One of Xbox Series X's standout features could soon have an off switch

An Xbox Series X controller standing upright in front of the console
(Image credit: Shutterstock / Alex Van Aken)

It looks like Microsoft will consider letting players disable the Quick Resume feature on Xbox Series X|S in a future update.

Xbox head Phil Spencer recently responded to one Twitter user who wondered why the popular Xbox Series X|S feature can't be disabled. Spencer concurred, stating the team "will put it on the list of things to look at."

Quick Resume is a beloved feature of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, allowing you to suspend your game at any time and resume right where you left off. Multiple games can be left in a Quick Resume state, meaning you can dive right back into a handful of titles without the need to completely reset the game.

A wonderful, imperfect feature

At least, that's how Quick Resume works in theory. And for the most part, it works marvelously well. I've been able to hop between games like Forza Horizon 5 and Ori and the Will of the Wisps seamlessly and speedily thanks to Quick Resume. 

The feature's far from perfect, though. Quick Resume rarely plays nice with games that have a consistent online connection. Halo Infinite especially seems to suffer, as the game's multiplayer suite has a habit of becoming totally inaccessible when loaded from a Quick Resume state. As a result, it's far quicker to just quit and restart the game from the dashboard.

I've also had instances of games crashing when accessed via Quick Resume. It's a rare occurrence, but one that's incredibly frustrating as it'll often mean losing a decent chunk of progress.

It's a shame, then, especially as Quick Resume pairs so well with Xbox Game Pass. Being able to download and hop between multiple games at a time is a wonderful thing. But it's so easy to take the feature for granted that you really feel when it doesn't work.

If I was Microsoft, I don't think I'd include a blanket toggle for Quick Resume. Or not as the only option, at least. I think it would be more beneficial to be able to disable Quick Resume on a per-game basis. That way I'll be able to load up multiplayer games hassle-free, while still keeping the feature enabled for the rest of the best Xbox Series X games.

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Rhys Wood
Hardware Editor

Rhys is TRG's Hardware Editor, and has been part of the TechRadar team for more than two years. Particularly passionate about high-quality third-party controllers and headsets, as well as the latest and greatest in fight sticks and VR, Rhys strives to provide easy-to-read, informative coverage on gaming hardware of all kinds. As for the games themselves, Rhys is especially keen on fighting and racing games, as well as soulslikes and RPGs.

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