Nothing says Good Morning quite like news of a console update. Whether big or small, console updates always make gamers feel like they have a new toy to play with again. Today’s big update news comes to us from none other than Xbox, which has officially begun to roll out its February update for both the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S consoles.
This update is part of Microsoft’s plans to create a greener Xbox console and is supposed to help the console become more Carbon-aware, among other things. Starting today, Xbox users will see changes to their console’s behaviour when downloading games or updates. If regional carbon intensity data is available, Xbox will schedule update downloads for specific times to help lower carbon emissions created by high-carbon sources in the electric grid. More specifically, this change is designed to decrease fossil fuel dependency and lower CO2 emissions while saving Xbox users money.
Starting today, Xbox is the first console to offer carbon aware game downloads and updates. Choose the energy settings that work best for you.
Learn more here: https://t.co/Zog81g8ApA
— Xbox (@Xbox) February 15, 2023
Xbox users who aren’t interested in this as a feature don’t have to worry because Microsoft isn’t imposing a strict download schedule on anyone; instead, they are allowing the option for those who want to utilise it. According to Microsoft, the “Shutdown” option will now cut power consumption by up to 20 times, compared with the previous “Sleep” option.
However, there is more to this update than just the green changes. Microsoft is also adding some new personalisation options for the Home screen. Players can now swap out the tile art for any of their games or apps with solid colour tiles. For some reason. This update also allows the Google Home app to work as a remote for the Xbox.
While the update is being rolled out today, Microsoft has said that this will be a staggered release and that some players will have to wait a few days for the update to arrive.