Modern games get patched all the time, and there are few things more low-key annoying than sitting down to dig into a meaty RPG or hop into a quick deathmatch only to see you’ve got to download an 8GB update. You start scrolling TikTok or dropping memes in the group chat and by the time you realize the game’s finally ready, the night’s over and you’ve got to get to bed so you don’t feel like hell in the morning. It happens all the time with Baldur’s Gate 3.
This should soon be a thing of the past on Xbox Series X/S, at least for some games. Microsoft recently confirmed an “Update Pre-Download” feature is being tested on the Insider program to install updates ahead of time so they don’t interfere with when you’re actually trying to play. “Games that enable support for update pre-download will allow updates to be downloaded days before they are scheduled to release, so you can jump in and start playing right when the update goes live!” the company wrote in the latest release notes.
Multiplayer pirate sim Sea of Thieves will be the first game to support this feature, though it will presumably work on many other games as well by the time it’s rolled out for everyone. PlayStation 5 already has something like this so many third-party publishers already support a version of it. And since Microsoft has bought up many of the biggest games, I expect things like Call of Duty, Diablo 4, and Overwatch 2 to utilize it as well.
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Its almost like their original “download updates while xbox is off” feature is not working as intended
As far as I know auto update is only for games you’ve opened in the last 30 days and you have to have the Xbox set to standby or whatever. But yes, games you’ve been playing should update. I think this is for downloading the update and being able to continue playing if it comes out mid gaming. I could be reading it wrong though.
I think it’s for games that have some scheduled updates, like, new season launching 20th May, so instead of waiting for 20th May to get the update, you will download it on 18th or so, but the changes won’t apply until 20th. Basically, like how you can pre-download a game before launch, same thing, but for updates.
At least that’s what I understand from this.
Yeah this is it. Updates are submitted and presumably ready on the backend days in advance of their scheduled release. This will allow consoles to download the update ahead of time and have it queued for install.
It’s the same as pre-loading an unreleased game, but for patches.
Yeah, I was just thinking this sounds like a feature from the 360/PS3 era. Does that not work anymore? Not a console gamer and never paid the necessary subscription for it when I was anyway, since the idea of paying continuously to enable a software feature that costs the entity I am paying nothing to deliver was insulting.
I was gonna be skeptical and be like “how about we finish games first and then make patches way smaller” but it’s just about pre-loading large updates / DLC like the game itself ahead of its release date.
