
Microsoft to Drop Xbox One DRM, Used-Game Restrictions - News
by Jake Weston , posted on 19 June 2013 / 3,763 ViewsMicrosoft has officially announced that it is dropping its controversial DRM and used game-restriction policies for the Xbox One.
Reported as a rumor on multiple outlets earlier today, Microsoft has now confirmed the reports through the official Xbox website.
In a statement from Microsoft President of Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick, the new Xbox One policies were revealed as follows:
- No more internet connection required to play offline Xbox One games
- No restrictions on trading, reselling, gifting and loaning disc-based games
- No regional restrictions for disc-based games on Xbox One consoles
In what could be seen as a "potential" downside, downloadable Xbox One games will no longer be able to be shared or sold, but as noted in the statement, this isn't any different from the way Xbox 360 games work today so nothing is really lost.
This news is no doubt in response to Sony's E3 press conference last week, in which the ability to play games offline and sell and loan used games were touted as features for the PS4 over Xbox One's then controversial (and convoluted) DRM and used-game policies.
So what does this mean going into the future? Well, it means that console gaming at least has a much brighter future ahead of it than we thought just a mere few weeks ago. I've got to give it to Microsoft for listening to the community and reversing their policies. This has the potential to be one of the biggest PR reversals in gaming history.
For more info, check out all of the new policy changes in detail over at the official Xbox News page.