Key Highlights:
- Microsoft offered a free digital Xbox One game to customers affected by faulty launch consoles in November 2013.
- The compensation applied to customers using Microsoft’s advance exchange programme while a replacement console was being sent.
- The offer was a launch-period hardware compensation scheme and is no longer available.
Some early Xbox One consoles launched with faulty optical disc drives in November 2013, leading Microsoft to offer affected customers a free digital game while replacement hardware was being arranged.
The console had been officially announced by Microsoft in May 2013, several months before its November launch, while the company spent much of the summer clarifying and revising policies around connectivity and game ownership.
Reports from the time described consoles making grinding or clicking noises when discs were inserted, leaving some systems unable to read physical games. Microsoft said the problem affected only a very small number of Xbox One owners.
Customers using Microsoft’s advance exchange programme were offered a digital Microsoft Studios launch title, with reported choices including Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome and Zoo Tycoon.
The compensation was tied specifically to the Xbox One launch hardware issue and was not a general free-game promotion. The offer has long since ended.
The original GamesLatestNews report from November 26, 2013 follows below.
For any of the Xbox One owners out there, this post will most definitely interest you, especially if you’ve been the victim of the recent troubled hardware issues that the next-gen machine has been having. Microsoft have decide to act in more ways than one, they’re not just contempt with fixing the error, but they are willing to give away a free digital game to all those that have been caught up in all this mess.
The best news is that gamers don’t even need to have a functioning optical drive either. We found the latest revelation via Polygon, who’ve revealed this from an email from a Microsoft support representative. In a statement, the representative said:
“While a replacement console is on its way, we want to ensure our advance exchange customers can stay in the game. We will provide each of them with a free digital download of one of the launch titles published by Microsoft Studios.”
The choice of titles up for selection are as follows:
- Ryse: Son of Rome
- Forza Motorsport 5
- Zoo Tycoon
- Dead Rising 3
The computer giants have reported in recent days gone by that their Xbox One console has had optical drive hardware issues, which the Sony PlayStation 4 has also been experiencing too. A proper fix should be on the way shortly.
