In a system update at the beginning of September, Microsoft quietly made a change that gamers have been requesting for years. Microsoft relaxed its DRM requirements for disc-based Xbox One games on the Xbox Series X. It’s a change that many felt was needed, especially as it related to single-player games with no online component. So what is DRM and what changed?
DRM, or Digital Rights Management, is the way that a system checks that the version of a game you are playing is a genuine version of the game and not a pirated or illegal copy of it. The Xbox Series X runs that check against an online server and will run the game when it receives an approval ping back from that server. Where players were frustrated, and where Xbox was stricter than competitors Sony and Nintendo, was Microsoft insisted on running this online check for disc-based Xbox One games that otherwise didn’t require the internet. For years and years, single-player games have been a reliable way to game even when you don’t have the internet, as no part of the game needed it. Microsoft requiring this check felt like an unnecessary and, frankly, pointless extra roadblock.
Fans noticed the requirement had vanished after update 2208 went live on September 6th. Xbox engineering lead Eden Marie confirmed the change in a Twitter reply. Eden stated that data collected since the launch of the Xbox Series X showed the check wasn’t needed for Xbox One disc games the vast majority of the time. She added that some games would still need to download updates for the best experience. Since the Smart Delivery platform means most games right now have the Xbox One version of the game on the disc and the Series X version exists as a download, most game discs that are out right now are Xbox One games and require the check. This change opens up a huge part of the Xbox library to running when offline, as long as the game itself doesn’t require the internet to play.
Microsoft made a lot of its fans very happy with this update. While they are still stricter with DRM than their competitors, this does show that they are listening to their audience and working to make changes where they make sense. Do you have any single player Xbox One games you plan to play offline now that this change is live? What are some other changes you’d like to see Microsoft make to how its games are accessed? Head on over to our Twitter account and let us know!
Image from: Microsoft/Xbox
