Microsoft removes online DRM from Xbox One
"Play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360"
Well, here's a thing. Microsoft has removed the always-online requirement from Xbox One, and the restrictions on disc-based games, following community feedback.
Initial rumours on
GiantBomb and
What Hifisuggested that Microsoft was removing the controversial requirement for an online check-in every 24 hours and certain restrictions on disc-based games. This was confirmed by an update the company posted to the official
Xbox One FAQ.
In the form of a
message from Xbox boss Don Mattrick, this confirms that you'll be able to "play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360," specifying the following.
An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games
After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.
Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today
There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360... there will be no regional restrictions.
In addition, Mattrick adds:
"While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds."
So Phil Spencer wasn't joking when he said the company was
always listening to feedback. This should all be considered good news, given the rancour that the initial announcement has attracted. However, the update points out that this does change some of the existing models for Xbox One games - most notably, while you'll still have the ability to download games on the day of release, you won't be able to share or resell downloaded games. That means the end of the
10-person Xbox One game-sharing setup previously mooted, among other things, and that's a shame, we'd argue - but obviously, people would rather have the flexibility of disc-based games.
Still, it means we can add something to our
seven reasons to buy an Xbox One. What do you reckon? Has it changed your opinion of the console enough? Don't forget all those
Xbox One games, after all...
