Xbox One Family Sharing Reportedly Didn’t Include Full Games

Don't be too sad we lost the family sharing option on the Xbox One just yet. It appears Microsoft may not have been entirely forthcoming with all the details on how that form of digital distribution would have worked on its new console.

Earlier this week, Microsoft ditched its proposed DRM plans for the Xbox One in favor of a more traditional plan like the one we all use currently. With that change came the cuts to Xbox One's family sharing, which would have let you share your entire gaming library with up to 10 friends or family members free of charge. While it sounded too good to be true, there were plenty of people disappointed such a tremendous feature was scrapped.

According to The Verge, it turns out we may not have lost much after all. A former (and disgruntled) Xbox engineer supposedly spilled the beans on what the sharing would have actually included, and it's nowhere near as impressive as originally thought. The engineer claimed what was shared was actually a 15-45 minute demo, which would then require a purchase of the full game to continue playing.

The Verge also claims it heard from other sources the family share time was limited to one hour per session per day, with the ability to save. You could continue unabated by purchasing the full game, or waiting until the next day to play some more. There were also talks family sharing would have a limited number of uses per game before a full copy must be bought by any additional players.

Now that you know a bit more about the supposed details concerning family sharing, are you happy Microsoft reversed its stance and dropped the feature, or would you have still be satisfied with this purported plan?