Exciting new Xbox feature accelerates game download speeds in one click

Xbox Series X
Xbox Series X (Image credit: Matt Brown | Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Xbox Insiders can test a new feature that dramatically improves the download speed of games.
  • The feature lets you manually suspend games from the page for managing your downloads.
  • You could already suspend games, but this feature makes it easier to do so while managing downloads.

Microsoft has a new feature for Xbox Insiders to try out that helps dramatically increase the speed of downloading games. The new feature allows you to manually suspend games directly from the page for managing downloads. Suspending a game can increase download speeds more than tenfold. In our testing on a Gigabit connection, we saw a jump from 40mbps to 750mbps when we suspended a game.

It's important to note that you could already suspend games on Xbox consoles, including the Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One. The feature in testing for Xbox Insiders just makes it easier to do so from a different location.

Eden Marie, engineering lead at Xbox, shared the new option on Twitter.

Placing an option to suspend games in the page for managing downloads should make it easy to boost game download speeds. Many of the best Xbox One games are quite large, so suspending a game to quickly finish a download can help you jump into a new game without having to wait long.

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Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He's covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean's journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.