Microsoft silently made some improvements to its digital rights management (DRM) practices by reducing the online checks for Xbox One discs. This means players will be able to flawlessly play games on Xbox Series X even when offline, and there are no more online compatibility check requirements to play a game from an Xbox One disc. The change was confirmed by Xbox engineering lead Eden Marie after a Twitter user shared the news.
“We examined data since Series X|S launch & determined the online compatibility check isn’t needed in the vast majority of cases for Xbox One discs,” Marie said, referring to the 2208 update released earlier this month. “Some games may still need to be updated online after install to ensure the best experience.”
This is good news for Xbox players as it would allow the playing of games even during days without internet connectivity or, perhaps, when Microsoft servers go down. The change, which is not mentioned in the 2208 update, still requires free upgrades via Smart Delivery to be performed through an online update and doesn’t work with all cross-generation games. Nonetheless, it is a welcome improvement, especially since it is one of the biggest issues many Xbox players find irritating.
Xbox keeps making improvements across its gaming environment in order to make the game experience more favorable for its players, and this development in its DRM practices is just one of them. Weeks ago, Xbox also announced a series of updates, including the availability of Discord Voice to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles. In addition, Microsoft announced the HowLongToBeat integration on the Xbox app on PC and the rollout of the party chat noise suppression feature to Xbox Series X|S consoles. The company is also encouraging the Xbox community to participate in improving the console dashboard homepage, which is set to be released in 2023.