Microsoft announced today that the new Xbox One Experience will launch in just 10 days on November 12th. This massive update to the Xbox One will bring new features and an improved user interface throughout, making the Xbox One a Windows 10 device.
The biggest feature in the update will be the ability to play Xbox 360 games on your Xbox One. Backwards compatibility was originally announced at E3 earlier this summer and will eventually allow Xbox One owners to play hundreds of their favorite Xbox 360 titles on their latest game console at no extra cost. As previously announced, the launch of backwards compatibility will have 100 Xbox 360 titles available at start, but hundreds more added in the future as the new program expands.
The New Xbox Experience includes a new and faster loading Home Screen. This familiar, but expanded, home screen will allow you to scroll vertically to view a larger list of recently played games and apps that provides contextual information, such as messages from developers and the latest updates from friends playing games you’ve played recently. The new Home Screen will also feature your pinned apps and games at the bottom of the screen, providing quicker access and more prominent positioning than the current layout.
The New Xbox Experience will also include a reimagined Guide, a popular feature of the Xbox 360 interface. The Guide will give you instant access to your Profile, Friends, Parties, Messages, Notifications and Settings.
This update is the first step in Microsoft’s plans for expanded functionality on the Xbox One. Over the next months and into next year, the addition of Windows 10 on the Xbox will allow for new features such as Cortana on your Xbox, DirectX12 games, a new Store experience, and other technical features like mouse and keyboard support as well as the ability to map Xbox Controller buttons. Hopefully, the new Windows 10 features, plus the ability to play most of your Xbox 360 library on your new console, will help incentivize more gamers to make the upgrade to Microsoft’s latest console, which had a troubled launch and is lagging in sales compared to Sony’s PlayStation 4.
What are you most looking forward to in the New Xbox Experience? Let us know in the comments section below.
Further reading: Backward Compatibility, Microsoft, Windows 10, Xbox One
