When I Download A Single-Player Game, I Should Be Able To Play It

Let me tell you how my yesterday was. Yesterday, I opened up my Xbox Series X expecting to spend a few hours relaxing and playing Fortnite. A system alert popped up telling me that I would not be able play Fortnite after seeing its title screen. Since I was able see online functionality from my home screen, I knew that my Xbox was connected fine. I assumed this alert was a boot-up hiccup – something I experience from time to time when reawakening my console. When I tried to restart Fortnite on my Xbox One, it refused to reconnect. I then received an alert that said the game’s owner must log in.

This is when I found out that Epic Games and Xbox had an issue. I then tried to play Ravenous Devils – an offline single-player game – and that too brought about an ownership claim. The Xbox was rebooted again and I attempted to launch both games. I received the same error message. Xbox’s online services were down.

I was unaffected by it. I checked Xbox’s TwitterTo confirm that the problem was indeed there, I ran an online support check and also checked the status of the console. I was told by both information sources that the service had issues when people tried to launch and buy digital games. The problem was not solved by Microsoft, but I watched the very first episode. Star Trek: Strange New WorldsWatch the latest episodes of Outer Range. Microsoft could restore service if I spent the time I did other entertainment, including eating dinner. Microsoft usually responds quickly to problems. It was wrong. Service was still unavailable. However, it was not something I thought much about.

To play Ravenous Devils (a video game I am currently reviewing), my last ditch effort was to switch off the Xbox and put it in offline mode. Because it is a one-player game, it was possible that it would not require a dumb DRM handshake. After setting my Xbox as my home computer, I went offline. Lucky for me, I wasn’t required to handshake the game and was able select “play offline”. Ravenous’ title screen started up perfectly, however, I couldn’t get into the game because the option titles didn’t go away, so the game was unplayable. It kept restarting twice. It seems that offline play wasn’t much of a focus during testing.

Connection issues are a common problem in this age of online gaming. They don’t happen often but they do occur enough frequently that I find myself numb. Microsoft is not getting a pass. Most gamers have headaches with DRM and the “always-online” feature. The inability to access the paid-for games is frustrating, even for single-player experiences which don’t require internet connectivity.

Although I was unable to play the games that I desired, I still found some enjoyment in my Xbox. Most of my downloaded games can be played offline because I set it as my main computer. Today’s test confirmed that Stardew valley, Psychonauts 2 and Hades all work in offline mode on Xbox 360 consoles. But, I was unable to access Halo Infinite’s Campaign. It didn’t recognize that I had the game, and asked me to buy it again. This would have to be impossible since I wasn’t able to connect to the store. Another unusual bug was caused offline.

Downloading and testing offline games is a good way to be prepared for an outage. Consider them an “in-case of emergency” kit. You have a lot of games that are compatible. You should be aware that some titles like Elden Ring won’t work without an online component. And you might run into unexpected problems just as I encountered with other games.

All consoles, Xbox and PlayStation alike have online and offline functions for the games they own. Each console is affected by downtime in different ways. DRM is a concept I am familiar with and can understand. But, it also causes me to hate it. Players are frequently unaware of what’s happening when a network is down or certain functions are disrupted.

Knowing what hurdles to clear to find information, and where to search (both online and on console), I can also understand why certain games aren’t playable without DRM. For most people, it is frustrating and requires a lot of trial and error. There needs to be more transparency into the situation and alerts which inform players that they have not done anything wrong, and the issue is with the service. Xbox may issue warnings, but they should be clear and present when it is necessary. Getting an alert like “something is wrong,  error code X235329drmsux320i” does nothing to inform or help.

Here’s the good news. You can play games. It is possible to watch TV shows. Every outage will hopefully bring more improvements from Microsoft. We are all connected. It is up to us to learn how to navigate the turbulent waters.