Microsoft has today done a 180 on their DRM policy for the Xbox One, by removing the need for a 24 hour internet connection. Players will now only need to connect to the internet during a one-time system set-up.

The change was explained via a blog post on the xbox.com website by Don Mattrick, President of Interactive Entertainment Business. The blog post said the following:

Last week at E3, the excitement, creativity and future of our industry was on display for a global audience.

For us, the future comes in the form of Xbox One, a system designed to be the best place to play games this year and for many years to come. As is our heritage with Xbox, we designed a system that could take full advantage of advances in technology in order to deliver a breakthrough in game play and entertainment. We imagined a new set of benefits such as easier roaming, family sharing, and new ways to try and buy games. We believe in the benefits of a connected, digital future.

Since unveiling our plans for Xbox One, my team and I have heard directly from many of you, read your comments and listened to your feedback. I would like to take the opportunity today to thank you for your assistance in helping us to reshape the future of Xbox One.

You told us how much you loved the flexibility you have today with games delivered on disc. The ability to lend, share, and resell these games at your discretion is of incredible importance to you. Also important to you is the freedom to play offline, for any length of time, anywhere in the world.

So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360.

This is a rather massive u-turn for Microsoft, but no an unexpected one. After Sony announced that they wouldn’t be having any form of on-line DRM and allow trade-in at E3, Microsoft was on the back foot. It is clear that Microsoft is doing this to attract people back to the console. The question is will these policy changes bring back potential buyers?

To get a full list of changes check out the blog post on xbox.com. One other noticeable change apart from the DRM is that the Xbox One will now have no region restrictions.