Xbox Addict

Summer Update is Hitting Xbox One Starting Today

The latest system update for Xbox One and the Xbox app starts rolling out today. Cortana is now on Xbox One, Background Music will be available through music apps like Pandora (in the US), and Microsoft is bringing the most played PC games to Xbox Live with their own Game Hubs and we’re starting to combine the best of the Xbox Store and Windows Store for a single cohesive experience across devices.

Here are some written highlights of the newest features on Xbox One and the Xbox app:

One the Xbox One side of things:

Background Music 

• Today’s update brings the ability for the highly requested feature of Background Music, which lets you listen to your favorite music in the background while gaming on Xbox One. The Pandora app, launching soon, is the first of many partners who will support Background Music, with Groove Music, iHeartRadio and other apps coming later.

Cortana on Xbox One 

• Cortana is now available on Xbox One in the U.S. and U.K. With Cortana, gamers can expect more from voice commands on Xbox. In addition to more commands and greater accuracy with natural language and text dictation, Cortana provides the ability to use a headset or Kinect. You’ll be able to use Cortana to find great new games, see what your friends are up to, start a party, accomplish common tasks, turn on your Xbox One if you’re using Kinect, and more. 

Improved Game Collection 

• The Game Collection interface has been updated to make it faster and easier to find and launch the games you’re looking for. Now you’ll be able to sort, manage and see more of your Game Collection easily, quickly access your own ‘Ready to Install’ tab, update your games or apps using the new ‘Updates’ tab, and get more information about titles in your queue.

Language Region Independence 

• Language Region Independence has been enabled to give gamers even more control over their Xbox experience. Language Region Independence allows you to choose any supported language on Xbox One, regardless of the location. For example, if you’re in the U.S. and move to Germany, you can now keep your language set to English on Xbox One and enjoy your experiences in English.

Xbox and Windows Store convergence 

• Xbox Store and Windows Store have been combined to give gamers a single cohesive experience across their devices. On Xbox One, we’ve streamlined the shopping experience to help you find the games you love faster and at the best prices. You’ll be able to filter search results by genre, read reviews written by fellow gamers – including those voted “most helpful” by the Xbox Live community – easily recognize what titles are on sale with strikethrough pricing in lists, and more. We’ve also added several new channels to help you discover the content you love even faster. 

• On the Windows Store, Microsoft are adding support so gamers can soon browse and purchase bundles, episodic games, season passes, virtual currency and other game add-ons and DLC. You can also redeem Xbox tokens, subscriptions, games or DLC through the Windows Store. And developers can make their games available for pre-order/pre-download so you can buy a game any time before it launches, play it right when it comes out, and you won’t be billed for your purchase until shortly before the title launches. This fall, the store integration makes Xbox Play Anywhere possible, so when you buy supported digital games, you can play on both Windows 10 and Xbox One at no extra cost.

Facebook Friend Finder 

• Now on the Xbox One, connect your Facebook account to your Xbox Live account to find your Xbox playing Facebook Friends. You only need to connect your account once via Facebook Login; if you’ve already gone through the steps on the Xbox app for Windows 10, iOS or Android, then you’re all set! Otherwise, now you have the option to log into your Facebook account from your Xbox One, making it easier to find more people to play games and have fun with.

Improved sharing on Xbox One 

• We’ve made it easier to share your screenshots, GameDVR clips, and achievements on Xbox One. Gamers can now share their most epic clips and screenshots with the community right from home. We’ve also updated the Activity Feed settings so you can now decide what will get automatically shared to your feed.

On the Xbox app and Windows 10 PC gaming side of things:

Top Windows 10 PC games show up on Xbox Live 

• Microsoft is bringing the top Windows 10 PC games like League of Legends and XCOM 2 together with the Xbox Live community. Meaning, your favorite Windows 10 PC games will have their own Game Hubs on Xbox Live. Whether you’re on your PC, Xbox One, or mobile phone, you’ll be able to see what PC games your friends are playing, share your own PC gaming clips and screenshots with the community, and message your friends on Xbox Live. On both Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, you‘ll also be able to party chat with your friends no matter what they’re doing.

60 fps game clip recording with the Game Bar 

• Using the new “Very High” video quality setting in the Xbox app, you will be able to record your game clips in up to 60 frames per second from the Game Bar (Windows + G) once the Windows 10 Anniversary Update starts to roll out on Aug. 2.

Windows Game Bar improved full-screen support 

• One of the most common requests we Microsoft sees for the Windows 10 GameDVR feature is the ability to use the Windows Game Bar with more games running in full-screen.  They’ve added support for six additional games in full-screen mode with Windows Game Bar: League of Legends, World of Warcraft, DOTA 2, Battlefield 4, Counterstrike: Global Offensive, and Diablo III. With those games, once the Windows 10 Anniversary Update starts to roll out on Aug. 2, you’ll be able to use Windows + G to bring up the Windows Game Bar when the game is running full-screen.

Finally, on the Xbox app on mobile side of things:

Xbox app on iOS and Android 

• Announced and released during E3, the Xbox app is now available on iOS and Android. The Xbox app brings together your friends, games and accomplishments across all of your devices. Now, you can stay connected to the Xbox Live community, see what your friends are playing, share game clips and screenshots, and view achievements through the Xbox app on Windows 10, iOS and Android devices.

So there you have it, it sems that Microsoft has dug deep to make some huge changes to the Xbox experience and unifying the Xbox One with Windows 10.