Skip to main content

Microsoft offers free game to faulty Xbox One owners

microsoft offers free game faulty xbox one owners
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Microsoft may have sold 1 million Xbox Ones in the first 24 hours of it being on sale, but the launch hasn’t gone completely without a hitch. As we reported earlier, some users are hearing grinding noises when loading discs, and now Microsoft has acknowledged the problem. Anyone affected can get a free game and a replacement console once they’ve reported the error.

“The issue is affecting a very small number of Xbox One customers,” Microsoft told CNET. “We’re working directly with those affected to get a replacement console to them as soon as possible through our advance exchange program. Rest assured, we are taking care of our customers.”

You can get your hands on Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising, Ryse or Zoo Tycoon if your console’s disc drive is making unhealthy noises and refusing to play any games. Once you’ve reported the issue to Microsoft, you should get your replacement Xbox One within a matter of days. The free game can be downloaded digitally (and played without using the disc drive).

Head to the Xbox website, contact @XboxSupport on Twitter or just shout “Xbox Help” at your black box to get assistance from Microsoft. The company hasn’t released exact figures for the number of people affected by the drive grinding problem, though it doesn’t appear to be particularly widespread.

On the other side of the console battlefield, Sony is having a few teething problems of its own: The company has issued a statement confirming that around 0.4 percent of console owners are experiencing issues. Considering the PS4 matched the Xbox One with opening day sales of 1m, several thousand users are likely to be affected.

For the PS4, there are several issues that are reoccurring, rather than one specific problem: Various users have reported a blue line of death (boot-up problems) and a red line of death (overheating problems). Contact Sony for details of how to obtain a repaired or replacement console if you are experiencing problems.

Editors' Recommendations

David Nield
Dave is a freelance journalist from Manchester in the north-west of England. He's been writing about technology since the…
Age of Mythology: Retold will launch on PC and Xbox at the same time
Key art for Age of Mythology: Retold.

Microsoft and World's Edge gave us our first glimpse of its upcoming remaster of real-time strategy game Age of Mythology: Retold during Friday's New Year, New Age livestream. They also confirmed that it will launch on PC and Xbox later this year.

Age of Mythology: Retold's segment of the livestream began with Art Director Melinda Rose introducing the gameand  teasing that it will contain all-new 3D character models, animation, textures, and UI. Rose also highlighted the details of the character models for units like Medusa, Pegasus, and Cerberus. Each time players upgrade a unit, their design will change slightly. We then got a look at its key art, as well as confirmation that Age of Mythology: Retold will be released later this year. It will launch on both PC and Xbox at the same time and is the first World's Edge game to do so.

Read more
Xbox Game Pass gets one of 2021’s best games today
Iron Mask and Shionne attack in Tales of Arise.

The next batch of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass this month was just revealed. Leading the pack of games being added to the subscription service today is Tales of Arise, a critically acclaimed RPG from Bandai Namco Entertainment that Xbox previously leaked was coming to the service.

Tales of Arise was released in 2021. The latest entry in a long-running RPG series, it follows a slave and girl inflicted with a curse as they rise up against the kingdom of Rena. It sports real-time RPG combat, and is one of few games to score a five-star rating from Digital Trends.

Read more
Xbox and Embracer’s mass layoff explanations aren’t good enough
Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer during Updates on the Xbox Business | Official Xbox Podcast.

The wave of layoffs that has happened over the past year in the video game industry is well-documented. Some of the biggest culprits are Embracer Group, which has laid off nearly 1,400 workers across several of its studios since the start of a restructuring program last July, and Microsoft, which laid off 1,900 developers across Xbox, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard in January. After relative silence around these layoffs, leadership at both companies finally tried to offer more transparently into what happened.

Neither of their statements are good enough.

Read more