Microsoft is releasing a brand new update for its Xbox Series X / S, but also for its Xbox One. It focuses on ecology, since it aims for you to consume less energy. For example, downloads will be launched in specific time slots in order to use renewable energy.
Video games are not the greenest industry, far from it. However, many players in the sector are trying to make efforts to reduce the environmental impact of this hobby. This is the case of Microsoft with a new update dedicated to Xbox.
This update is designed for all Xboxes, both Series X/S and One. It’s available today for Microsoft Insiders. It brings three novelties to reduce the energy consumed by your machine.
The Xbox Series X, an ecological console?
The first concerns downloads. Like what is done on Windows 11, these are now done during off-peak hours (if the user does not launch them manually). Connected to the Internet, the machine analyzes regional data in order to download using renewable energy. A way to release less carbon.
Secondly, the consoles are automatically put in mode Stop when they are no longer in use. This drastically reduces power consumption compared to standby mode. However, the machines are not completely off, since it is possible to resume your game where you left off by turning them on again (the ignition is still longer). More so, automatic updates are downloaded in this mode. We don’t lose much compared to standby mode. It is just not possible to activate your Series X remotely.
Finally, the third novelty concerns the hours of activities. Users wishing to keep sleep mode can activate it. As a result, the console locks into this mode at specific times (manual or defined by the AI according to your habits) and it is thus possible to start it remotely. Outside the time slots, they go into Stop mode.
Three novelties, therefore, which want to contribute to making Xbox consoles less polluting, but also to take care of Microsoft’s brand image. Ecology, as important as it is, seems to have become a marketing element in its own right today, tech companies around the world ostensibly focusing their communication on this subject. A paradox, given that we have one of the most polluting industries in the world. But if these gestures, like this Xbox Update, allow you to take small steps in the right direction, why not, after all?
