Xbox One Summer Update Rolling Out to Preview Members

Written by Brandon Hofer on June 08, 2016

News: Microsoft has begun rolling out a pretty sizeable update to some Xbox One Preview Program members.

E3 is just around the corner but it looks like Microsoft might be getting a head start. When I turned on my Xbox One a few minutes ago to install a game I noticed some changes. A couple of items have been moved around and it appears that my Xbox One has downloaded a new update. It should be said that I am in the Xbox One Preview Program so if you aren’t in that program you might not see these changes for a while.

For starters the “My Games & Apps” tab has been move to the top right of the home screen as you can see in the first picture below. The next few pictures show a bit of a reorganization of the “My Games & Apps section.” Instead of having two horizontal rows for my games I now have four vertical rows which allow me to see more of my games at once. There are still the standard organizational options such as sorting alphabetically, sorting by size, by the last game you have played and sorting by update (so if Witcher 3, for example, downloaded an update today it would be at the front of the list).

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In addition to that can now change how big your tiles are. You can have small, medium or large tiles. With small tiles you can fit 24 games clearly on the screen. With medium sized tiles you can fit 15 clearly on the screen. With large tiles selected you can fit 8 games clearly on the screen with another row on the bottom where you can see most of the tile but not all of it. Then there is also a place where you can switch between storage devices whether it is the internal drive, external drive(s) or simply all of them together.

On the left side (as seen in the pictures below) you have four categories with “Games” “Apps” “Ready to Install” and “Queue”. These are all fairly self explanatory but it is a welcome change. Before this update if you want to go to the “Ready to install” section you had to scroll all the way to the right past all of your games. If you have a lot of games that usually took a little while to do. Now you don’t have to do that as the “Ready to Install” option is right there waiting for you.

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In addition to that I now have Cortana on my Xbox One. All I have to do is say “Hey, Cortana” and it pops right up. It has just entered the preview program right now so there are kinks and bugs that it needs to work out but it looks promising. When fully functional you will be able to use Cortana to find new games, see what your friends are doing, start a party and more.

There is also a Facebook friend finder now that will allow you to find your Facebook friends on Xbox. Your friends have to link their Facebook account to their Xbox Live account but once they do that they will be easier for you to find and become Xbox Live friends.

Another part of this new update is improved sharing functionality on Xbox One. You can create a video montage with your favorite editor (Adobe Premiere, for example) and then upload the clip to Xbox Live through the Xbox App. You can use video clips that you recorded using either the Xbox One or PC. You can also now manage your captures straight from your profile. This new destination will allow you to share, start your own uploads and see progress in the queue.

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There is also now a “Very High” setting in the Xbox app that will allow you to record your game clips in up to 60 frames per second easily, all from the Game Bar (hold down the Windows key and then “G” on your keyboard). You can also share to Twitter from the Xbox App and there is Windows Game bar improved full-screen support. They have added support for six more titles: League of Legends, World of Warcraft, DOTA 2, Battlefield 4, Counterstrike: Global Offensive and Diablo III. With these games you can now bring up the Windows Game Bar when the game is running full screen.

With this new update the top PC games are going to show up on Xbox Live too. This means those games will have their own Game Hubs on Xbox Live. Whether you are on PC, Xbox or mobile phone you will be able to see what PC games your friends are playing, share your own PC gaming clips and screenshots with the community and message your friends on Xbox Live. On both Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs you’ll also be able to party chat with your friends no matter what they are doing. It does need to be noted however that you can not play those PC games on your Xbox One at this time so, no, you can’t play World of Warcraft on your console but there is the possibility that you can see that some of your friends are playing it.

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The Xbox and Windows are beginning their convergence as well. On Xbox One they have streamlined the experience to help you find the games you want quicker and at the best prices. You can filter, browse search results by genre, read reviews written by gamers (including those voted “most helpful” by the community), easily recognize what games are on sale and more. On the Windows Store they are adding support so gamers can browse and purchase bundles, episodic games, season passes, virtual currency and other game add-ons and DLC.

There is a bit more to it but those are the main highlights for this big update. Keep in mind it is starting to roll out for Preview Program members now. If you are in the program and haven’t received the update yet then check your console because you will probably receive it soon unless you want to force the console to update. If you are not in the Preview Program there is no timetable for when these features will become public.

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It should also be said that a little while ago Microsoft sent all Preview Program messages on their consoles asking if they wanted to opt in to the next phase. If you haven’t done that yet then you should check your console and see if that is still an option for you. What other features do you want to see Microsoft add in the future? Are you in the Preview Program? Tell us in the comments section below.