This infuriating Xbox Series X quirk is finally being fixed

(Image credit: Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

If you’ve encountered the frustrating issues where an Xbox Series X game won’t launch properly when it requires an update, then don’t worry: Microsoft will soon have an update to fix the problem.

As it stands, there’s an issue where if a game needs an update, it can kick a user back to the Xbox dashboard, taking some 15 seconds or multiple relaunches before a user gets notified that an update is required. This can leave people befuddled to what's going on with their console and game.

But Eden Marie, the engineering lead at Xbox, had said that Xbox Alpha and Alpha Skip Ahead Insiders will now get access to a dialogue screen in seconds that declares the game “needs an update” and serves up how large the update is after doing a quick calculation.

Xbox Alpha and Alpha Skip Ahead Insiders, remember when this would take fifteen seconds of head scratching while you wonder why the game closed on launch? Not anymore. You should now get a “needs an update” dialog immediately with a size calculation filled in a few seconds later. pic.twitter.com/EaLccfFf5dMay 3, 2022

As such, we can expect this to be rolled out in a full update to the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S before too long.

It might seem like a small thing, but odd loading problems with the new-ish Xbox consoles can be remarkably frustrating. I’ve encountered such oddities when trying to load games especially when the Xbox is updating other titles at the same time. (Part of me blames this on my shoddy internet connection.)

This isn’t a problem I’ve encountered on the PS5 either, despite the consoles using the same core processor and graphics architecture. However, the PS5 doesn't have the Xbox's excellent Quick Resume feature, which lets you have multiple games in a form of suspended state, though Sony’s machine does load up games so fast it’s not a huge advantage. And perhaps the price of Quick Resume is this game update-loading oddity.

Hopefully, more updates for the Xbox Series X and Series S will see both consoles run ever more smoothly and let developers get more power out of the machines particularly when the likes of Starfield are set to arrive this fall.

Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.