This year at E3, Microsoft revealed totally revamped Xbox avatars, with a much bigger selection of body types, skin tones, emotions, outfits, and props. The new Xbox avatars were initially expected to ship this Fall, and they would have gone along well with the redesigned Xbox dashboard introduced with the Xbox One Fall update.
Unfortunately, it seems that the new Xbox avatars are still not fully baked. Xbox head of engineering Mike Ybarra tweeted earlier today that he now expects the redesigned avatars to ship in early 2018 (via Windows Central):
Most likely early next year. Working to make them great. Patience will pay off. https://t.co/iqn4Y4FNPu
— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) November 13, 2017
While the delay is a bit unfortunate, Ybarra wants Xbox fans to know that “patience will pay off.” In the meantime, the Xbox team is currently testing game gifting with all Xbox insiders, and the new feature should hopefully be available for all Xbox One owners during the holiday season.
