Xbox One DRM Policies Overturned: Microsoft Removes Online Validation Check and Fully Supports Used Games

Microsoft's Xbox One seemed to have attracted serious backlash from its loyal customers, as the company had earlier failed to address the limitations of its policy on Xbox One used games and the ability to share games without regional restrictions. Following the backlash, Microsoft has taken a U-turn and done something similar to what Sony did for its upcoming PlayStation 4 (PS4), in a bid to win back its loyal fans and regain its lost ground in the battle of consoles.

Earlier, there were rumours of Microsoft changing its stance about Xbox One DRM restrictions, as various third-party sources claimed the possibility of a reversal in the company's policies. Now the official confirmation about the DRM policy change has come from Don Mattrick, the President of Interactive Entertainment Business, in a recent post on news.Xbox.com.

According to the post, the two main DRM issues concerning gamers have been addressed with full support from Microsoft. Xbox One gamers no longer need to connect online (24 hour internet connection not required) for disc-validation every time they want to play a game title. Just a one-time account setup with Xbox Live will suffice, just like with the Xbox 360.

In addition, there will be no limitations to using and sharing games with full support to trade-in, lend, resell, gift and renting a purchased disc. Xbox One games will now be playable online with no regional restrictions, and users can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release with support for offline gameplay.

Xbox One users should, however, note that only a purchased disc can be shared, and downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Further, playing disc-based games will require the game disc to be inserted into the drive. Previously, a feature of the Xbox One was that purchased games could be installed and played without needing to insert the disc, but this will no longer be possible under the new conditions.

Addressing Xbox One fans, Don Mattrick had this to say in his recent post at news.Xbox.com:

"We appreciate your passion, support and willingness to challenge the assumptions of digital licensing and connectivity. While we believe that the majority of people will play games online and access the cloud for both games and entertainment, we will give consumers the choice of both physical and digital content. We have listened and we have heard loud and clear from your feedback that you want the best of both worlds.

"Thank you again for your candid feedback. Our team remains committed to listening, taking feedback and delivering a great product for you later this year."