Xbox Official Xbox Series X thread

Outriders in Game Pass!?.. hhmmm first game that’s making me want to get game pass now..
 
Wish Nier was available on Xbox gamepass. Been waiting a long time to play that one.
 
Wish Nier was available on Xbox gamepass. Been waiting a long time to play that one.
Nier: Automata? It already is available on Game Pass for Xbox users. Has been for months.

The Becomes as Gods edition is dropping in two days on the 18th, and that will make it available for PC gamers, too, for the first time.
 
So have there been any last-gen games, or XBox360 games, on GamePass that have been optimized for the XBX hardware?
 
What are your guys thoughts on outriders, is it going to be a destiny killer?
 
Gracias. Just got a series X and gamepass last week so I’m new.
No problemo. Official library here:
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-game-pass/games#
So have there been any last-gen games, or XBox360 games, on GamePass that have been optimized for the XBX hardware?
Do you not have the Xbox app on your laptop? Launch it, go to the "Game Pass" tab, and then go to "All Games". On the left you'll see three drop-down filter lists. You'll find it in the top one, "Capabilities". It earmarks:
  • Xbox Live
  • Play Anywhere
  • Smart Delivery
  • Series X/S Optimized
  • One X Optimized
  • 4K
  • HDR
  • 60 fps+
  • 120 fps
  • Ray-Tracing
  • Xbox Live Cross-Gen Multiplayer
  • Cross-Platform Co-Op
  • PC Game Pad (i.e. official dual-analog controller support)
  • Console Keyboard + Mouse enabled
  • Cloud Enabled (i.e. you can play on Android phone)

You can then additionally filter your results using the "Genre" drop-down filter list, and then finally use the "Number of Players" to see which games support Single Player, Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op, or Local Multiplayer. It's dope as fuck. None of this stuff was there in 2019. It's incredible how quickly they've responded to add features that have risen to the top of community requests on the Xbox forum and Reddit's Game Pass sub.

It's a relatively short list for XSX/XSS optimized titles, atm, unsurprisingly:
  • DIRT 5
  • Football Manager 2021 (Xbox Edition)
  • Forza Horizon 4 (Standard Edition)
  • Gears 5 (Game of the Year Edition)
  • Gears Tactics
  • Grounded [preview only]
  • Haven
  • Morkredd
  • No Man's Sky
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps
  • Sea of Thieves
  • State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition
  • SUPERHOT: Mind Control Delete
  • Tetris Effect: Connected
  • The Falconeer
  • The Medium
  • The Touryst
  • Yes, Your Grace

Almost every single title there is also a "Play Anywhere" title, so everything you do with be sync'd to your PC. All of your characters, progress, achievements, items...it's all sync'd. About 1/3rd of them also support Game Pad on PC. That means you can seamlessly transition from your Xbox to your PC/laptop and back without even changing the input you use to play the games.
 
@GearSolidMetal in addition the list of XSX enhanced games that @Madmick just listed, any One X enhancements made for games (whether 360 or One) carry over to the Series X as well.

For example, I never had a One X, only a 360 and a One S, but I now have a Series X and am playing the 360 version of Halflife 2 which got an upgrade two years ago for the One X to run at 4K. That upgrade has been carried over to the Series X and is not included in the list Mick provided.
 
@GearSolidMetal in addition the list of XSX enhanced games that @Madmick just listed, any One X enhancements made for games (whether 360 or One) carry over to the Series X as well.

For example, I never had a One X, only a 360 and a One S, but I now have a Series X and am playing the 360 version of Halflife 2 which got an upgrade two years ago for the One X to run at 4K. That upgrade has been carried over to the Series X and is not included in the list Mick provided.
Solid clarification. Since I just dredged up my old post explicating the confusing nature of "optimizations" for the newer consoles in the other thread asking for a breakdown of differences between the PS5 and XSX, I added this as the new second level.
https://forums.sherdog.com/posts/162190712/
No, "optimized" or "upgraded" are terms they're using to mean a game from the previous generation has been given special attention to retouch it for the next gen systems. "Smart Delivery" is a unique Xbox service, and what makes it stand out is its "dual entitlement" policy.

Level 1: No Special Upgrade
First, let's take an example of a game that won't be getting "upgraded" aka "optimized" for free, or at all. Since the XSX and PS5 are backwards compatible with nearly all games of their predecessors, that could be any game you don't see on this list. Thus, there has been no announcement these games will run a special upgraded/optimized version. It will look better on the newer consoles, even without that, due to automated resolution & framerate target improvements, but that's it. This could mean a game that ran at 900p@30fps on the Xbox One will automatically run at 1080p@60fps on the XSX. These automatic advantages are apparently far more likely to be implemented on the Xbox Series X/S than the PS5.

Level 2: Xbox One X or PS4 Pro Enhanced
Some games from the previous generation already received a special "enhanced" version for the Xbox One X or PS4 Pro with manual improvements by developers to things like textures. On Xbox, these enhanced versions are always automatically the version used on the newer Series X/S consoles. On PS5 the carryover of enhanced titles is more limited.

Level 3: Special Upgrade, Not Free
Next, there are games that get special attention to upgrade them for the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S. You may be charged for these upgraded versions. It's up to the developer if they wish to provide them for free, and some aren't. An example that will cost money for the special upgraded version, available on both consoles, is Observer: System Redux.

