It is well known that our favorite video game consoles ‘hide’ a lot of really useful features whose existence sometimes goes unnoticed. Sometimes it’s because the interface is not intuitive enough, because it’s hidden… or because we haven’t paid attention. The ‘trick’ I want to talk about today belongs to this last group, since Xbox and Microsoft have talked about it on numerous occasions. It is the Quick Resume.
What is Xbox Quick Resume?
Having said that, what is Quick Resume? In broad terms, it is a feature that can be found on Xbox Series X|S. It allows us to switch between several games almost instantly. And although it may seem like it, it is not like the suspension of PS5 or Nintendo Switch.
Instead of closing and opening a game every time we want to switch between them, theXbox Quick Resume saves our progress and the state of the game in its memory. Interestingly, it can be used even if we turn off the console or open another game.
How to use Quick Resume
But… how can we use it? The truth is that you don’t need to do anything special. It is pre-configured, so it is always operational. However, it is important that you take into account some very important aspects.
First of all, in order tobe able to use Quick Resume on your Xbox, you need to know where to find the games that are using this feature. The answer, luckily, is quite simple, and is provided by Xbox’s official website.
If you have already used Quick Resume, you can find the game in My Games & Apps and Groups on the Series X|S consoles. If you want to use Quick Resume, all you have to do is press the Xbox button on your controller to open the guide. When you do this, in the upper right corner of the screen you will see the Quick Resume option.
Now, although the system rarely fails, it is advisable to always save the game before using the function to avoid any kind of scare or setback. Also, you should keep in mind that not all games are compatible with this system.
Most of them are, but not 100%, so if you can’t find the option, it’s very likely that it’s not compatible. Apart from that, you should bear in mind that only three games can be stored via Quick Resume simultaneously. If they are Xbox One or Xbox 360 games, you may be able to save a few more, but the limit is usually three.
Similarly, online and multiplayer games can have bugs. Let me explain: if you’re enjoying an online game, there’s no Quick Resume, since you’re playing through a server and closing the game is the same as disconnecting. That’s why you’ll probably reappear in the game’s menu and not in the middle of the game if you use it.
Similarly, only one Quick Resume save can be stored per game and console, so if a friend decides to save their own game using Quick Resume on your console, your Quick Resume will no longer be operational.
Finally, two more details. Firstly, no, Quick Resume does not affect the performance of the console. Secondly, there is no interface to show all the games with a quick resume save state, so you will have to use the system we have told you about above to recover those games.
How it works and why it’s useful
When you’re playing a game and decide to switch to another, Quick Resume saves the exact state of the game at the moment you leave it. This means that when you return, you will continue exactly where you left off. The good thing is that you won’t have to go through start menus, loading screens or save points.
To give you an idea, I’ll give you an example. Imagine that you have decided to pull on nostalgia and start a new game in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. For a couple of hours, you immerse yourself in its fantasy universe until you get a WhatsApp.
Your regular group has decided to play some EA SPORTS FC 25 and have let you know, in case you want to join. You feel like it, so you say yes. This is where Quick Resume comes into play: instead of closing Skyrim, you save your game and move straight to FC 25.
After a couple of hours, you leave, but it’s the weekend and you feel like playing again. That’s when Quick Resume works its magic: with no waiting times or loading screens, you can open Skyrim again right where you left off.
How to pin specific Quick Resume games
The good thing about Quick Resume is that you can pin games. Microsoft’s own explanation of how to do this is given to us by Microsoft itself.