Digital Content from other regions

I recently joined the Xbox Ambassador program and since doing so, a few work colleagues have caught wiff of this and started asking me Xbox related questions (which I am of course more than happy to help them with).

There seems to be one question that is being asked quite frequently and I honestly need a bit of guidance with this one.

The question is related to digital content and what Xbox Live users are allowed to do and what they're not allowed to do.

TL;DR

As an Australian Xbox Live user, am I allowed to change region on my Xbox One to purchase digital content from other regions? Or am I only allowed to purchase physical copies of content from other regions (as the Xbox One is region-free)?

If I'm allowed to change regions to purchase digital content from another region, am I able to do the same with Games for Gold offers from other regions?

I assume the rule would only officially apply for hard copy games but I would like to understand what Microsoft's stance is on this matter so that I am able to better assist other Xbox users who are asking me within the Ambassador program and outside of this
program (ie, at work).

Thanks

:)

 

Digital content from other regions

Hi there,

I would advise against purchasing content from different regions, since officially it is not supported and you never know what issues you might start experiencing.

 

Digital content from other regions

Alright, I know that games aren’t region locked but apparently in some cases they are. Anyways I was gonna buy a digital copy of Monster Hunter worlds off a seller for cheaper who says I’ll have to use VPN and a US Ip address to activate. But I’m curious
if once I activate if I can and that works will the game fully available on my Xbox account even though I’m in Canada? Thanks!

 

The offer to change regions is available to all. However, it was originally intended for those that moved to a different region. Those that change their region should be aware that they can only do so a few times per year (once every 3 months).

Another issue to be aware of is region locking. A person may be able to purchase an item but may encounter issues with downloading it due to different IP addresses.

Finally, someone should not attempt to change regions simply to download free games. Remember what happened a couple of years ago when everyone was switching to Oman to download the free games there. There were quite a few unhappy people who woke up to
find their gamertag and/or consoles were banned from Live.

 

Onyx talks mainly about the digital side of things, but as you asked I'll just add that physical copies are totally region-free. You can buy those from wherever and they will work on any Xbox One console.

The issue is with the complexity of digital downloads and switching regions to gain access to games not released in the actual territory.

 

Thanks for the responses guys. I assumed this was the case but didn't want to add additional confusion to this seemingly convoluted question to those who had asked me.

I'll pass this on to those who have asked.

Thanks again!

 

Glad to find this at the top; saves me from not knowing the key words for searching for it:

I'm American, living in France, and considering buying an Xbox One. My French is fine, and most of my French family speak English nearly fluently, so this is not a deal breaker, but if I understand correctly if I keep the region settings in France, the games,
no matter where I buy them (even physical disks brought from the US?) will be in French?

This is not what I want.

I want the games to be played in their native languages, so most would be in English.

This would require changing region settings to the US, but does that mean digital content I buy in the US store won't be able to be played on my French-bought console, even if the region settings are in US English?

In a nutshell, what would I be missing if I kept my (French-bought) Xbox console in US English settings? I have no intention of "gaming" the system by regularly changing the settings, they would be kept in US English at all times.