After promoting a number of the new features to be introduced over the last few months, Microsoft and their Xbox division have confirmed that the “New Xbox One Experience” is set to be available on consoles in just ten days time.
The first major feature in this update is a redesigned Home Screen, which they claim “will look very familiar” but includes “some important updates inspired by fan feedback”. They have now added the ability to scroll vertically, allowing you to scroll down and see the list of your most recently played games and apps. Each tile features contextual items which allow you to see messages straight from the developers, see which friends are currently playing games, and lets you share your game clips and screenshots. The pins feature receives an update as well, with your pins also included in your new Home at the bottom of the screen. Pressing the right trigger on your controller will allow you to quickly access your pins.
Although this feature has been rolled out to beta testers and in a limited scope with the Rare Replay collection, the update will also allow anyone to play a select number of Xbox 360 games from your collection. They claim to be delivering “some of the biggest requests you asked for”, meaning that the list of supported titles might have expanded considerably since the beta. Here’s hoping that Lost Odyssey is somehow supported.
One other new features is the Guide, a feature which has been carried across from the Xbox 360. You can find more information on this feature in the above video, narrated by Larry Hryb and Richard Irving.
The “New Xbox One Experience” is set to go live on consoles as an update starting November 12th 2015 (or possibly November 13th 2015 depending on time zone).
