Microsoft has been doing quite a lot of as of late to improve software sales. From Xbox Play Anywhere to Xbox Game Pass, the software giant is showing it knows what Xbox fans want.
The latest announcement from the company is a feature known as “game gifting.” It basically allows anyone to purchase a digital video game for gifting to their family and friends. The announcement came directly from Xbox's corporate VP at Microsoft, Mike Ybarra.
How does it work?
It’s not yet fully clear how it works, but if one looks into how it is done on Steam, it’s easy to get an idea.
On Steam, users are required to select the video game they want to deliver as a gift. Once that is done, the user must select "Purchase as a Gift" and then choose the friend they wish to send the game to.
Steam has a feature where users can choose at which date the system sends the game to the next party. It’s not certain at this point if Microsoft will go down this path, but doing so makes a lot of sense.
Bear in mind that the recipient needs to be on your friend list, and they must also accept the gift. The best option here is to communicate with friends and families that you intend to buy them a gift before taking the steps.
Can gifts be sent to friends in other regions?
Here’s the thing, Steam doesn’t allow for the sending of video game gifts from one region to the other for every game.
Each game will have a territory restriction warning on the storefront page.
Microsoft hasn’t revealed whether it plans to do this, so fans should keep an eye out for more information before the end of the year.
Do Sony and Nintendo offer game gifting as well?
At the moment, these companies do not provide game gifting as a feature.
However, with Microsoft going down this road, both Sony and Nintendo will no doubt follow. It’s a great feature, and chances are that it will eat into the sales of traditional video game retailers.
In other news, Microsoft’s most important video game studio, 343 Industries, announced recently that “Halo 5: Guardians” will get the true 4K treatment this year.
Many were wondering if the game would get the update for the Xbox One X after the title failed to show up at E3 2017.
In fact, all games exclusive to the Xbox One family of consoles will support true 4K gaming, according to Microsoft. “Gears of War 4” is one of the first announced to get the update.
The Xbox One X will hit store shelves come November 7, 2017 for the cool price of $499.
