Microsoft has announced the rollout of the new and updated version of the Xbox app for PC to the "Xbox Insiders" testing group. This update comes as part of the company's efforts to improve performance and usability, as Jason Beaumont, Vice President of Xbox Experiences, revealed that the new version provides an improvement in launch speed of up to 60% compared to previous versions.
Technical Improvements and a Unified User Experience
The new app relies on Web App architecture, but it has been technically optimized to be significantly faster than previous editions. Among the most notable tangible technical improvements is addressing the "rubber banding" issue that users faced on handheld devices such as the (ROG Ally X), providing a more stable and smoother gaming experience.
Through these updates, Microsoft aims to unify the Xbox experience across various platforms, including PC, TVs, mobile phones, and virtual reality (VR) devices, to ensure that the user interface is familiar and relies on muscle memory regardless of the device being used. The updates also included improvements for Xbox Cloud Gaming apps on supported TVs and VR devices.
How Can You Try the New Version Early?
To participate in testing and get the update before its public release, users must follow these steps via the Xbox Insider Hub app available in the Microsoft Store:
- Download and open the Xbox Insider Hub app on your PC.
- Navigate to the Previews section from the side menu.
- Look for the PC gaming option and click the Join button.
- Wait between 10 to 15 minutes for the status to change to Manage.
- Restart your PC and check for a new update in the Xbox app or the Microsoft Store.
Challenges and Competition with Steam
Despite the qualitative leap in performance and responsiveness, the Xbox app still faces a feature gap compared to Steam, which dominates the PC market. The app still lacks advanced community tools, direct in-app mod support, and suffers from slowness in functions related to searching for new games.
Nevertheless, Microsoft is attempting to bridge this gap through the Xbox Play Anywhere initiative, which helps narrow the game library gap by providing a seamless, shared gaming experience between different Xbox platforms and the PC, thereby enhancing the value of its ecosystem against competitors.