Xbox ‘Not Playable on This Device’ Explained: What the Message Means & Can You Fix It?

It’s not just games that end up showing all kinds of strange error messages, glitches and bugs. Sometimes the operating systems that run on our consoles, or the online storefronts where we buy our games from can do weird things to. One of the more recent issues on the Xbox side of the industry is a ‘Not Playable on This Device’ error, that’s popping up when players are trying to buy games from the Xbox Store.

What Is the ‘Not Playable on This Device’ Bug on Xbox?

The error message is appearing when players have the ‘Buy’ option selected on a game’s listing on the Xbox Store. Twitter user @JohnT40326445 shared a number of games displaying the error message on his Xbox Series S. These games were Red Dead Redemption 2, Resident Evil Village, South Park: The Fractured But Whole and Life Is Strange: True Colors.

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I got a question. why does it say not playable on this device. when I am on an xbox series S console . Here's a photo. pic.twitter.com/gsttt7WAVx

— Galaxy S8 Pro (@JohnT40326445) March 14, 2023

It’s worth pointing out that all of these games are indeed playable on the Xbox Series S. This has led to some players wondering what they can do if they encounter the error message.

Can You Fix ‘Not Playable on This Device’ Xbox Error?

Unfortunately, no, there’s nothing you can actually do when this error message pops up. If you’d like to try and resolve the issue, you can try turning your Xbox off entirely and turning it back on. Alternatively, try disconnecting it from the internet and trying again, though it’s worth noting this is unlikely to resolve the issue until Microsoft address the issue on their end.

The good news, we guess, is that instead of this being a compatibility issue with your console, this is merely a bug that isn’t actually correct and you shouldn’t worry too much about. Microsoft will eventually get around to fixing this issue, and with a bit of luck it’ll be sooner rather than later.

At the time of writing, the Xbox Support Twitter account has yet to acknowledge the problem. However, if you’re eager to dive into a game that’s displaying this error message, just make sure you confirm online that the game will, indeed, play on your console before proceeding to purchase it.

That’s everything you need to know regarding the Xbox ‘Not Playable on This Device’ error. For more on everything Xbox, be sure to check out the links below.