Xbox Series X|S Quick Resume update is currently in testing – new UI shows suspended games

One of the best features of the Xbox Series X|S system is getting in overhaul in the next few months, as Microsoft have implemented some Quick Resume UI additions for Alpha Ring testers on the new generation consoles. The additions will let users see which games are currently in the Quick Resume buffer and that can load straight back into gameplay where they left off.

Microsoft detail the change:

  • A much requested user-feature is being included in today’s update! Users will now have access to a new group that will show all current Quick Resume save states. Additionally, the Guide will now indicate if your actively running game supports Quick Resume.

The new Quick Resume section is added to the Groups feature, which exists both in your main game library screen and also in the ‘My Games & Apps’ of the Guide quick menu overlay. Groups are customisable collections of pinned games and apps, first introduced to the Xbox One in May 2018, making them an ideal surrogate for this Quick Resume group.

Image via Xbox Engineering Lead Eden Marie.

As well as the new section, you will now be able to remove a game’s suspended state from Quick Resume if you no longer want it. The next time you load that game, it will boot to the main menu instead of trying to resume from where you left off.

It’s not known when this feature will be rolled out to all Xbox Series X|S users, but it will likely take a couple of months to do so and will first spread to Beta Ring testers. Microsoft has just rolled out the April update, which made a tweak to highlight when a game is affecting download speeds, letting you suspend a title that is active in the background. That follows on from the more significant March update, which added support for FPS Boost in backward compatibility titles and improved the UI surrounding these options, as well as fixes for controller disconnect issues.

Since the Xbox Series X|S launch in November 2020, Quick Resume has been a bit of a black box for users. When it works, it works fantastically well, letting gamers switch between a handful of active games in around 6-15 seconds depending on the game. However, several notable games like Watch Dogs Legion were disabled from using the feature at launch, and it was never clear which games were being suspended via Quick Resume, when a save state was about to be lost as the buffer was filled with others, and so on. Not only that, but the feature isn’t always reliable and loading into a game can fail. It’s also pretty much worthless for games that require an active internet connection, like Destiny 2 – you will always be kicked back to the main menu and have to log into the server once more.

So Quick Resume has great potential, but Microsoft need to refine the system. Showing which games have Quick Resume save states is the first step of that, but users have requested further features to let you pin a particular game to prevent its save states being overwritten, and to have the option to exclude games from Quick Resume. Given the speed of the Xbox Series SSD, some would even like to be able to turn off Quick Resume entirely have have more storage space for game installs.

Source: Xbox, Xbox engineering lead Eden Marie

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