The Xbox Series X launch caused record broadband usage across the country

The launch of any new major game often comes with a great deal of downloading, due to the sizes of patches and updates. This bandwidth usage is increased tenfold with the launch of a new console however. According to internet service providers, there was record demand for bandwidth on Tuesday the 10th of November across the UK, due to the launch of the Xbox Series X and S.

In a report by the BBC, BT, TalkTalk and Virgin Media all saw record demand for bandwidth on the 10th of November, with these service providers attributing the spike to the launch of the next generation Xbox consoles.

Other gaming-related factors included a massive Call of Duty: Modern Warfare patch, which for some was a whole 65GB download. Furthermore, the pre-launch for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War also went live – which took over 100GB. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla also launched on the 10th of November, with file sizes of up to 60GB. Lastly, Bungie’s Destiny 2 was updated which – like Modern Warfare – took up 65GB.

All of these major patches and updates caused the internet to buckle across the UK, and service providers struggled to keep up with the demand. This was likely also aided by the fact that the UK is currently under lockdown, meaning that most people are at home all day, and so traditional predictable internet usage data is not applicable, making for more volatile demand.

With the PlayStation 5 set to release on the 19th of November in the UK, it’ll be interesting to see whether a similar scenario will occur, or whether the internet service providers will be ready for the next spike.

KitGuru says: Did you buy a new Xbox? How was your internet last Tuesday? Are you looking forward to the PlayStation 5? Let us know down below.

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