Xbox tells developers next-gen updates should be free

Recently, information was leaked that Microsoft would be telling developers (those who are not part of Xbox Game Studios) that game updates for the current generation of consoles should be free for users who are migrating to the Xbox Series. X. The information came via the VGC (videogameschronicle) website, where the revelation is said to have come from "publishing sources with knowledge of Microsoft's next generation policies".

The sources of the information given above say that Microsoft is encouraging "companies working on cross-generational games" to offer updates at no additional cost. This is the same idea as Xbox's "Smart Delivery" program, where users can purchase a game and access it across all Xbox platforms.

So far, games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Cyberpunk 2077 have already informed that they will not charge anything to players who buy the current generation games and migrate to the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Microsoft will try, as far as possible, to prevent that other developers and publishers charge full price for the next-gen version of their titles.

Electronic Arts is offering for FIFA 21 and Madden NFL the migration of both the game and some save data so that players have less losses when migrating platforms.

Even with Microsoft's incentive not to charge for games, it is not mandatory for developers to adopt this policy, so don't expect everyone to do this, although it is expected that the faction really will.

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