Xbox Series X Smart Delivery: Everything We Know

Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S Source: Microsoft

Microsoft soon embarks on its adjacent generation of consoles, with Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S dropping this Nov. The latest in AMD architectures helps bring sizeable performance boosts to gameplay, while a new solid-state storage setup promises drastic cuts to load times. It also couples that power with a new characteristic dubbed "Smart Delivery," which aims to streamline the shift into the adjacent generation.

The philosophy of Smart Delivery is simple: buy your Xbox games once for versions on Xbox I, Xbox Series South, and Xbox Series X. With platform holders blurring the lines into the next hardware milestone, one license provides access on current devices, with a gratis upgrade to Xbox Series Ten and Xbox Series S versions.

Xbox Smart Delivery explained: Everything you need to know

Halo Infinite Halo Space drops with Smart Delivery support bridging Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series Southward, only you'll need to wait until after in 2022. Source: Microsoft

While adjacent-generation consoles traditionally effect in harsh splits from former hardware, Microsoft is taking a reworked arroyo into 2022. The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S farther advocate cantankerous-generation features, spearheaded by astern compatibility and an accompanying new technology dubbed "Smart Delivery."

Microsoft positions Smart Delivery as a solution to help players receive the all-time available versions of games, scaling from Xbox One to Xbox Serial X. Titles that support Smart Commitment will provide gratis graphical upgrades on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series South, without the requirement to buy a new version of the game. For example, that means if yous buy Halo Infinite for Xbox Ane, an upgraded Xbox Serial 10 or Series Southward version awaits for the upcoming Xbox flagship at no additional cost.

The one-fourth dimension purchase eliminates the need to purchase multiple versions of games across generations, as formerly seen with Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Microsoft will provide the pick of Smart Commitment to all developers and publishers, although games aren't mandated to support the feature. But as the side by side Xbox panel approaches, consumers can take comfort in knowing some games will automatically remain at the forefront when yous make up one's mind to upgrade.

Purchase games once, and play them on Xbox Ane AND Xbox Series X.

Smart Delivery expands on Microsoft's current Xbox I X philosophy, which saw some past titles upgraded with free visual enhancements. The 4K assets were automatically downloaded when an Xbox 1 X was detected, ensuring the best experience on the console. Smart Delivery brings the concept to a broader spectrum of devices, easing the transition for supported titles.

List of Xbox Smart Delivery games so far

Cyberpunk 2077 promo image CD PROJEKT RED, the minds behind Cyberpunk 2077, were amidst the commencement to pledge support for Xbox Smart Delivery. Source: CD Projekt Ruby-red

Smart Commitment is offered to developers equally an optional addition to Xbox Serial X and Series S titles, meaning that even with many of the best Xbox One games onboard, non all support the feature. Microsoft already pledged support for the upcoming Xbox Game Studios titles spanning Xbox One and Xbox Series, including Halo Infinite and Gears 5. Various 3rd-political party developers take likewise pledged back up, boosted by the Xbox Series X games showcases in May and July.

Beneath follows the list of Xbox Smart Commitment games for Series X and Series S with confirmed plans to support the engineering, in one case updates become available.

ARK: Survival Evolved
Assassin'south Creed Valhalla
Balan Wonderworld
Borderlands 3
Bright Memory: Space
Phone call of the Sea
Chorus: Rise as One
Concept Devastation
CrossCode
CrossfireX
Cuisine Royale
Cyberpunk 2077
Dead past Daylight
Destiny ii
DiRT 5
Echo Generation
ExoMecha
Far Cry half dozen
Football Director 2022 Xbox Edition
Forza Horizon 4
Fortnite
Gears 5
Gears Tactics
GONNER2
Grounded
Halo Infinite
Halo: The Primary Chief Drove
Hello Neighbor 2
HITMAN 3
Immortals Fenyx Rising
Just Trip the light fantastic toe 2022
JYDGE
Male monarch Oddball
Maneater
Manifold Garden
Marvel'southward Avengers
Metal: Hellsinger
Mortal Kombat 11
No Human being'southward Sky
Ori and the Volition of the Wisps
Outriders
Phantasy Star Online ii New Genesis
Planet Coaster
Psychonauts 2
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2
RIDE 4
Riders Democracy
Rogue Visitor
Scarlet Nexus
Sea of Thieves
Second Extinction
Tetris Event: Continued
The Ascent
The Falconeer
The Gunk
The Outer Worlds
The Touryst
Tom Clancy'due south Rainbow Six Siege
Undead Horde
Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2
War Thunder
Watch Dogs: Legion
World of Tanks
World of Warships: Legends
WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship
Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Yes, Your Grace

Various major tertiary-party publishers have besides committed to free next-generation upgrades throughout additional titles, although with farther details still to come on the final implementation. Look new Smart Delivery games to exist announced during the months alee, as Microsoft targets its November 10 launch for Xbox Series 10 and Xbox Series Southward.

What exercise Smart Commitment upgrades bring to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series Southward?

Assassins Creed Valhalla Ubisoft brings Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion to Xbox Serial X and Serial S during the console launch flavor with Smart Delivery integration. Source: Ubisoft

Xbox One titles that support Smart Delivery will as well be "Optimized" for Xbox Series Ten or Series Southward, flaunting Microsoft's tagline denoting games designed to leverage the console'southward hardware. These titles will pack bespoke upgrades when running on the next-generation console, with potential gains in visual fidelity and gameplay performance.

Xbox Serial X upgrades tin include 4K resolution, 120 FPS, and ray tracing.

