Xbox One lets you save and restart your game at any point

The Xbox One will include the ability to pause or save a game at any point without losing progress, Microsoft officials told Polygon.

"One of things that we haven't talked about is the way the saved game architecture works," said Ben Kilgore, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business. "It's more like a phone a little bit. So you are not going to lose your save game stuff as you are switching between tasks."

Game designers can still decide whether their games will also feature more traditional save points, Kilgore said, but all games will include the ability to stop playing a game and have it essentially save instantly.

For instance, Kilgore said, a player could stop gaming for the day, and then come back the next day and say "Xbox on," and the console would "bring you right back to where you were in the game."

The console also supports a universal pause command. Players can simply say "Xbox pause" and the console will pause your activity, whether you're watching a movie, listening to music or playing a game.

Earlier this year, Sony announced that the PlayStation 4 would support the ability to stop and save a game at any point. Smartphones and portable gaming devices also include this feature.

Kilgore said that the console's ability to do so many different things meant Microsoft had to support the feature.