New Xbox feature could fix one of the console’s most annoying issues

(Image credit: Microsoft)

A new Xbox feature is on the way that will finally address a long-standing issue on Microsoft’s platform: slow download speeds.

It’s likely that you will have encountered this problem yourself over the years but, basically, whenever you have a game running in the background on Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S consoles, your download speeds can slow to a crawl. The only way to hit the speeds you’d expect to see is to close a game entirely, which is rather annoying, to say the least.

Thankfully, though, this historic problem will be rectified soon. Microsoft has revealed that a new ‘suspend my game’ button is now available to beta testers in the Xbox Insider program that will let you keep your games running in the background, but won’t throttle download speeds as a result.

Slow and steady

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S were criticized at launch for having the same UI as the Xbox One, as apart from having dynamic backgrounds, it didn’t do much to add to that ‘next-gen’ feel many were hoping for. However, Microsoft’s decision to continue to build upon its existing dashboard appears to be paying off, as not only is it able to make incremental improvements, it’s also not missing any key features by starting from scratch that gamers have come to expect.

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Adam was formerly TRG's Hardware Editor. A law graduate with an exceptional track record in content creation and online engagement, Adam has penned scintillating copy for various technology sites and also established his very own award-nominated video games website. He’s previously worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor and once played Halo 5: Guardians for over 51 hours for charity. He is now an editor at The Shortcut.