Microsoft revealed the Smart Delivery program, but this is only one of the options for updating games for the new generation. The Redmond Corporation does not require developers to use the program, but publishers may not charge for upgrading games from the Xbox One to the Xbox Series X.
Last month, Microsoft presented all the details of the Smart Delivery program – developers can provide players with a free update of games from Xbox One to Xbox Series X. In this case, developers will receive tools to provide a better gaming experience for the new generation.
Now the website VGC has received new details: Microsoft is explaining to developers that they cannot charge players for game updates for the Xbox Series X. This cannot be a “DLC” that will allow them to enjoy the title on the next generation.
Developers do not require the use of Smart Delivery (they can offer their own programs – such as Dual Entitlement from Electronic Arts), but they may not require players to pay for improving the game.
However, you should be aware that titles for Xbox One and Xbox Series X will appear in the Microsoft Store, and publishers can provide “cross-generation” packages, thanks to which we can buy two production versions in one set and such a package may be more expensive. This is the case with NBA 2K21.
Journalists, however, provide an important detail: if the game from the premiere will not offer Smart Delivery, then the feature can not be turned on later. Of course, developers may take some time to take care of SD support (as in the case of Cyberpunk 2077), but they must decide at the beginning. This is due to a specific detail – if the title does not have the Smart Delivery function, it is treated in the Microsoft system as a separate product.
Smart Delivery will allow you to standardize games (cross-save, cross-progression, joint achievements), so if developers do not care about such support at the beginning, they will simply put two separate products on the market – even if it is, for example, FIFA 20 on Xbox One and FIFA 20 on the Xbox Series X.
Microsoft may thus require developers to use Smart Delivery – this will be an option, for example, to provide players with the ability to easily switch between generations.
