Did you finally get an Xbox Series X or S? There’s a lot galore in Microsoft’s gaming console, so let’s take a look at the features that will help you get the most out of all that the new console has to offer.
game arcade
We can talk every day whether the game arcade is technical PropertyBut considering you got a month’s subscription to Microsoft’s all-you-can-eat service for $1 with your console, that might be it. Game Pass might be the best deal in gaming, and that means there’s always something to play.
A Game Pass subscription allows you to download and play new and old games as they are added to the service. Games are added several times a month, including new releases and old titles. Game Pass Ultimate includes access to the service on a PC, as well as EA Play which lets you play more titles from EA’s back catalog.
Once the free trial ends, the service costs $14.99 per month for an Ultimate subscription, which is the cost of three full-priced games per year. Game Pass is a buffet that you can enjoy freely, allowing you to try to fall in love with titles that you have never purchased. You’ll also have access to all first-party titles from Microsoft (including the premium editions hello else Forza) in the first day.
Related: What is Xbox Game Pass, and is it worth it?
Share button
Sony was the first to add a share button to the console with the release of the PS4, and now everyone does. You can use the share button to take still screenshots and short gameplay clips. By default, one click takes a still photo while you press and hold the button to save a video.
You can customize this behavior using the Xbox Accessories app pre-installed on your console. Press the Xbox button and then choose My Games & Apps > View All > Apps to find it. To change the format and size of your saved clips and screenshots, click the Xbox button on your console and go to Profile & System > Settings > Preferences > Capture and Sharing.
Once your clips are saved, you can easily access them on your mobile device by downloading the Xbox app for iPhone or Android for easy sharing.
Compatibility
Microsoft has done a lot of work to ensure that Xbox Series consoles are compatible with the Xbox One family. This means that you have a large number of games available to you from the previous generation, and many of them have received improvements and patches to take advantage of faster hardware. You can download Xbox One games from the Microsoft Store as you would an original Xbox Series title.
Moreover, there are a large number of Xbox 360 games and original Xbox games available to you. Many are available via Game Pass, including classics like Psychological pioneers (Xbox) and Viva Pinata (Xbox 360) But more can be found on the Xbox Backward Compatible Games Library.
Auto HDR
Many older games can take advantage of the improvements made by new games as standard. One of these is Auto HDR, which adds a level of HDR gloss to titles that never supported it. This is done using machine learning. It works fine most of the time, with elements like the sun and flashlights appearing much brighter than other objects on the screen.
Auto-HDR is enabled by default on most titles that support the feature. You will need to set up HDR on your Xbox before you can take advantage of the feature, then you can manage it on a game-by-game basis using the Manage Game option which can be accessed by clicking on the More button on your controller you while browsing your game library.
You can also turn off Auto-HDR completely by pressing the Xbox button on your console and going to Power & System > Settings > General > TV & Display Options > Video Modes and unchecking the “Auto-HDR” toggle button. Hardcore and night owls may prefer this option, but we recommend giving it a chance to give your old games a more modern look.
FPS Boost
In addition to Auto-HDR, Microsoft has also developed another feature called FPS Boost to improve the performance of older games. You’ll find this option under the same Game Manager menu that you use to toggle Auto-HDR, allowing you to enable or disable it on a per-game basis.
As the name suggests, FPS Boost increases the frame rate of older titles for a smoother and more responsive gaming experience. It does this using some system-wide tweaks (rather than a software patch) that takes advantage of the more capable hardware in the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles.
The feature is enabled by default on most titles that support FPS Boost, but you will need to enable it for others. Due to the nature of this mod, you may encounter some glitches and stability issues, and many games do not support it at all due to systems such as game physics or weather cycles that are directly related to frame rate.
Related: How do frame rates affect your gaming experience?
Xbox cloud games
If you subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate ($1 trial included), you’ll have access to Xbox Cloud Gaming, allowing you to play games online without having to download and install them first. How this works depends on the speed of your internet connection (20 Mbps or better) and how far away you are from the server.
Playing games locally will always provide a more stable and responsive experience, and some games (like pickpockets or competitive hits) won’t quite fit into the cloud gaming template. But to try out a game before committing to a big download, right from your Xbox dashboard, Xbox Cloud Gaming is a handy tool at your disposal.
Xbox Cloud Gaming also lets you play Game Pass titles just about anywhere, including on your PC or Mac, Android, iPhone, iPad, and some smart TVs. All you need is a compatible file, a controller, a good connection speed, and an active Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Since Microsoft stores what you’ve saved in the cloud, you can even pick up where you left off.
Related: Why the best cloud games on PC or console
Retro gaming simulation with RetroArch
Not only are Xbox Series consoles great for backwards compatibility, they’re also a great way to play older titles. By putting your Xbox in developer mode and installing the latest RetroArch multi-system emulator, you can play everything from classic arcade games to PlayStation 2, GameCube and Dreamcast games.
There are some small flaws to this. You’ll need to pay a Microsoft developer fee of $19 to unlock this mode, which allows UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps to be installed on your console. You will also need to restart your console in developer mode to do this, which may take a few minutes at a time.
It is useful to have access to a large number of legacy platforms on your Xbox. Just make sure you are familiar with the controls for using ROMs and emulators.
120 Hz gaming
While games with a high refresh rate have been a mainstay on PC for years, the Xbox series and the PlayStation 5 generation are the first time we’ve been able to go above 60Hz for gaming on a console. This depends on two important metrics: your monitor’s refresh rate and the presence of files to the HDMI 2.1 port.
120 Hz means that the screen refreshes at a rate of 120 times per second, versus 60 times on an older 60 Hz screen. To be useful, 120Hz modes require high frame rates and not all games can take advantage of this. To reach higher frame rate goals, many games need to lower the visual resolution such as drawing distance or overall display resolution.
Although there are not a large number of games that support this feature, many like Hello: Infinite على Xbox Series X و indie title the tourist It has 120 Hz custom modes. This provides a more fluid and responsive gaming experience, at the expense of high-resolution graphics. You can see if your Xbox can take advantage of these modes by running the calibration tool in your Xbox settings.
Pre-load games before buying
Preloading a game means that you download it before it’s released so you’re ready to go. This avoids long download times on release day. Once upon a time, I needed to commit to a game preload request beforehand, but with more and more publishers blocking preview codes and reviewing bans until release day, that could be a recipe for disaster.
But if you use the Xbox app for iPhone or Android, you can search for titles and download them to your console without having to purchase them first. Once the game is released, you can refer to the trusted review sources and make a judgment on whether you want to discount the full price, wait for sale, or miss the game.
Use hard drives as cold storage
Microsoft has gone the proprietary road in terms of Xbox Series X and Series S storage expansion. This means that you have to buy expensive purpose-built expansion cards to expand your storage pool to play original Xbox Series titles. Fortunately, there is a cheaper way to increase your storage space.
You can use USB hard drives as “cold storage” to move games to and from your internal solid-state drive when you need them. This allows you to archive games for later use, avoiding the need to download them all again. If your hard drives are a bit slow, consider using an external SSD as a good compromise between performance and price.
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You can also use external drives to play older titles, such as Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games (although you’ll get faster load times if you move them to the internal drive first).
Xbox Series X is a great buy
The Xbox Series X is more expensive than a PC, offers higher-resolution graphics, lets you use your existing TV or monitor (even if it’s not 4K), and a Game Pass subscription means you’ll always have something to play with.
That’s why Microsoft’s high-end console is a great buy, assuming you can get one.