Xbox Series X|S Energy Saver Sleep Mode Recommended By Microsoft as it Outlines Sustainability Targets for 2030

Microsoft has outlined how it's aiming to become carbon negative, water positive, and producing zero waste by 2030, as part of its sustainability goals, which also includes an update to Xbox Series X|S consoles that has so far passed us by.

Chances are, it might have passed you by, too, when it rolled out last year, but there's a new Energy Saver sleep mode available on Xbox Series X|S, which enables you to put your console into Standby mode, while still downloading system and game updates. This setting apparently consumes around “20 times less power” than the previous standard Standby mode. On new consoles, Energy Saver mode is now set as the default.

The company's sustainability efforts will also extend to all Microsoft product packaaging being fully recyclable in OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries by 2030, while Xbox Series X|S consoles have been assessed as being 97% recyclable in OECD countries. Xbox gift cards have also been switched from plastic to cardboard, reducing annual plastic use by 500,000 kg.

You can find out more about Microsoft's sustainability aims in its sustainability hub here, or on the Xbox Wire. Now, I'm off to change my Xbox Series X's power settings.