Xbox’s new durability update adds power options to consoles

Xbox announced today that it is rolling out a new update for Xbox Insiders to give users options to reduce their environmental impact. These changes include energy-saving options at shutdown and carbon awareness. It also gives Xbox users some options to save power. According to the company, these updates make the Xbox the first carbon-conscious console.

The console maker is today rolling out an update for Xbox Insiders that automatically updates their Xboxes to the Shutdown power option, which reduces power consumption while the console is off. According to Xbox, a shutdown console saves 20 times more power than a console in sleep mode. Users can change their settings at any time, but Shutdown is said to have no impact on performance or offline downloads. When users have selected this option, they will receive automatic updates at a time that results in lower carbon emissions (where regional data is available).

Xbox is also rolling out other options for users, including “Active Hours.” Adjusts the Sleep Power setting so that the console is only in this mode during a period of time when the user used the console in the past. Xbox One users have the same setting, but it defaults to “always on” unless changed. According to Xbox, this change means the console “draws 0.5W vs. 10-15W while running”.

Blaine Hauglie, Xbox technical program manager, says in a blog post“The upcoming changes will create opportunities for our collective community of gamers to make choices to reduce the environmental impact of gaming.” Xbox has publicly committed to being carbon negative and zero-waste by 2030, and these updates are part of its effort. Hauglie also adds some ways gamers can reduce their individual environmental impact, including using Shutdown as a power option.