In a blog post from the Corporate Vice President of Xbox Operations Dave McCarthy, Microsoft gave an update on their sustainability efforts. McCarthy encouraged Xbox Series X/S owners to turn on energy saver mode after reminding the gaming community of Microsoft’s pledge to be “carbon negative, water positive and [have] zero waste by 2030.” In an effort to do so, the company plans to “design Xbox products and accessories, and all Microsoft product packaging” with 100% recyclable materials in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries within eight years.
According to Microsoft, in 2021 the company “made improvements to the console’s Energy Saver sleep mode. Energy Saver mode consumes about 20 times less power than Standby mode when the console is not being used or receiving updates. Now, system and game updates can be downloaded during Energy Saver mode, further saving energy.” The fact that prior to this update players could not download games while in Energy Saver mode discouraged many from using the eco-friendly setting. This improvement should be a win in sustainability without impeding gamers’ experience.
In a further step towards sustainability, Micorosft has “made updates to both Xbox Series X and Series S with sustainability in mind and without impacting performance or the experience.” In addition to improving on Power Saver mode, the company has also begun using “Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) resins in Xbox Series S and our controllers.” Adding, “At a minimum, 28% of the mechanical component plastic by weight in the updated Series S console is post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin.”
The company has also made strides in sustainability when it comes to cloud gaming. “Since most power usage occurs during gameplay, cloud gaming can take advantage of Azure’s significant renewable energy investments. By 2025, Azure datacenters will shift to 100% supply of renewable energy so cloud gaming can leverage this clean energy transition.” The Xbox server hardware is also using “the same power-efficient architecture” as the Xbox Series X/S.
In a final note, Microsoft has also converted their “Xbox gift cards from plastic to paperboard, reducing over 500,000 kg of plastic annually.” It’s great to see major companies making moves to become more sustainable. For the full details on Microsoft’s sustainability efforts, check out the source below.
