Xbox has announced several more steps toward sustainability, including an expansion of its repair program. You’ll be able to purchase official Xbox X/S Series replacement parts from the Microsoft Store and iFixit to repair your console yourself, even if it’s out of warranty. Until now, Microsoft has only offered controller parts through its own store, but now you can buy components for the Series S and the all-digital and disk versions of the Series X. Along with a variety of parts and step-by-step repair instructions, iFixit also has an Xbox toolkit for sale.
Meanwhile, starting January 20, Asurion’s uBreakiFix will become the first authorized Xbox service center. It will repair consoles at nearly 700 participating locations in the United States. Previously, authorized in-person Xbox repairs were only available at Microsoft Stores, so now gamers will have many more places to go to get their console repaired without breaking the warranty.
These are positive steps forward for the right to repair movement. They should help to reduce the number of game consoles sent to landfill.
“By expanding the number of ways players can get support and repair for their Xbox consoles, we’re also helping to extend the life of Xbox devices, reduce waste, promote reuse, and ultimately reduce our environmental impact,” wrote Trista Patterson, director of gaming sustainability at Xbox, in a post on Xbox Wire. In addition, the Xbox Series X/S packaging no longer contains single-use plastic after switching to all-paper and fiber materials.
Regarding other aspects of sustainability, Microsoft says that thanks to the recent increase in the efficiency of video content processing in the Xbox Series S, power consumption when using media applications has been reduced by an average of 10 percent. As for the company’s game studios, they are using the Xbox Sustainability Toolkit to create more energy-efficient games, Microsoft says.
