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Xbox Smart Delivery Explained: How It Works & What Games Are Cross-Gen
Microsoft's upcoming Xbox Series X promises greatly enhanced performance over current-gen systems, and its Xbox Smart Delivery feature will let players late to the console get the most out of its power for free. Smart Delivery's "cross-buy"-like service allows Xbox One owners a way to play some of the latest Xbox games on the Series X at no extra cost.
Along with "Optimized for Series X," Smart Delivery was one of Microsoft's most frequently mentioned perks in the recent May 2020 Inside Xbox presentation. Although the showcase revealed a few impressive-looking games, many fans were upset that it contained almost no gameplay, despite teases of Assassin's Creed Valhalla gameplay beforehand. Microsoft admitted it set the wrong expectations after the showcase, but the damage had already been done, as the presentation has earned 30,000 dislikes and only 23,000 likes on YouTube at the time of writing.
Besides snippets of gameplay and disappointment, there were some significant points of interest in the showcase. Microsoft boasted all of the games shown were optimized for performance on the Series X, and it specifically called out Assassin's Creed Valhalla as one of the third-party titles utilizing Xbox Smart Delivery. Here's that new feature, explained.
How Series X's Xbox Smart Delivery Allows Free Cross-Gen Game Upgrades
According to Microsoft's official Xbox Series X Glossary, Smart Delivery is a "new technology [...] that will ensure you always play the best version of the games you own for your console, across generations." This means, if an Xbox One owner buys a game like Halo Infinite or Assassin's Creed Valhalla on their Xbox One but later decides to purchase a Series X, they will receive a free upgrade to the Series X-optimized version of the game. It's a rather confusing way of saying "cross-buy," but there's a possible explanation for Microsoft's heavily branded framing.
In December 2019, Microsoft confirmed its next-gen console is just called "Xbox." Speaking to Business Insider, a Microsoft representative said the simplified name "allows room for additional consoles in the future." Like the Xbox One, Xbox One X, Xbox One S, and Xbox One S All-Digital before it, the Xbox Series X could potentially be followed by several other console variations. Smart Delivery, then, may not be designed simply for cross-buying games on Xbox One and Series X. Instead, it could theoretically reduce confusion about which version of a game to buy on all future next-gen Xbox systems, as the best version compatible with a particular console will automatically be the playable one.
Which Xbox Series X Games Are Cross-Gen?
Besides Halo Infinite and Assassin's Creed Valhalla's Smart Delivery compatibility, Microsoft has confirmed all first-party, Xbox Game Studios-developed games will support Smart Delivery. The company already announced Series X games will come to Xbox One for at least the first year of its life, so this means Xbox One owners who buy games like Senua's Saga: Hellblade II won't have to pay for them again if they decide to get a Series X later.
Microsoft has also opened up Smart Delivery for all third-party developers to use, but it's up to them whether or not to enable the feature. As mentioned, Ubisoft will be doing so for at least Assassin's Creed, and other publishers are sure to follow. Rather than take Ubisoft's route, though, EA's Madden 21 won't support Smart Delivery, instead using EA's own time-limited next-gen upgrade service. It remains to be seen whether other big publishers like Bethesda, Activision, and Capcom follow Ubisoft or EA's lead, but fans can likely expect at least some of their games to show up in Microsoft's Smart Delivery service.
The Xbox Series X is planned to launch in the 2020 holiday season.
