The Relic: First Guardian Lands on Xbox Series X|S With a Play Anywhere Entitlement
Perp Games' release announcement, distributed through Games Press on September 25, says today it launches across Xbox and Xbox Play Anywhere, Project Cloud Games and Perp Games announce. The date matches the schedule announced in August, which several outlets reported independently. RPGamer, for example, wrote that the game will release on Xbox Series X|S on September 25, 2026, with its Nintendo Switch 2 version following on October 9, 2026.
There is one small date discrepancy. Microsoft's own Xbox Wire "Next Week on Xbox" roundup put the game under September 24, tagged "Optimized for Xbox Series X|S" and "Xbox Play Anywhere." The publisher's announcement and the August reporting all say September 25. Either way, the game is available now.
The US Xbox Store listing backs up the platform details. It shows the Optimized for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Play Anywhere badges, lists Xbox Series X|S, PC and Handheld under "Play with," and names 4K Ultra HD, single player, Xbox achievements and Xbox cloud saves as capabilities. The store rates the game Mature 17+ for violence, blood and strong language. It also notes in-app purchases and a $9.99 add-on, The Night of the Unextinguished Flame DLC.
Why Xbox Play Anywhere Matters for Windows PC Buyers
For WindowsForum readers, the Play Anywhere badge is the most useful part of this launch. Microsoft's developer documentation describes the program simply: players buy the console or PC version from any Xbox online store and get access to both. Cross-progression is what makes that work across devices. Games that follow Microsoft's save requirements under a single TitleID carry cloud saves, achievements and progress between Xbox console and Windows PC.
In practice, if you buy The Relic: First Guardian on your Series X, you can install the same entitlement on a Windows PC through Xbox's PC storefront without paying again. The game's own store page lists Xbox cloud saves, which is the feature that lets you pick up progress on the other device. Neither the store listing nor the announcement explains how the game handles save sync conflicts or what the PC version's system requirements are. Check those before you commit, especially if you plan to play on a low-power handheld.
The entitlement only works in one direction. It comes from purchases made through Xbox stores. Based on how Microsoft describes the program, a copy you already own on Steam gives you nothing on Xbox, and an Xbox purchase does not unlock the Steam version. Anyone who bought on Steam in July and wants to play on a console has to buy again.
The Relic's Rocky PS5 and Steam Launch Is the Context for Xbox's "Polished" Claim
The game first launched on PlayStation 5 and PC on July 31, 2026, and it went badly. About a week later, Perp Games published a statement from Project Cloud Games that was unusually frank. The team said the launch "did not meet the standard of experience we intended to deliver" and gave a technical explanation. Its verification of several late changes had not been thorough enough, so some large dungeons stayed in memory after players left them instead of unloading. As that memory built up, it caused frame-rate drops, texture-loading problems and, worst of all, event and boss-encounter triggers that failed and could block progression.
By August 6 the studio had shipped six patches and was preparing a seventh. It listed its main fixes so far as follows:
- Event and boss-encounter triggers that could block progression were fixed.
- Overall stability and performance improved.
- Combat responsiveness and balance were adjusted.
- Rewards from enemies and world chests improved.
- More progression and crafting materials were placed throughout the world.
Patching continued after that. Perp Games' official Patch 17 notes, dated September 11, covered Steam and PS5 and added environmental improvements to named areas, extra audio, and fixes for the achievement-progress UI and revive animations. Patch 18, which appeared on Steam's news feed on September 18, changed map markers, dungeon-clear indicators, enemy density in early chapters, and two boss encounters. Final Weapon, which gave the game 3.5 out of 5, described it as "an engaging new action game that takes cues from the Soulslike genre while incorporating medieval and Korean folklore into the mix." The same review said it was clear that more polish was needed.
This is why the Xbox launch is a meaningful milestone. According to the publisher, the Xbox version benefits from dedicated optimisation, cleaner motion, sharper shadows and crisper detail, along with "extensive bug fixing and polishing" compared with the PS5 and PC release. It is a reasonable guess that an Xbox build finished two months after launch includes the structural memory fix. Neither Perp Games nor Microsoft has said which specific patches the Xbox build contains, and nobody has published resolution targets, frame-rate figures or graphics modes for Series X or Series S.
Pricing: The $34.99 Price Cut Came Before the Xbox Launch
Xbox buyers pay less than early PC and PS5 buyers did. In August, alongside the Xbox and Switch 2 dates, Perp Games announced a permanent price cut. Gamestic reported that the game's price will also drop from $49.99 to $34.99 across all platforms starting August 26. Worthplaying separately reported $34.99 as the digital price on all the new platforms, and that matches the "$34.99+" on the US Xbox Store. The UK price in the launch announcement is £29.99, with a note that exchange-rate changes may shift local digital-store prices slightly.
