We’ve known since the Xbox One’s reveal event on May 21st that the console needed to connect to the Internet at set intervals to operate, but what we didn’t know is exactly how often this would have to be or what the consequences would be if it couldn’t. Via their new official news site Microsoft have sadly confirmed that the Xbox One does indeed need to connect to the Internet every 24-hours, and that the penalty for it not being able to do so is pretty brutal.

“With Xbox One you can game offline for up to 24 hours on your primary console, or one hour if you are logged on to a separate console accessing your library. Offline gaming is not possible after these prescribed times until you re-establish a connection, but you can still watch live TV and enjoy Blu-ray and DVD movies. ” States the website.

According to Microsoft this is so they can verify whether or not you’ve purchased new games:

“While a persistent connection is not required, Xbox One is designed to verify if system, application or game updates are needed and to see if you have acquired new games, or resold, traded in, or given your game to a friend. Games that are designed to take advantage of the cloud may require a connection. ”

To put it more bluntly, it’s because Microsoft have decided that the easiest way to combat piracy is to treat everyone like a pirate. The only true “beneficial” reason Microsoft can actually give for the Xbox One needing what is essentially a constant Internet connection is that they plan on using the Cloud to bolster the console’s performance capabilities.

Sadly this means going on holiday to a remote area in another country for a month or two and taking your console with you will be impossible, as you’ll end up with a glorified DVD/Blu-Ray player.