Xbox brings back friend requests

Just over eleven years ago, coinciding with the launch of Xbox One, Microsoft abandoned friend requests from the console’s social experience in favor of a follower system that replicates the style of social networks. A decade later, the company has decided it was time to bring back classic friend requests, so it has tested the system for Xbox and Windows Insider users.

“We’re excited to announce the return of friend requests,” says Microsoft’s Klarke Clayton. “You can now easily send, accept, or delete friend requests, making it easier to connect with others. Friends are now a two-way relationship approved by invitation, giving you more control and flexibility. Following someone, on the other hand, remains a one-way connection, allowing you to stay up to date with the content another player, club, or game is sharing.”

With this change, existing friends and followers will be updated and no information will be lost.

Many users may not have noticed the disappearance of friend requests because they continued adding friends as normal. However, the current system is not bidirectional and if you add a friend to the list and they don’t do the same, you become their follower. Friend requests are now bidirectional again. With this system, when a user sends a friend request to another user, they receive a notification, and if they accept it, a friendship relationship is created between equals.

To manage friends and followers on Xbox consoles, press the guide button and go to the People tab. From there, you can see all your existing friends in a list, accept or delete friend requests, or find someone new and send them a friend request. On all other devices where the Xbox social experience exists either through an app or on Windows, managing friends and followers will be identical when it becomes available beyond the trial period, which for now has no end date.

This update also adds new privacy and notification settings to manage the social experience in light of the return of friend requests.