The one catch is a reward Xbox players cannot get. To compensate early buyers, Perp Games gave PS5 and PC owners who paid full price an exclusive Sealing Stone. VGChartz described it as an item that unlocks a unique dungeon featuring a dedicated storyline, boss fight, and special loot. It was not distributed again after August 26. Since that cutoff was a month before the Xbox launch, Xbox buyers could not have qualified. That appears to include Play Anywhere PC players, because the Play Anywhere PC version did not exist before August 26 either.
What The Relic: First Guardian Plays Like, in the Studio's Own Words
These descriptions of gameplay come from the publisher and the store listing, not from independent testing, but they help explain what kind of game this is. The setting is Arsilthus, a land ruined when the Great Relic was destroyed. The player's job is to close the void that the destruction left behind. Project Cloud Games is a core team of about a dozen people, and the publisher says the game took six years to make and draws on Korean folklore. The Xbox store also uses the broader phrase "Asian folklore."
The combat system is built around one idea. Attacks cost no resources, stamina is used only for defensive moves such as dodging and blocking, and skills run on cooldowns. The store adds that high-power magic also uses a separate meter. There are no traditional character levels. Players grow stronger through gear and Relics, which are rune-like fragments with more than 70 passive effects that can be swapped to change attack tempo and build. The store lists five weapon masteries: Sword & Shield, Battle Staff, Daggers, Two-Handed Weapons and Longsword.
The number of bosses depends on who is describing it. The launch announcement mentions 80 "Brutal" boss enemies, each with its own tragic backstory. The Xbox store says "up to 80 mythic encounters," which is the safer figure to rely on. Gamestic reported in August that planned patches would add map markers for the Brutal bosses and replace enemy gold drops with a skill-progression currency called Relic Power. Those changes point to the game's balance still changing after launch.
What Quick Resume and Switch 2 Add to the Picture
The announcement lists Quick Resume, the Xbox Series X|S feature that suspends a game and resumes it almost instantly after you switch titles, as a platform benefit alongside Play Anywhere. The store listing does not mention it, and no one has documented how well it works with this game. That is worth watching given the original memory-leak problem, but it is not a known issue.
The multi-platform rollout is not finished. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is scheduled for October 9, 2026. Its price, specifications and feature set have not been published beyond the $34.99 figure that Worthplaying reported for the new platforms.
What This Means for You
Whether to buy depends on which platforms you use and how much the July launch problems worry you. If you play on both an Xbox console and a Windows PC or handheld, the Play Anywhere entitlement makes the Xbox store the best-value way to own the game, because one $34.99 purchase covers both. If you already own it on Steam or PS5, you gain nothing from the Xbox release unless you want to play on a console. If you were waiting for reviews of the Xbox build, you can keep waiting. No outlet has yet published measurements of Xbox performance or stability.
- The Relic: First Guardian is available now on Xbox Series X|S with Xbox Play Anywhere, at $34.99 in the US Xbox Store and £29.99 in the UK.
- A Play Anywhere purchase from an Xbox store covers both the console and the Windows PC versions, and the store listing confirms Xbox cloud saves and achievements.
- Steam purchases do not include an Xbox entitlement, so Steam owners who want to play on a console have to buy again.
- The PS5 and PC launch on July 31 suffered from a dungeon memory leak that caused frame drops and blocked progression, and the studio has shipped more than 18 patches since then.
- The Xbox version's graphics and stability improvements are publisher claims, with no published frame-rate, resolution or mode details for Series X or Series S.
- The Sealing Stone bonus dungeon went only to full-price PS5 and PC buyers before August 26, so Xbox and Play Anywhere buyers cannot get it.
The Xbox launch is the game's best chance to recover from a poor first impression. It arrives at a lower price, after two months of patches, on a platform whose Play Anywhere entitlement gives Windows players a second storefront option. The first independent reports on how the Series X and Series S builds actually run will show whether the publisher's polish claims hold up, and the Switch 2 version on October 9 is the next release.
Update: Xbox DLC listing details a separate starter-content dungeon (September 25, 2026)
TheXboxHub reports that the £8.79 The Night of the Unextinguished Flame add-on includes access to the Sanctuary of the Forgotten Light dungeon, along with currency, Relic Energy, upgrade materials and exclusive equipment. That is more specific than the Xbox store’s basic confirmation that a paid DLC pack is available.
The package reportedly includes the Sealstone of the Undying Ember, Armor of the Unextinguished Vigil, and an Unextinguished Vigil Sword & Shield. This appears to be separate from the earlier Sealing Stone reward issued to qualifying full-price PC and PS5 buyers, rather than a way for Xbox players to claim that discontinued bonus.
TheXboxHub also says the game is not included with Xbox Game Pass at launch.