Modern games get patched all the time, and there are few things more low-key annoying than sitting down to dig into a meaty RPG or hop into a quick deathmatch only to see you’ve got to download an 8GB update. You start scrolling TikTok or dropping memes in the group chat and by the time you realize the game’s finally ready, the night’s over and you’ve got to get to bed so you don’t feel like hell in the morning. It happens all the time with Baldur’s Gate 3.
This should soon be a thing of the past on Xbox Series X/S, at least for some games. Microsoft recently confirmed an “Update Pre-Download” feature is being tested on the Insider program to install updates ahead of time so they don’t interfere with when you’re actually trying to play. “Games that enable support for update pre-download will allow updates to be downloaded days before they are scheduled to release, so you can jump in and start playing right when the update goes live!” the company wrote in the latest release notes.
Multiplayer pirate sim Sea of Thieves will be the first game to support this feature, though it will presumably work on many other games as well by the time it’s rolled out for everyone. PlayStation 5 already has something like this so many third-party publishers already support a version of it. And since Microsoft has bought up many of the biggest games, I expect things like Call of Duty, Diablo 4, and Overwatch 2 to utilize it as well.
Microsoft has been working on some other neat features, too. Mouse and keyboard support for cloud gaming has arrived for a bunch of games including Cities: Skylines, The Sims 4, Fortnite, and Doom 64. The company also recently revealed a new accessibility peripheral called the Xbox Proteus controller. It’s modular, supports all sorts of different wireless configurations, and looks like the futuristic microbots from Big Hero 6. The device ships this fall starting at $300.