Microsoft made a pledge over four years ago to become carbon-negative for its power needs by 2030. That, of course, included its Xbox division. Today, Microsoft revealed some updates on how the Xbox team has been working to cut down on energy, with help from both gamers and game developers.
In a post on Xbox Wire, Microsoft announced that during its 2020-2023 fiscal year time period, it has made efforts to cut down on the amount of carbon dioxide generated from energy produced from its Xbox consoles:
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. 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.
Those efforts included a new Shutdown energy option feature that was added to Xbox consoles in January 2023. When this option is set up, any updates or downloads for Xbox or games are made where the most renewable energy sources can be accessed by the console's power connections.
In March 2023, Microsoft announced the release of the Xbox Sustainability Toolkit for game developers. It is supposed to give those developers a better understanding of how much energy a game uses when played on an Xbox console. Microsoft said that since the toolkit has been released it has been used by Activision to help in the development of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Call of Duty Warzone, along with 343 Industries' Halo Infinite.
Microsoft ended the post by saying, "Innovative solutions continue to emerge through deep collaboration with our players, developers, and the industry." However, it did not reveal any new plans yet to further cut down on Xbox energy generation.
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