If you happen to be one of the people picking up that Cyberpunk 2077 Xbox One X bundle, you're going to be in for a bit of a surprise: there won't be any serial codes for digital content in the box. Instead, the game's content is going to be delivered through Xbox Digital Direct.
Cyberpunk 2077 has the honor of being the very last game to get a special edition Xbox One bundle. It also happens to be debuting Xbox Digital Direct, a new way for game content to be delivered to users. In short: the era of entering a serial key is over.
The information was first brought to light on the /r/XboxOne subreddit. As you can see from the below picture, it might make for a nasty surprise for people hoping to share any extra content with their friends.
The Cyberpunk 2077 Console Bundle Might Kill the Aftermarket
The potential problems of the Cyberpunk 2077 console bundle are contained in the fine print shown in the picture on Reddit:
Digital Direct
Your digital content will be delivered directly to your console during set-up; no codes required. All included digital content will be attached to the first Microsoft account that redeems [...]
For many people, this new Digital Direct feature might be considered a convenience. It is, after all, sometimes a pain in the butt to try and enter a 25-character serial key with a game controller. However, this is also going to have an effect on the aftermarket.
Suppose that you already owned a digital copy of the game. Previously, you would have been able to give away any extra content included with this bundle to a friend by simply giving them the serial key. Now, the content is going to be delivered to the first Microsoft Account that boots up on the console, essentially removing this option entirely. Additionally, users who plan to set up multiple accounts may find it more of an annoyance as that means that whichever account they want the bundled game on must be the first account to log in.
At the moment, the feature debuting in the Cyberpunk 2077 console bundle doesn't seem especially widespread just yet. That said, it does give us hints as to what to expect for the next gen of gaming on Xbox, and I imagine that more than a few people won't be too happy about it.
What do you think about Xbox Digital Direct being a part of the Cyberpunk 2077 Console Bundle? Does this make you less likely to pick up the bundle yourself? Let us know in the comments below!
