The issue:

Xbox Developer Mode lets people build, test and run their own apps on Xbox consoles. The problem is that its memory limits are too low for many modern projects.

Apps can hit the limit before they have even finished starting. They may crash, fail to load larger assets or need major compromises that would not be necessary on similar hardware. This is especially limiting for game engines, development tools and apps that rely on managed runtimes such as Java.

I have experienced this directly while developing apps for Xbox Developer Mode. A lot of development time is spent working around the memory limit instead of improving stability, performance and compatibility. Optimisation matters, but it cannot make an overly restrictive limit suitable for modern software.

We are asking Microsoft to:

• Increase the memory available to Xbox Developer Mode apps
• Give Xbox Series S and Series X higher limits that reflect their newer hardware
• Add an optional enhanced-memory mode that console owners can choose to enable
• Clearly document the limits for each console model and application type

This would not weaken retail mode security or allow unsigned apps to run outside Developer Mode. It would only improve the development environment that Microsoft already provides.

Developer Mode has allowed programmers, students and independent developers to experiment with hardware they already own. Increasing its memory limits would give that community more room to build, test and learn.

Microsoft, please update Xbox Developer Mode so its memory limits better reflect current Xbox hardware.