A survey for the Xbox Insider app, spotted by Windows Central, gauges the potential popularity of new power-efficient features on PC and console. This includes enabling in-game features that can optimize settings (resolution, frame rate, etc.) to save power, and games that automatically reduce frame rate or resolution when idle or inactive. Eurogamer Newscast: Who Will Buy PlayStation VR2? It also asks about how much time players spend in games, how worried they are about their energy bills, and whether they worry about power-saving features negatively impacting gameplay. (Image credit: Windows Central) The research indicates that Microsoft is considering possible new features, although there is no guarantee that they will be implemented. Eurogamer has asked Microsoft to comment on the outcome of the investigation. It is further evidence of the company’s goals to reduce its environmental impact and operate as a carbon-negative, water-positive and zero-waste company by 2030. Trista Patterson, Director of Gaming Sustainability, told Eurogamer that Microsoft is “exploring ways [it] can improve energy efficiency through software updates.” This includes improvements to the Xbox power-saving sleep mode and making it the default option. “There are many factors that affect the environmental impact of gaming on a console compared to gaming on a PC. It’s not as simple as just looking at the platform you play from, but how you play and how a game is developed. Other factors include the duration of a game session, the size of the game being played, the number and frequency of content updates the game releases, the features supported by the game, and the game developers’ decisions about how to use system resources,” said Patterson. “Players appreciate advanced features and sometimes these require increased power consumption. We encourage and explore many ways developers can look at efficiency, such as areas beyond the game such as menus, lobbies and loading screens. “Our ambitions are high and we recognize that we still have a long way to go, but we are committed to minimizing the impact of gaming on the environment because it is extremely important that we do this right for the planet.”
