Xbox will renew its interface to make it easier and faster to play, find applications and navigate

Microsoft has announced that it is working on a new version of the Xbox interface, which will start testing a random set of Insiders from the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring starting this week. The changes are focused on the home screen that players see as soon as they turn on the console and the objective is to apply a series of adjustments to its design to make it easier and faster to play games, find applications and navigate through menus. The renewed Xbox Home UI will be available throughout 2023 for all users.

“We know that the Xbox home screen is where our gamers spend a lot of their time, and it’s a very personal space,” says Ivy Krislov, Xbox Experiences team member. The programmers will listen to the feedback community and learn how to improve the interface, which in any case will continue to offer “a fast and familiar experience.” The goal of the tests is “to study how to create a more personalized experience and address some of the main trends and requests from players,” says Krislov.

Because nothing is set in stone yet and testing will take several months, the Xbox design team is not in a position to say all the changes that the “New Xbox Home Experience” will introduce. Instead, we have to settle for the first details and a screenshot where you can see at a glance the new features that the dashboard. One of the highlights is the generous panels that offer quick access to recently launched games and applications.

In the bottom row we have direct access to the library of games and applications and the Microsoft Store. Right next to it, a box appears that rotates and that can lead us to the games that will soon leave Game Pass or a list of titles of a specific genre. We also see a box to highlight the game of the moment and at the end a box for sponsored content. Finally, at the bottom are the games that have recently been incorporated into the Game Pass subscription service.

Microsoft advances that as the user scrolls down the interface they will see selected categories and recommendations tailored to their gaming preferences.