Microsoft Urges Game Devs to Make Next-Gen Upgrades Free

With the release of both the Xbox Series X and PS5 expected around November this year, it’s not uncommon for there to be a bit of a tricky transitional period for games between the two generations. While Sony has largely remained fairly quiet on the subject, Microsoft has been very heavily pushing it’s “Smart Delivery” feature that looks to guarantee that any game released on the Xbox One (between now and the Xbox Series X’s release) will be freely compatible for the ‘upgrade’ to the next-gen console version.

In truth, it’s a nice concept, but as you might expect, they’re having more than a few difficulties getting developers to toe the line based on the clearly incentivizing factor of ‘why give it away for free when we can charge for it?’.

Well, in a report via TechSpot, although it isn’t exactly a nailed-down guarantee, it is understood that Microsoft is attempting to place even more pressure on developers to ensure that this ‘update’ option is made available for free!

Microsoft Urges Game Devs for Free Xbox Series X Upgrades!

In looking to attempt to essentially force (or require) developers to make their gaming releases generational upgrades free, Microsoft has already placed a number of fairly substantial restrictions on current games being made for the Xbox One. It is, however, already known that many developers are looking to charge additional sums for current-gen games to get upgraded to the next-gen version.

For example, EA, 2K Games, and Ubisoft have already made overtures that the Xbox Series X upgrade (for owners of the Xbox One version) will cost around $10-$30 (depending on your source).

What Do We Think?

While Microsoft is clearly attempting to fight a battle for consumers here, their success is, at the time of writing, certainly not guaranteed. I mean, as far as we can tell, Microsoft doesn’t really have that much power to enforce its “Smart Delivery” policy beyond the decision to simply not allow the games to release on their platform/s. And, as you might expect, that wouldn’t be a wise move. Next-gen consoles live or die by launch day titles!

Who knows though, maybe Microsoft does have a trick up its sleeve. Put simply though, at least they’re trying to ensure that these upgrades will be made available for free which is a damn sight more than what Sony has (apparently) been doing!

What do you think? – Let us know in the comments!