Microsoft has confirmed its policies for used and shared games on the Xbox One. Installed games will be available in the cloud at any time, and can be shared with up to ten family members.
Players will be able to trade, trade-in or resell games provided that game publishers allow it. No fee will be charged for lending a game to a friend. However, the person loaning the game must have been on your friends’ list for at least 30 days, and each game can only be loaned once.
“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,” the console’s license page reads.
Elsewhere the company confirmed that the Xbox One will allow gameplay offline, but only for a maximum of 24 hours on the primary console and up to one hour logged onto a separate console accessing your library through the cloud.
After these times, the connection will need to be re-established to update the system, applications or games, as well as verifying any new games or trades that have been made. However, live TV, Blu-ray and DVD movie options will still be accessible.
Microsoft also addressed privacy concerns surrounding the Kinect by revealing that it can be turned off, even when the Xbox One is in standby mode.
“If you don’t want the Kinect sensor on while playing games or enjoying your entertainment, you can pause Kinect,” its website explains.
To turn off your Xbox One, just say ‘Xbox Off.’ When the system is off, it’s only listening for the single voice command — ‘Xbox On,’ and you can even turn that feature off too”.
The gaming giant added that users will have control over their privacy options, from automatic or manual sign-in to how data is used.
