Microsoft’s new console, the Xbox One, has been in the news a lot since being unveiled. We’ve already heard that it may be released on September 27th, and may be priced at $399, but of more significance was the question as to if the Xbox One would be able to play second hand games.
Microsoft confirmed that you will be able to play second hand games on the Xbox One, but left out any details, which raised quite a bit of confusion given the always-on internet connection and increased focus on anti-privacy.
“We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers. Microsoft does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games.”
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Every game is installed to the Xbox One hard drive and tied to the account that it is first installed on, so simply lending a friend a game is no longer possible. But what about second hand games?
Microsoft Studios, the guys behind Halo and Forza have come out with a statement which gives some clarity around the situation and it appears you will be able to trade in your second hand games, at least by this publisher.
“There are no fees charged as part of these transfers. There are two requirements: you can only give them to people who have been on your friends list for at least 30 days and each game can only be given once.”
So you’ll be able to transfer games to your friends for them to play, and you’ll also be able to sign in on your friends Xbox One to download titles assigned to your account. This approach can be used for second hand titles also, but give this is only one publisher, it still leaves uncertainty around exactly what other companies will do.
However, of significance is that the functionality and model is there, so you can expect publishers to adopt a similar approach.