an elaborate report from YouTuber eXtas1s about Xbox’s apparent backwards compatibility overhaul for 2026 began attracting a lot of attention online, and many have been trying to find out more details in the hours since.

Speaking on social media a few hours later, Windows Central editor Jez Corden explained that he believes the report is “false”, advising that although Xbox wants to bring more games to more places, “this particular scenario isn’t on the cards today”. Here are a couple of his responses that we’ve spotted:

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Gears Of War: Reloaded Beta Extended, Extra Mode Added For Weekend 2

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More Gears beta time for all!

Gears of War: Reloaded beta weekend 2 is about to begin tomorrow evening, and prior to this second and final beta test for the upcoming remaster, developer The Coalition has announced some extra goodies for fans to get stuck into.

First and foremost, this second beta period will be slightly longer than weekend 1. The upcoming test now runs from 12pm PT on June 20 to 9pm PT on June 22, with the beta carrying into the early hours of Monday morning in certain regions. For the full breakdown on Gears of War: Reloaded beta timings, check out the link below.

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With Its Next Console, Xbox Is Making A Big Commitment To Backwards Compatibility

with-its-next-console,-xbox-is-making-a-big-commitment-to-backwards-compatibility

You love to see it.

We’ve been hearing quite a lot over the past year about Xbox’s new game preservation team, indicating that the brand is working hard to ensure games remain backwards compatible on the next generation of Xbox hardware.

Most of that information has come from reports or job adverts though, so it was great to officially hear yesterday as part of Xbox’s next-gen strategy announcement that backwards compatibility is a massive focus for the future.

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Next-Gen Xbox Partnership Will ‘Push The Boundaries Of What’s Possible’, Says AMD Exec

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“A bold new chapter for the future of gaming”.

You may have seen that Xbox announced plans for its next-gen hardware strategy (including consoles) as part of a YouTube video earlier today, and AMD is joining forces via a multi-year agreement to make all of this possible.

We’ve already heard what Xbox’s Sarah Bond had to say about all this, but AMD executive Jack Huynh has also chimed in on social media about it, describing the partnership as a “bold new chapter for the future of gaming”.

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Talking Point: Would You Like To See A New Type Of Forza Game In 2026?

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Or just more Horizon next year?

During the big Xbox Games Showcase last month, boss Phil Spencer teased a brand-new Forza game coming in 2026, which we’re assuming will be Forza Horizon 6. However, if you could make the call, would you create a new Forza spin-off instead? It’s something we’ve started to think about a little bit here at Pure Xbox!

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Four Games Are Confirmed For Xbox Game Pass In July 2025 So Far

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An early look at what’s to come.

As we always do around this time of the month, we’re taking a look today at what’s ahead for July 2025’s Xbox Game Pass selection, with four games having been confirmed for Game Pass next month at the time of writing.

We’ve got some huge games coming to the service in July right now, including Xbox first-party releases Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 and Grounded 2, alongside a couple of other noteworthy additions.

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Opinion: It Feels Like Microsoft Is Planning A Huge Final Year Of Xbox Series X|S In 2026

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Could next-gen follow in 2027?

The dust has now settled on the big Xbox Games Showcase this year, and overall, it was a decent show. It’s provided us a good look at what’s to come for the rest of 2025, and I’m definitely satisfied with how the lineup is looking for the full year. However, it does feel a bit like Microsoft has held a lot back for 2026 – and I’m starting to get the feeling that something big is planned for next year.

We’ve covered a lot of this elsewhere on Pure Xbox of course — either from Phil’s in-show teases or his podcast interview after the showcase — but personally, I think there’s more to it than what’s been hinted at so far. With tons of rumours pointing towards next-gen happening in 2027,

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‘Subscription Price Increase’ Tag Reportedly Added To Xbox Cloud Gaming Website

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Does it mean anything? Who knows!

Almost exactly a month ago, we put out a poll on Pure Xbox asking you whether you felt Xbox Game Pass would get a price increase this year, and some believe that a new “subscription price increase” tag is hinting at exactly that.

The tag was spotted by the social media account behind the Better xCloud service, as seen below:

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Gears Of War: Reloaded Physical Version Confirmed For PS5, Nothing Yet For Xbox

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Rumour has it the full game is on-disc, too.

Gears of War: Reloaded marks the series’ PS5 debut later this year, and it seems as though PlayStation players will be getting even more bonuses beyond that. Not only is the game getting a proper disc-based physical release on PS5, but it’s looking like the whole game will actually be printed onto the disc too, unlike Indiana Jones.

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Xbox First-Party Handheld Plans ‘Essentially Cancelled’, Claims Report

xbox-first-party-handheld-plans-‘essentially-cancelled’,-claims-report

“I’ve heard from insiders”.

Back in late May, it was reported by Windows Central‘s Jez Corden that plans for a 2027 first-party Xbox handheld had been “sidelined” at Microsoft, although the company was still interested in developing something in the future.

The Verge is now taking this a step further today, with editor Tom Warren stating that based on what he’s heard, the first-party Xbox handheld has been “essentially cancelled”. Here’s an excerpt from his report:

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