Moving into the holidays, Microsoft has announced digital game gifting for all the Xbox One owners. It was one of the long-requested features from Xbox fans.
Xbox One game gifting – few restrictions
In October, Microsoft first came up with Xbox One game gifting, but it was limited to Xbox Insiders. Now, all Xbox One owners will be able to purchase and gift games to one another irrespective of the country they are in. However, the game should be newly purchased, as the existing digital game transfer is still not supported on the console.
Forbes notes a few more restrictions over transferring of games. Microsoft has restricted a few Xbox One titles, such as Play Anywhere games, from digital transfer. Further, the player would not be able to gift Xbox 360 or original Xbox games. Also, players would not be able to gift someone the pre-release titles, meaning the game should be released and available.
? ? Gifting is here ! Gift select Xbox One games & downloadable game content +Xbox Live Gold & Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, right from the Microsoft Store on your Xbox console, on Windows, or online. ? ? pic.twitter.com/NACHdO3dY1
— Larry Hryb ?✨ (@majornelson) November 14, 2017
For gifting the game to someone, a user needs to select the game and click “Buy as gift” from the store listing. After selecting the game, choose the Xbox friend or email address of whom you want to gift, and type a message. The game is then transferred to the person once the payment details are entered.
Xbox One game gifting is one of the several features to hit the console ahead of the holiday season. Late last month, Microsoft said it would also insert an “Add more” feature in the home space, wherein a player would be able to add various items on the home as blocks. Further, the console maker said that it would also enhance the Setup experience for both new users and upgraders. Explaining the feature, the company said, when a customer is setting up the new console, they will have an option of applying the saved settings during the sign-in process.
Strong sales for Xbox One X
Meanwhile, the Microsoft Xbox One X sold nearly 80,000 units in its first week in the U.K., according to the report from GamesIndustry.biz. Citing retailer data, GamesIndustry.biz claims that the Xbox One X sold as many units in its first week as Nintendo Switch clocked in March. The latest powerhouse console from Microsoft also outperformed PS4 Pro, which sold around 50,000 units back in November 2016. Supply constraint for both Switch and PS4 Pro should be taken into account while comparing the performance.
Early reviews of the console are also encouraging with critics stating that the Xbox One X is living up to expectations. Most of the games are looking better, and the performance is even better than PlayStation’s competing 4K console – the PS4 Pro.
Separately, Microsoft released its Black Friday ad ahead of the event. The ad reveals several deals like the one on Nov. 19, where buyers could get a discount of $50 on the special edition 1 TB Minecraft Xbox One S bundle along with free games. One of the titles would be from older titles such as The Division and The Crew, the others will include new releases like Star Wars Battlefront II, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Forza Motorsport, Assassin’s Creed Origins and Call of Duty: WWII.
