Reducing our carbon footprint has been at the forefront of many people's minds in recent years. But as the climate debate grows, we also see more companies join the race to become carbon neutral.

Microsoft's Xbox consoles are now the first consoles to become carbon aware. With Microsoft working to become a carbon-negative, water-positive, and zero-waste company by 2030, it makes sense that Microsoft is rolling out sustainability updates to one of its biggest sectors, entertainment.

Xbox Gets Some Carbon-Aware Updates

Members of the Xbox Insider program now have access to new changes that can help their console reduce their environmental impact. It's easy to join Xbox Insider, and once you do, two new settings are included in the update. These are designed to help lower your carbon footprint and potentially reduce your energy bills.

1. Automatic Shutdown

The first of these new updates is the automatic Shutdown option. Although this is currently only being offered to Xbox Insiders, it won't be long until the update rolls out to all Xbox users, letting everyone do their part to save energy.

Not only will the new automatic Shutdown not affect the performance of your console, but it can also cut down power consumption by up to 20 times compared to sleep mode.

If you're signed up to Xbox Insiders, you might have noticed that the power-saving option has already kicked in. But, if you're not keen on being an eco-warrior while pretending to be an actual warrior on whatever you play on your Xbox, there are some settings you can tweak. Alternatively, you can change back to sleep mode altogether, should you prefer.

Simply open the Settings menu and then click General. From here, you will see Power options. This is where you can change back to sleep mode or even tweak the settings a little to push your power-saving options a little bit further.

It's worth noting that while sleep mode might make the Xbox startup a little faster, the Xbox Series X|S both use some of the best NVMe SSDs that offer faster performance, which naturally speeds up the boot time of both consoles. In short, the time you save booting console will be unlikely to be worth the added expense of using sleep mode over the new power-saving mode.

2. Carbon-Aware Downloads

The new update doesn't just focus on turning off your Xbox when you are not using it; Microsoft has also changed how downloads work, making it the first-ever console to offer carbon-aware downloads. As long as your device is connected to the internet, it can detect your region's carbon intensity data, letting the console decide when to download updates.

By gathering carbon intensity data, your Xbox will only update games, apps, and the operating system when your region is most likely to use more renewable energy.

At the moment, carbon-aware downloads only work for Xbox Insiders who have kept the energy-efficient Shutdown option active. But Microsoft will be rolling out an update to all Xbox customers soon so that everyone can reduce their carbon footprint.

Why Will Xbox Prefer Shutdown Over Sleep Mode?

The Shutdown option is more energy-efficient compared to sleep mode. Microsoft states it uses 20x less power than the sleep option, so it's the preferred option.

Both the Xbox and Xbox Series X|S will continue to receive system updates, as well as game and app downloads overnight while Shutdown is active. All players are encouraged to explore the new power settings, so everyone can take a step to make a real impact.

In Microsoft's carbon-aware announcement, Blaine Hauglie (Technical Program Manager) wrote:

For example, for every 2 consoles that switch to Shutdown (energy saving) for one year, we will save the equivalent amount of carbon removed by 1 tree planted and grown for a decade.

Carbon-Aware Update Rolling Out to Everyone Soon

While Xbox Insiders are the first to experience the latest Xbox carbon-aware update, soon all Xbox users (Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S) will be able to choose the power settings that save the most energy.

This move is a great step in reducing the gaming industry's impact on the environment, and one which Microsoft hopes developers and studios, as well as players, will work together to achieve.