Xbox One game preloading still on Microsoft's wishlist

In the wake of the latest PlayStation 4 firmware introducing the ability to preload unreleased digital games, Microsoft says it's an Xbox One feature that remains on its wishlist.

That's according to Xbox Live director of programming Larry Hryb, better known as Major Nelson, who responded to a Reddit post (via CVG) requesting this very feature. Hryb said in a comment, "All I can say right now is that yes, we want this feature as well." In a later comment, he refused to elaborate on how high a priority this is for Microsoft or whether it's something that's currently in development.

The most recent Xbox One update was released in April. It brought back Xbox Live friend notifications and added support for 50Hz Blu-ray content.

Preloading, which is simply the ability to download a game ahead of its release, provides a number of benefits. Among those is the fact that it allows gamers with slow Internet connections to have to wait less time before being able to play a newly released game, and it also lessens the likelihood of download servers being overwhelmed at the launch of a game.

As first reported last month, yesterday's PS4 1.70 firmware update added preloading support. The feature is also available for certain game releases on Steam and other digital PC game distribution services.

How important is the ability to preload games to you? Let us know in the comments below.