Xbox Series X next-gen upgrades cannot be sold as paid DLC, according to a new report.

　　Video Games Chronicles reported that Microsoft is telling developers that next-gen upgrades cannot be sold as DLC, regardless of the participation in the Smart Delivery program. This doesn't mean, however, that all next-gen upgrades will be free, as publishers can choose to charge for physical game upgrades or sell cross-gen bundles like 2K is doing with NBA 2K21. Microsoft's goal is to offer publishers different options for how to sell their cross-gen games.

　　Microsoft's Smart Delivery program aims to make the jump into the Xbox Series X generation as painless as possible by offering free next-gen upgrades for select titles. Xbox first-party titles releasing in the near future, as well as a few other major titles like CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 and Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be playable on both Xbox One and Xbox Series X with no additional cost.

　　Smart Delivery: This technology empowers you to buy a game once and know that – whether you are playing it on Xbox One or Xbox Series X – you are getting the right version of that game on whatever Xbox you’re  playing on. We’re making the commitment to use Smart Delivery on all our exclusive Xbox Game Studios titles, including Halo Infinite, ensuring you only have to purchase a title once in order to play the best available version for whichever Xbox console they choose to play on. This technology is available for all developers and publishers, and they can choose to use it for titles that will be released on Xbox One first and come to the Xbox Series X later.

　　The Xbox Series X launches later this year worldwide. A new look at next-gen games will be coming later this month, on July 23rd.