Microsoft has set the goal of becoming a carbon-negative, water-positive, and zero-waste company by 2030. In an update shared by the company on September 23, 2024, the company shared how Xbox has contributed immensely to this goal in just three years with “interventions to reduce energy from console usage”.
Trista Patterson, director of sustainability at Xbox
“These interventions, which include greening game code and players opting into energy saver modes, have prevented over 1.2 million metric tons of CO2e, compared to usage without interventions,” said Trista Patterson, director of sustainability at Xbox.
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“According to US EPA estimates, this reduction prevents emissions equivalent to more than 3 billion car miles (driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle) being released into the atmosphere.”
According to Patterson, the achievement would not have been possible without the help of developers and players who choose to use the Xbox Sustainability Toolkit and Shutdown (energy saving) power options respectively.
Patterson said Activision is already using the Xbox Sustainability Toolkit for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty: Warzone while 343 Industries is using it for Halo Infinite. What makes the toolkit special is that it has a dashboard that shows developers the power consumption of their games and helps them identify opportunities to reduce energy usage.
While announcing its commitment to continue supporting developers with new tools and resources to continue making games that lower energy usage and emissions, the gaming giant is also calling on more developers to embrace the Xbox Development Kit (GDK).
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Higher emphasis on graphics fidelity often means more power consumption. Patterson announced the introduction of Dynamic Power States API in June which empowers developers to make energy-saving games without compromising on graphics fidelity.
How Microsoft has made Xbox more power-efficient
In 2023, Xbox became the first console to offer carbon-aware game downloads and updates. The company achieved this by optimizing updates and downloads to run at a time when consoles can utilize the most renewable energy.
The company also introduced the shutdown option which drops power usage 20X compared to when the console is on Sleep mode. Also, there is the active hours setting update that lets players adjust their console’s active hours. All these can be found under Settings > General > Power options.
“While we’re proud of the progress we’ve made at Xbox to reduce our environmental impact, we know that the work towards a more sustainable future is never complete,” Patterson said.
“Innovative solutions continue to emerge through deep collaboration with our players, developers, and the industry. It won’t be a straight path to 2030, but we’re committed to empowering game creators with cutting-edge analytics and bespoke tool kits.”
What other ways do you think console makers and developers can make consoles and games more sustainable? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