While the possible changes for Xbox Serial X and Xbox Series S are endless, the current lineup appears to focus on several fields on involvement. Native 4K resolution will get increasingly mutual, post-obit several titles on Xbox 1 X that cruel beneath, or utilized visual trickery to achieve, the baseline. Some Xbox Series 10 and Serial South releases take also committed to embracing 120Hz support, with improved framerates boosting fluidity.

The Xbox library too features other possible enhancements, including improved textures, high dynamic range (HDR) support, and ray tracing for more accurate lighting and shadows. The onboard solid-state drive (SSD) is too a hole-and-corner weapon, slicing load times and improving asset streaming for more than circuitous worlds.

Nevertheless, Xbox Series 10 and Series South benefits will differ between upcoming games. For the latest on specific Xbox Series Ten upgrades, don't miss our listing of Xbox Serial X Optimized games with their confirmed resolutions and framerates.

How does Xbox Smart Commitment piece of work?

Microsoft hasn't provided business firm details on how Smart Delivery will exactly role, with Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S yet to hit the market. However, the promise of convenience suggests a polish implementation, with a unmarried disc or digital license automatically unlocking the correct version of the game, based on your console.

After purchasing an Xbox One title with Smart Delivery like Halo Infinite, players will presumably be able to download the game on Xbox Series consoles for gratis, or insert their disc, accessing the side by side-gen version. The arrangement as well works in reverse, if you use an Xbox Series Ten or Xbox Series Southward, and head back to Xbox Ane.

Does Xbox Smart Delivery support physical disc-based games?

Xbox One S Xbox Smart Delivery supports discs on Xbox Series X, merely the all-digital Series S is a different story. Source: Windows Central

Xbox Smart Commitment works with physical disc-based games on Xbox Series 10. While previous cross-platform initiatives like Xbox Play Anywhere restricted access to virtual licenses, the benefits of Smart Commitment interpret to traditional media, too.

The Xbox Series X ships with a 4K Blu-ray optical drive, enabling existing Xbox I discs to automatically upgrade via Smart Commitment when inserted. While Microsoft (and rivals in the infinite) go along to button toward the convenience of online distribution, the Xbox Series X hasn't embraced an exclusively all-digital future.

However, the Xbox Series S provides a disc-free feel, cut the physical drive as an exclusively digital console. That means any existing disc-based Xbox 1 titles won't piece of work with Xbox Series South and won't be upgraded. And considering Microsoft doesn't currently provide an upgrade path from discs to digital licenses, those with physical copies must re-buy the game digitally to play the next-generation version.

Does Xbox Smart Delivery support digital games?

Xbox New Microsoft Store Xbox Smart Delivery works seamlessly on Xbox Serial 10 and Southward, granting an instant upgrade for your digital titles. Source: Microsoft

Xbox Smart Delivery supports digital titles, providing the most streamlined experience when moving to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The feature automatically upgrades your Xbox Ane copy via Xbox Live, downloading the best version suited to your console. You hit play, with your Xbox treatment the rest in the background.

That also allows the disc-less Xbox Serial South to feel Smart Commitment. Your purchases from the Xbox I era interpret, while purchases made on Xbox Series Southward will also be compatible with Xbox One consoles.

Does Xbox Smart Delivery also transfer game saves?

Titles that utilize Xbox Smart Delivery will also feature cross-generation saves, ensuring your progression moves between consoles via deject storage. That allows Xbox One owners to outset adventures on the existing console family, picking up where they left off with Xbox Series Ten or Xbox Serial Southward.

While Xbox Smart Delivery helps enable multiple versions of games, they're even so the aforementioned fundamental experience. Your game saves and earned Xbox Achievements will transcend generations, both forward and back, with a graphical boost to pair.

Practise all costless next-gen upgrades apply Xbox Smart Delivery?

FIFA 21 While Electronic Arts has pledged a free cross-generation upgrade for Xbox Series 10 and S, information technology's not using Smart Delivery. Source: Electronic Arts

Various 3rd-party publishers have committed to free cross-generation upgrades, supporting the leap from Xbox I to Xbox Series Ten or Xbox Series Southward. Microsoft's Smart Commitment arrangement is a standardized, hassle-gratis implementation, with dozens of titles already committing to free upgrades with no strings attached. All the same, some have likewise explored their own upgrade paths, introducing free upgrades outside of Smart Commitment. Information technology gets a picayune confusing — but hold tight.

Electronic Arts, Activision, and 2K Games are among the showtime publishers establishing separate upgrade systems diverging from Microsoft'due south Smart Commitment. However, the implementation varies, with small discrepancies making the landscape a little more complex.

For example, with FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21, Electronic Arts has cooked up an upgrade promotion dubbed "Dual Entitlement," where users manually claim their free upgrade earlier a set engagement. Games similar NBA 2K21, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold State of war, and Control restrict their promotions to specific editions of the game, pushing users towards more expensive bundles. Upgrades differ on a instance-past-case basis and may crave some additional research.

Is Xbox Smart Delivery coming to PC?

While the Xbox ecosystem now extends far beyond Xbox consoles, Microsoft has non indicated Xbox Smart Commitment features will head to PC. Games on PC are often scalable past nature, assuasive users to modify resolution, framerate, and other graphical settings based on your hardware. It makes the concept of "Smart Delivery for PC" essentially irrelevant, highlighting the existing flexibility granted by PC titles.

Xbox Series X/South

Main

Xbox Series Ten: Everything we know
Best games coming to Xbox Series 10/S
List of Xbox Series X specs
What is the Xbox Series X release date?
How much does Xbox Series Ten cost?
Why you tin can't preorder Xbox Series X however
All-time Xbox Series X Headsets

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