Xbox One Devs Can Now Use More of the Console's CPU

Xbox One SDK leak reveals developers can use more of the console's CPU.

Xbox One developers can now use more of the console's CPU power, according to a recent report on its latest software development kit (SDK) from Eurogamer's Digital Foundry.

The latest update gives developers access to a seventh core (out of a total of eight) on Xbox One's CPU. Microsoft can now allow developers to use more of Xbox One's CPU as it continues to use less of the CPU itself for background operations related to Kinect's infrared and voice detection capabilities.

If developers want to use the seventh CPU core, they have to give up voice detection along with other Kinect functionality. However, even if they do, a user can still choose to use system-level voice commands, which will automatically use as much as 50 percent of that seventh core, causing problems for the developer. According to Digital Foundry, the leaked SDK also indicated that Microsoft intends to address this issue in future updates.

The only reason we know about these changes is because a hacking group called H4LT recently leaked the latest version of Xbox One's SDK. It's been suggested that the leaked SDK will allow developers to start creating homebrew applications or pirate games for Xbox One, but encryption technologies and server-side authentication mean that the SDK mostly a curiosity, at least for now.