Microsoft has removed online DRM checks for Xbox One discs on Series X
Making a complex system a little bit less complex.
Microsoft has ditched its online checks for Xbox One discs when playing on an Xbox Series X.
The online requirements for Xbox games have previously come under fire for being unclear and rendering downloaded and offline games unplayable during service outages.
Microsoft has recently made a quiet change to the checks made when launching games on Xbox Series X. For anyone making good use of the Series X's backwards compatibility, there are now no online DRM checks for Xbox One discs. (Of course, this was not an issue on the disc-less Series S.)
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Eden Marie, engineering lead at Xbox, confirmed on Twitter that Xbox One discs can now be played offline. Based on data collected since the Series X/S launch in 2020, the team at Xbox "determined the online compatibility check isn't needed in the vast majority of cases for Xbox One discs," Marie stated.
It's a small step towards making sure players have access to their games at all times and is being received well by parts of the commuinity. Others are now asking for games downloaded from Game Pass or claimed from original Xbox discs to receive the same update.