Today during its third party games showcase, Xbox revealed that a bunch of upcoming games will join Halo Infinite, Cyberpunk 2077, and Gears 5 as part of it part of the Microsoft Smart Delivery program. It means if you buy the game on Xbox One, you'll get it for free on the new Xbox Series X once you upgrade. The new additions include Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2.
Marketing lead Samuel Bateman confirmed the news earlier this year on Twitter, while a blog post from Xbox boss Phil Spencer details the Smart Delivery process. We've updated our list of every current Smart Delivery game below, while also outlining what it means for you, the gamer, but expect to see more and more as Microsoft ramps up its rollout of next-gen Xbox news.
Smart Delivery is yet another way that Microsoft is planning to connect the console family it's building. As Spencer explained, the program was designed to ensure that Xbox owners only need to buy a game once, no matter what Xbox they own.
All first-party Xbox Game Studios titles will come with Smart Delivery support, so if you don't upgrade to an Xbox Series X console immediately, you'll still be able to play new Xbox games without worrying about double-buying. Better still, Spencer says the technology will be available to third-party developers and publishers as well, "and they can choose to use it for titles that will be released on Xbox One first and come to the Xbox Series X later."
Here's every Smart Delivery game confirmed so far, as of May 2020:
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Call of the Sea
- Chorus
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Dirt 5
- Gears 5
- Halo Infinite
- Scarlet Nexus
- Second Extinction
- The Ascent
- Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
- Yakuza: Like a Dragon
Smart Delivery is positioned as a sister feature to Xbox Series X backwards compatibility, which will ensure older Xbox games aren't forgotten after the jump to next-gen. And as Spencer said, it's not reserved for first-party titles. Cyberpunk 2077, for instance, has already been confirmed for Smart Delivery, and we'll undoubtedly see more first- and third-party games added to the list in the coming months.
As it happens, Halo Infinite will also be available on Xbox Game Pass when it launches in holiday 2020.
