Convenience has been a major selling point for next-gen consoles like the Xbox Series X, with Microsoft hyping things like nonexistent load-times, improved backward compatibility, and free upgrades for games releasing on both current and next-gen consoles. The company has been going in particularly hard on that last one with the Xbox Series X’s Smart Delivery program, and it wants other publishers to do the same.
A report by Video Game Chronicle goes into greater detail about this. Citing “publishing sources with knowledge of Microsoft‘s next-gen policies,” it states that Microsoft has been encouraging third-party companies publishing cross-gen games to let players upgrade their Xbox One games to the XSX at no additional cost, either by Smart Delivery or through their own cross-gen upgrade schemes.
That said, it’s likely that not everyone will be on board for this, and a Microsoft spokesperson who reached out to VGC acknowledged that “developers and publishers ultimately decide how they deliver their games, and we work with them to provide the best possible experience based on their needs.” In short, some publishers may end up charging for their cross-gen upgrades on the Xbox Series X, though it sounds like Microsoft wants them to keep things as cheap as possible.
The report goes on to state that companies that choose to opt out of Smart Delivery have a few options for discounting physical and digital upgrades, such as discounting the next-gen version of a game on the Microsoft Store or offering upgrades as part of a retail promotion. Another option is selling both the current and next-gen versions of a game in a “cross-gen bundle.” This is what 2K Games is doing with NBA 2K21, which will be foregoing any sort of upgrade deal in favor of a $99.99/£84.99 bundle that will include both the Xbox One and XSX versions of the game.
It’s likely that this could cause some headaches for players. The new console generation set to kick off this year is shaping up to be fairly pricey, and at least some next-gen games are going to be more expensive than their current-gen versions. All things considered, the introduction of all these different cross-gen upgrade schemes could lead to some confusion for those trying to figure out which games they can enjoy on both Xbox One and XSX for cheap.
That’s a worse case scenario, however, and in light of the growing number of games that have been confirmed to support Smart Delivery, it’s one many players should be able to avoid having to deal with too much.
The Xbox Series X is slated to launch this holiday season.
Source: Video Game Chronicle