By Microsoft’s seriously impressive games pipeline
- by Ben Kerry
It’s been a busy first half of the year for Microsoft, hasn’t it? Truth be told, we can’t remember a more stacked first half of a year for Xbox Game Studios titles in ages, with massive launches like Avowed, Oblivion Remastered, DOOM: The Dark Ages and more landing before the midway point of 2025. However, we’re here today to remind you that Xbox’s hot streak continues in the second half of the year, starting in July – with two huge first-party releases planned for this month alone.
Of course, those releases are Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 from the Activision team, and Grounded 2 from the ever-prolific studio over at Obsidian. The former lands in just under two weeks here on July 11th, while Grounded 2’s early access launch bookends what looks like yet another busy month for Xbox Game Studios and indeed Xbox Game Pass. July is usually one of the quieter months on the calendar but Xbox doesn’t seem fussed about that these days!
We know this serves as a quick reminder of Microsoft’s release activity for July, we can’t help but look further ahead as well. Gears of War: Reloaded and the enhanced version of Hellblade 2 arrive in August (another typically quiet month) before October brings three first-party games within two weeks of each other. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has to slot in there somewhere too – seriously, Microsoft has hardly any gaps this year!
Anyway, we just wanted to let you know that despite a frantic first half of 2025, you better not let your guard down just yet. Xbox is here yet again to add a couple of big additions to your backlog in July, before refusing to pump the breaks throughout the rest of the year. To catch up on all of July’s big releases, alongside what’s on the calendar for the rest of 2025, check out our full guides down below.
Which of July’s Xbox first-party releases are you playing? Tell us in the poll below and chat about ’em in the comments!
Ben is a News Writer at Pure Xbox, and is a fan of action, racing and straight-up shootin’ in any Xbox game he can get his hands on. When he’s not clutching an Xbox controller like his life depends on it, Ben spends his time listening to music that’s far too old for him, watching football on the telly and probably eating somewhere.