- Microsoft detailed the Xbox Series X Smart Delivery feature in a blog post on Monday and listed all of the games that support the feature so far.
- Games that support Smart Delivery will also let you bring your progress across generations.
- Gears 5, Halo Infinite, and Destiny 2 have all been confirmed to support Smart Delivery.
Last Thursday, Sony surprised everyone by revealing the design of the PlayStation 5 at its Future of Gaming event. Countless rumors and reports had suggested that Sony would save the reveal for another time, but they were wrong, and now we know what the PS5 looks like. But that’s really all we learned at the event. We don’t know what the main menu looks like, we don’t know how backwards compatibility works, and we still have no idea if Sony plans to match Microsoft on one of the most compelling new features of the Xbox Series X: Smart Delivery.
In a blog post on Monday, Microsoft shared more details about Smart Delivery, “which will ensure that you always play the best version of the games you own for your console, across generations.” All game developers have access to the feature, and if they decide to take advantage of it, you’ll never have to buy a game more than once to play it on Xbox One and Xbox Series X. But that’s just part of what makes Smart Delivery just a killer app.
Xbox senior communications manager Will Tuttle described three scenarios that help to explain exactly what Smart Delivery brings to the table. First, if you own Gears 5 on Xbox One, you can get the Xbox Series X Optimized version of the game with the push of a button on Xbox Series X launch day, and it won’t cost you a thing. If you decide to pick up Halo Infinite on launch day this holiday season, you can buy the game once and you will have the ability to choose to download the Xbox One version, the Xbox Series X version, or both.
And finally, if you buy Cyberpunk 2077 when it launches on September 17th for Xbox One, you can start playing it on your Xbox Series X in compatibility mode as soon as you power it on, bringing all of your progress with you. When the Optimized version is released, you’ll automatically get the upgrade for free as well.
Most of this was made clear in previous blog posts, but on Monday, we learned that Smart Delivery will be enabled for any Xbox Game Pass games that use it. Even if you don’t own a physical or digital copy of the game, if the developer supports Smart Delivery and the game is on Xbox Game Pass, you can download it on either your Xbox One or your Xbox Series X. Plus, you will be able to bring your progress back and forth between generations.
Microsoft has also published a list of games that are confirmed to support Smart Delivery. This list will grow larger in the weeks and months to come, but here are all of the Smart Delivery games so far:
- Halo Infinite
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Destiny 2
- DiRT 5
- Scarlet Nexus
- Chorus
- Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
- The Ascent
- Call of the Sea
- Gears 5
- Second Extinction
- Metal: Hellslinger
Microsoft also dropped a short trailer to show off some of the games listed above in action:
