XBOX PC App Update Launches Up to 60 Percent Faster

XBOX Insiders can start testing an updated XBOX PC app today that Microsoft says launches up to 60 percent faster, with pages like Home, Store, and Game Pass loading up to 50 percent faster and in-app windows opening up to 65 percent faster. Those figures come from Microsoft’s own testing and may vary by device and connection, but the company says it has “heard where the experience could be better” and that the update is part of a wider effort to make XBOX faster, simpler, and more familiar across PC, web, and cloud. The PC app is also central to the XBOX full screen experience, which debuted on the ROG XBOX Ally handhelds and expanded in preview to other Windows 11 PCs last November.

Beyond speed, the Library gets simpler navigation, updated filters, and new ways to organize games, while friends and social features move into the main navigation so it’s quicker to see what friends are playing, start a chat, or join a party. Search now covers more of XBOX from one place, including games, installed titles, add-ons, and people. Game cards, Home, Settings, and the app’s animations have all been refreshed to make navigation easier.

The refreshed XBOX cloud gaming web experience that Insiders previewed earlier this year is also heading to more players automatically over the next few weeks, and anyone who wants it sooner can head to play.xbox.com now. A new Library tab collects every game you can play through the cloud, whether you own it or have it through Game Pass, with sorting and filtering by recently played, genre, input options, and more. There’s also a desktop mode that makes better use of larger displays, along with dark and light modes and five new high-contrast options. The timing puts the new look in place the same month Game Pass cloud gaming gets its monthly hour caps and the paid Playtime Packs are scheduled to become more widely available for players without a subscription.

Microsoft is also beginning to bring the refreshed look and navigation to the XBOX cloud gaming apps on supported TVs and VR headsets, with the goal of keeping the basics, like finding your games and getting into one quickly, consistent across screens. Feedback can be submitted through aka.ms/XBOXplayervoice, and anyone who wants to test the updated PC app will need to join the XBOX Insider Program through the XBOX Insider Hub on Windows.