Microsoft is rolling out three new features for Xbox insiders that attempt to reduce the environmental impact of the Series X|S console. With these new features, Microsoft has given the Xbox console the title of "the first carbon-aware console," but if you turn a blind eye to such lofty marketing, the new features will help reduce the console's unnecessary power consumption.

The first new feature is Carbon Aware Game downloads and updates, which schedule console updates to coincide with when they can siphon the most renewable energy from the local power grid.

"Xbox will schedule games, apps, and OS updates at specific times during nightly maintenance hours.

The next feature is actually quite simple: Microsoft will change the Xbox Insider console to automatically transition to a shutdown (energy saving) power option. Leaving the console in standby mode can consume up to 20 times more power than if the console is completely shut down (from 0.5W to 10-15W, according to Microsoft). Standby is likely to be the option of choice for most gamers, meaning this could be a real power saver.

The previous generation of Xbox One consoles will also feature a new shutdown (energy-saving) power mode. This may be the most important feature for power savings overall, since there are roughly 50 million of these consoles out there, many of which are likely still in operation. Then again, Microsoft is still trying to figure out the best way to communicate this change to users, and there is no automatic transition to the new shutdown mode on older models.

Activating the new mode will slow down the console's startup time, but that seems like a small price to pay for less energy consumption.

The hard part is getting users to change the settings menu, especially on older consoles, where users may not be aware of new features being added. Microsoft seems to be aware of the tremendous task of getting Xbox One owners to actually make the switch. In order to convince users to make the switch to the energy-saving setting, Microsoft says that for every two game consoles switched to shutdown (energy-saving), the company will reduce the carbon dioxide equivalent of one tree planted and grown for 10 years.

Finally, Microsoft will add an active time feature for console owners who absolutely need a quick boot time. During the specified active time (set automatically on X|S, but manually on Xbox One), the console will be available from standby as usual. Outside of the active time, the console will shut down.

These features are currently only available to Xbox Insiders, but Microsoft says the update will be rolled out "soon" to other users.

If you are looking for ways to reduce your footprint on the desktop, these features are already available in Windows PCs; Windows 11, using data from ElectricityMap (open in new tab) and WattTime (open in new tab), updated only when more renewable energy is available on the local grid (opens in new tab). These are probably the same services that run the Xbox X|S carbon awareness updates.

Gaming machines of all types consume quite a bit of power, but not as much as a high-performance PC. Simply moving from sleep to shutdown would reduce the machine's potential power consumption. Of course, this won't amount to much on a monthly basis, but if you continue to play PC games over a lifetime, it all adds up.