If you want to gift or buy Xbox games for your friends without revealing details of your payment method, you should know that both Xbox One has native integration which allows you to send gifts instantly to anybody in your friend list or an email address. It is also a great way to buy for your kids instead of transferring amount to Kids account which Windows Family Safety options offer. This was one of the most requested features for both Xbox One, and Windows 11/10. So here is to give someone a digital game on Xbox One.
Before you begin, make sure you have some payment method added to your Microsoft Account. If not, you will be asked to do so during checkout.
Gift someone a game on Xbox One
Using Gamertag is probably the easiest way to send the gift, even if the person is not on your friend list, but if you know the exact gamertag, you can search, and then send.
Find the Game: When on the Home Screen, press the right bumper to navigate to the Store section. If you are anywhere else, press the Guide button on your controller, and hit “A” to go Home.
Next, you need to search the game you plan to gift. You can search (press “Y”) or manually look for it. Once you find it, open it to see the store listing.
Buy the Gift: The game listing will have many options including “Install”, “Buy to own”, and “Buy as gift”. Select the last option. In case you don’t see this option, it’s possible that it is not available for the same.
Once you select “Buy as gift”, you will have two options here. First, will offer you to choose someone from the list, and second will ask you to enter an email address.
Whatever you choose, post the selection, the steps will remain the same.
Customize with Message: In this step, you can change the name from your default gamertag to something that will make the person smile. You can also add a small message which suits perfectly, especially during holiday season.
Make Payment: Once you have completed the payment using your preferred method which could be a card or redeeming a code, an instant message or email is sent to the recipient. He will receive a 25-character key for redemption. If you have selected a gamertag, the code will also be sent as a message which he or she can redeem instantly.
Pro Tip: Ask the person to redeem the code from redeem.xbox.com if he is away from the console. This way, the game will start downloading automatically if his settings allow it.
Please note that even though you bought the game, it is now owned by the person who redeems the code and downloads it.
Give a digital game as a gift on Windows PC
The process majorly remains the same, so I am not going to repeat it. In short, find the game, look for the option “Buy as gift”, and follow the steps. There is one small difference though. You will not be able to select any gamertag but can only use an email ID.
Limitations of Game Gifting on Xbox One
- Restricted to Games only: For now, you cannot gift Extensions, Pre-Order, Season Pass, DLC for games, etc. I hope Microsoft enables this as they are cheaper – and some might want to send gifts which cost less as well.
- Not Available for all titles in Windows: As of now, Microsoft has enabled game gifting option only for Xbox Play Anywhere games, or titles. So titles like Forza Horizon which is available both on the console, and PC, can be sent as a gift.
Considering that PC gamers make up a huge percentage of the total gaming market, Microsoft should enable game gifting for all the games. The option should integrate with the Xbox App to pick up a gamertag, allowing anybody who is only a PC gamer to get an option to get a gift.
Nevertheless, it’s a great option, and I am sure we will keep seeing improvements in future updates. This post will help you if Xbox Game Gifting is not working.