Level 4: Special Upgrade, Free
With Sony, those that provide an optimized upgrade for free carry the "PS5 Upgrade" label. Sony doesn't demand this service be supported, and they aren't necessarily supporting it themselves. They leave it up to the developers. So, for example, Visual Concepts chose to put NBA 2K21 on the service. Say you already own the game on the PS4. Visual Concepts is properly remastering it for the PS5, and they're going to give you this upgraded version for free. That's why it will carry the "PS5 Upgrade" label. They are also offering a free upgraded version for the newer Xboxes, and so you know, every developer who has chosen to participate in the "PS5 Upgrade" with a multiplatform game is also offering a free upgrade for the newer Xboxes. The Xbox doesn't have a special label or name for games like this, though.

Level 5: Xbox Smart Delivery (Free Special Upgrade + Dual Entitlement)
However, NBA 2K21 is not a "Smart Delivery" title. That is only on Xbox, and it goes one step further. An example is Sea of Thieves. Say you already own that game on the Xbox One. You will automatically get the upgraded version on the Xbox Series X/S for free. But, yet further, suppose you don't own it on the Xbox One. You buy it on the Xbox Series X for the first time. Because it is a Smart Delivery title, you now also own it on the Xbox One, and can download it and play it on that platform. Ergo, if you buy a Smart Delivery title on either platform, you own it on both. Ownership works forwards and backwards. This is what has been dubbed the "dual entitlement" policy. That's what separates Smart Delivery titles.
Furthermore, to their credit, Microsoft has promised to put every first-party title it makes on the Smart Delivery service. That's a big deal. That shows whenever it is directly under their control they will go the extra mile.

Level 6: True Next Gen Games (no upgrade necessary)
Finally, to me, a "truly next gen game" is one that will only exist on the newer consoles, and not on the older consoles. Obviously there will be no need for free upgrades or dual entitlement backwards compatibility at all with games like that. You won't really see games like this on the Xbox since it doesn't jive with their revolutionary new console strategy. That's been part of their radical overhaul shifting to a more PC-like mentality. They seek for games to run on every Xbox moving forward. The only question is what version your Xbox will be capable of running. Conversely, Sony is still trying to carry the torch of "we believe in generations", though they've already made serious concessions on this front before the launch even happened. An example is Godfall. The benefit for games like that is the developers aren't hamstrung going out of their way to develop a version the older consoles can run. They focus purely on the latest hardware.
 
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Haven't bothered trying to find a series x lately... Have they become anymore prevalent?
 
Haven't bothered trying to find a series x lately... Have they become anymore prevalent?
I saw a guy buy one in a store last week. It was the last one but I saw it. Same store I got my PS5
 
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I've been pretty hard headed about sticking with Xbox as I have a huge game Library, but I have the One X right now and I'm not really seeing the amount of returns right now that would be worth upgrading. I think with the PSVR 2 announcement I may jump ship to PlayStation this time around.

I have an Oculus Quest 2, but the I think the new PS VR will blow it out of the water. I was thinking of doing the gaming PC route, but I could save $600 just getting an already optimized machine that I don't ever have to tinker with.
 
I saw a guy buy one in a store last week. It was the last one but I saw it. Same store I got my PS5

picked up an online GameStop Series X Bundle. Called the local GS and they allowed me to swap out NBA2K21 and put it towards a game I picked up on the 12th.

Asked the manager who was the one ringing me up if they had been seeing any consoles at their stores. He said they hadn’t gotten any at their brick and mortar stores in the surrounding area. They’re moving to fast online it doesn’t make sense to try and split a limited stock to the surrounding stores.
 
picked up an online GameStop Series X Bundle. Called the local GS and they allowed me to swap out NBA2K21 and put it towards a game I picked up on the 12th.

Asked the manager who was the one ringing me up if they had been seeing any consoles at their stores. He said they hadn’t gotten any at their brick and mortar stores in the surrounding area. They’re moving to fast online it doesn’t make sense to try and split a limited stock to the surrounding stores.
I go to my local Fred Meyer. Same place I got a Wii when they were impossible to find, same place I got a Switch on day one, same place I picked up a PS5 back in December. I do all my grocery shopping there and occasionally swing in for something random and the electronics department is right up front so I just casually take a peak every time I go in.

Id like to get an Xbox eventually but I definitely don't need it right now so I need to stay out of there
 
I go to my local Fred Meyer. Same place I got a Wii when they were impossible to find, same place I got a Switch on day one, same place I picked up a PS5 back in December. I do all my grocery shopping there and occasionally swing in for something random and the electronics department is right up front so I just casually take a peak every time I go in.

Id like to get an Xbox eventually but I definitely don't need it right now so I need to stay out of there

I swung into my local FM for a few months after launch, but never had any luck. I ended up getting mine from GS as it showed up as a preorder bundle well after launch all the bots must have been switched out to a “buy now” and passed them over for being a pre order. I looked back through the day and they must have been up for 8+ hours.

I got my PS5 from GameFly and only paying members could purchase. It was nice to not have to compete with bots and those were still gone in like 15 min.

my GameFly account still has notifications set up, but I haven’t seen one come through about stock for either console for months.
 
I go to my local Fred Meyer. Same place I got a Wii when they were impossible to find, same place I got a Switch on day one, same place I picked up a PS5 back in December. I do all my grocery shopping there and occasionally swing in for something random and the electronics department is right up front so I just casually take a peak every time I go in.

Id like to get an Xbox eventually but I definitely don't need it right now so I need to stay out of there
My Fred's is a barren wasteland on the top rack. Has been for 6+ months
 
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