Xbox has an achievement system. Users are rewarded with GamerScore points for unlocking achievements in games.
Some players deliberately pick games where they can easily and quickly earn the coveted GamerScore. This specific demand has spawned an entire category of simple, low-quality games created solely for achievement farming.
Journalists reported that Xbox is starting to fight such shovelware games. The rules for developers have been tightened.
It is noted that changes were introduced to XR-055 in the Xbox policy (the Achievements and Gamerscore section on pages 2661-62 can be found here, with a screenshot shown below). Three points were added (No. 3, 4, and 5 on the screenshot on the right).
Now a game will not pass Microsoft (Xbox) certification if it meets one of the following conditions:
- Achievements do not represent a thorough exploration or engagement with game content.
- All achievements can be unlocked within a few minutes of launching the game.
- Achievements can be unlocked with no (or minimal) user interaction, unless required as part of the core gameplay loop.