Microsoft’s Xbox beta app for Windows 10, which made its debut last year with the launch of Xbox Game Pass for PC, is about to get faster and leaner. Windows Central noticed the under-the-hood changes in the latest update that shipped to Fast Ring insiders, with the app ditching the Electron framework also used by Skype on Windows in favour of Facebook’s React Native framework.
According to Windows Central, the new version uses over 50% less memory, and its size also went down from 300MB to 60MB. Those are very welcome improvements, especially since the existing Electron can be really resource-hungry when you’re downloading games. Except for this switch to React Native, this latest version of the Xbox beta app doesn’t seem to introduce any new features.
Overall, the Xbox beta app on Windows 10 remains the easiest way to check out the Xbox Game Pass for PC catalog, but social features such as the Xbox Live News Feed, Clubs, and Looking for Groups are still only available in the old Xbox Console Companion UWP app. For now, the Store section of the app also remains focused on Xbox Game Pass for PC titles, skipping other high-profile Xbox Live-enabled games available on the Microsoft Store such as Minecraft for Windows 10, Resident Evil 7, or Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
