Members of the Xbox Insider program received a questionnaire asking for their opinion on the potential addition of features aimed at reducing the power consumption of Xbox consoles during gaming sessions.
The coming winter is uncertain in terms of energy. Europe in particular is preparing for shortages, and the terms “energy saving” have been on everyone’s lips since this summer. Microsoft, which is aware of the situation and the state of their gaming consoles, is therefore internally thinking of proposing solutions that can help reduce the players’ electricity consumption.
Players interviewed
A reporter from the Windows Central website, a member of the Xbox Insider program, shared a questionnaire released about the use of the program. This is focused solely on the energy consumption of the Xbox Series X and S consoles and the PC during gaming sessions and offers some ways to reduce it and thus reduce the bill at the end of the month. In this questionnaire we can read some clues that Microsoft has considered and which ask the players’ opinion.
In the future, it may be possible to enable energy-saving options in the game, which will adjust their performance. The system could lower the graphics settings, frames per second or resolution to reduce the use of the GPU and therefore, by extension, the consumption of the media. Players may also see the arrival of a default setting that lowers the frame rate or resolution when the game is idle.
Microsoft continues on a greener path
It is clear that at the moment it is only a study, a temperature measurement. It is not said that Microsoft will necessarily implement these solutions. Nevertheless, the technology giant’s interest in energy and more generally ecology is not new. It is therefore very possible to see improvements on this side for the Xbox Series X and S consoles or even the PC.
Its latest consoles, as well as the PlayStation 5, were singled out last year because their consumption was deemed too high, even in standby mode. A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council in the United States had highlighted the relative effectiveness of “energy saving” mode. Sony and Microsoft have since improved on the issue, with the latter even releasing a system update in October on Xbox to help better differentiate the names of the power settings. The company has also launched an ambitious program to become CO2 neutral by 2030.