Xbox has announced a few more sustainability efforts, including an expansion of its repairability program. You’ll be able to buy official replacement parts for Xbox Series X/S systems from the Microsoft Store and iFixit so you can repair your console yourself, even if it’s out of warranty. Until now, Microsoft had only offered controller parts through its own store, but now you can buy components for the Series S and both the all-digital and disc drive editions of the Series X. Along with various parts and step-by-step repair guides, iFixit also has an Xbox toolkit for sale.
Meanwhile, as of January 20, uBreakiFix by Asurion will be the first Xbox Authorized Service Provider. It will repair the consoles at nearly 700 participating locations in the US. Previously, authorized in-person Xbox repairs were only available at the Microsoft Store, so gamers will have many more places where they can go to get their console fixed without breaking the warranty.
These are positive steps forward for the right-to-repair movement. They should help reduce the number of games consoles that are consigned to the scrapheap.
“By expanding the number of ways players can get support and repair for their Xbox consoles, we also help extend the longevity of Xbox devices, reduce waste, promote re-use and ultimately reduce our environmental impact,” Trista Patterson, director of gaming sustainability at Xbox, wrote in an Xbox Wire post. In addition, there are no longer any single-use plastics in Xbox Series X/S packaging following a switch to fully paper- and fiber-based materials.
Elsewhere on the sustainability front, Microsoft says that, through recent efficiencies in how the Xbox Series S handles video content, there’s been an average power reduction of 10 percent while media apps are in use. As for the company’s game studios, they’ve been using the Xbox Sustainability Toolkit to make more energy-efficient games, Microsoft says.
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