Xbox Almost Ready to Launch Digital Preloading of Games - The UpStream

Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, has taken to the media again to announce that the company is still committed to the Xbox One and that the Xbox hasn't completely lost its vision. With that in mind, Spencer said we'll see some of the true "next-gen" promised additions in the coming months.

We've talked about rounds of updates for the Xbox One in the past, and we harp on it because of the fact that the updates were merely things we were promised at launch before Microsoft backtracked on everything. So it is with great pleasure that I can say that Mr. Phil Spencer himself promised the gaming community that we'll see digital pre-orders making their way to the console. This means that you'll soon be able to pre-purchase a game before it's launched and will be able to play it as soon as it releases, without having to go to the store or wait for a download to finish after midnight. Instead, the Xbox One, just like a PC, will be able to download the full game ahead of time, and will be ready for 12:01 AM.

Of course, this is a big deal and something that I've wanted to see on these current generation consoles since November, and the PlayStation 4 already had this feature. How do we know this is coming to the Xbox One? Well, a Twitter user asked Spencer,

Will the digital preorder system become available on the next xbox preview update or anytime soon would love to start preordering!

And succinctly, @XboxP3 (Phil Spencer's account) responded with, "Stay tuned on this. Not long."

We probably won't see this in the August update though. Last week, Major Nelson pretty much laid out those expectations, however Microsoft is known to throw in a few surprises from time to time. It would be nice to see digital pre-ordering made available before this fall's sports titles hit stores. The ability to play NHL or FIFA right at midnight would be something I'd personally appreciate.