Skip to main content

If you want to play games on the new Xbox, you’ll have to install every game and always be online

xbox-durango-fl
Image used with permission by copyright holder

One month after Sony announced the PlayStation 4—an announcement that didn’t actually include showing of the console itself—the next-generation of the video game industry is slowly springing to life. Big game studios and indie developers have been pushing high end game technology on PCs for a few years, but the mainstream commercial industry is revving its engines now with new games like Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Thief announced each week.

The much rumored new Xbox from Microsoft, however, remains a mystery. The Durango, Xbox 720, or just plain Xbox as it’s sometimes called has yet to receive any type of official confirmation beyond game developers saying their work is coming to PlayStation 4 and “other next-gen consoles.” As time passes, more and more rumors spring up around the device. A new rumor – based on details from what’s purported to be the console’s software development kit – suggest the next Xbox will require players to install full games from discs to their hard drives.

Recommended Videos

VGLeaks posted images and information from the Durango SDK on Tuesday, and the development tool provides a wealth of information about how the console will work. Of particular note is this line about support for optical discs, those increasingly old-fashioned objects pieces of physical media: “All games will be installed on the hard drive. Play from the optical disc will not be supported.” Sources speaking with outlets Digital Foundry and Polygon support this information.  

Another persistent rumor about the next Xbox supported in the VGLeaks information is that the console will need to always be connected to the internet to use. Edge Magazine’s source confirmed this on Wednesday.

If true, this strategy could cause myriad problems. Word is that the new Xbox will in fact have a Blu-ray drive in it. Most games today range in size from 4GB to 15GB, but Blu-Ray discs support between 25GB and 50GB of information. Next-gen games, which are expected to take up even more data, will naturally require a markedly bigger hard drive than what’s currently offered in consoles for Microsoft’s strategy to work. Even with a multi-terabyte hard drive and possible external storage options, that space will be eaten up fairly quickly by large games.

We should be able to put at least some of these rumors to rest soon, as Microsoft is expected to announce the new console between April and June.

Anthony John Agnello
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
Xbox Game Pass’ new Standard tier is missing some big games
Lilith staring into the camera in Diablo 4. She has giant horns and red wings behind her.

Players are digging into Xbox Game Pass now that the company has officially launched its new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier. However, they've discovered that it's missing quite a few noteworthy titles, including some that were already on the service before Xbox switched to its new payment structure.

Xbox published a post on September 10 marking the move, and explaining its new Game Pass plans in a succinct manner. Want to just use your Xbox for multiplayer? Grab Game Pass Core. Just want games on your PC? Get PC Game Pass. Game Pass Standard, arguably the most confusing new tier of the bunch when it was announced back in July, is for people who want to "level up [their] Xbox console gaming experience at a great value." It costs $15 per month compared to Ultimate's $20 per month (up from $17).

Read more
3 new Xbox Game Pass games to play this weekend (September 13-15)
Key art for Age of Mythology: Retold.

If you're a fan of strategy or simulation video games, this will be a great Xbox Game Pass month for you. Its biggest day-one releases -- Age of Mythology: Retold, Ara: History Untold, and Frostpunk 2 -- are all strategy games, while games like Expeditions: A MudRunner Game and Riders Republic are keeping things interesting on the simulation front. If you're looking for something to play this weekend, I'm highlighting a trio of games that provide entertaining sandboxes to play around in.
Age of Mythology: Retold

Following remakes of the three Age of Empires games and the launch of Age of Empires IV, World's Edge gave the series' fantasy spinoff some love. Age of Mythology: Retold is a real-time strategy game similar to the Age of Empires titles in many ways, as players are building up towns and fighting rival civilizations. The biggest twist Age of Mythology provides is the Major and Minor Gods players choose before playing, which give them additional abilities. This remake also gives the experience a graphical overhaul, lets players reuse god powers, and has well-implemented controller support. Whether you're a fan of the original or never played it before, this is worth checking out. Age of Mythology: Retold is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S via Game Pass Ultimate.
Core Keeper

Read more
Astro Bot isn’t on Xbox, but you can play these great platformers on Game Pass
Raz runs on a colorful stage in Psychonauts 2.

Astro Bot is an undeniable win for PlayStation. It's not just a celebration of the brand and many of the franchises that built it into what it is today, but it's also a fantastic 3D platformer that uses the PS5 hardware in creative ways. As a Sony-published game spotlighting the history of the company, it's obviously not on Xbox. In fact, I've seen a lot of people lamenting that Xbox does not have a lot of good platformers in the wake of Astro Bot's well-received launch.

Although it's accurate to say that Xbox doesn't have an exclusive quite like Astro Bot, a few excellent 3D platformers are available on Xbox Game Pass. Many of them are even IP now owned by Microsoft or outright published by Xbox Game Studios. If you have an Xbox console and Game Pass subscription and feel like you're missing out on Astro Bot, consider playing one of these games to make that feeling a little less painful.
Psychonauts and Psychonauts 2

Read more