Xbox tests a ‘suspend my game’ button to speed up downloads

Xbox software beta testers in the Insider program may have a new button popping up in their UI while downloading games, apps and updates. For years, gamers have complained that downloading slows to a crawl while games are suspended, and the only way to make them go anywhere close to the full speed possible was to manually close any suspended titles. 

Then the Xbox Series X introduced explained that the system managed resources to make sure multiplayer games have the bandwidth they need to operate, but the approach was still too aggressive in most cases.

With many games now reaching over 100GB in size and updates that can be nearly that large by themselves, it’s a real problem but the Xbox team is close to addressing it. As Update your settings here, then reload the page to see it.

Right now the feature is still in testing with Insiders, but will presumably roll out widely eventually. One thing that is open to everyone is the ability to access your Achievements via the Xbox app. It was mentioned in the notes for the March update, and is active starting today.