Xbox has just released a new update to round out September, offering new features to those using its services via the Xbox App, PC, and consoles. For PC players, things are getting more compact. For console users, updates are beginning to be improved in a significant way. Here’s everything you need to know about all the changes happening in the Xbox ecosystem.
Compact Mode
As an Xbox blog post detailed, PC players can now use a compact version of the Game Bar. This feature allows you to select recently played games, explore the widget store, and navigate common game launchers. The compact mode had been available to “Insiders,” and is now open to all, designed to make it less cumbersome to use when playing on smaller screens, especially if you’re streaming to mobile.
In addition to using a controller, users can now quit a running game by going to the Home widget, selecting the game, and pressing “Close.” If this sounds familiar, it’s because this feature is built into the Xbox consoles.
Turning on Compact Mode is fairly simple. To do so, all users need to do is go to the Game Bar, select “Settings,” then go under the “General” tab and switch “Compact Mode” on.
Game Management
Now, we can view and install all add-ons to the game they’re downloading, regardless of when they were first bought, and whether on PC or via the Xbox App. If a game that you’re installing has add-ons, they’ll be displayed in one place for you to see.
To take advantage of this feature, you need to right-click any game you have installed or visit the left navigation panel. Once there, click on “Manage” and then “Add-ons,” and you’ll be able to see it in there.
Xbox App
If you’re an Xbox beta member, you’ll already be able to start using features from the Xbox Game Pass app within the Xbox app, as Microsoft attempts to streamline the two. Beta members can now look through Game Pass and manage their memberships from the Xbox App. If they’re subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, they’ll be able to claim their perks and stream specific games via Xbox Cloud Gaming on iOS or Android devices. This will all soon be arriving for the rest of us, too.
Because of this, the Xbox Game Pass app will no longer support new downloads starting in November. Coo, it’s going to app heaven.
Xbox Consoles
If you’ve ever sat down on your couch to enjoy some Xbox gaming, and then been notified that what you want to play requires a 75GB update (hello, Fortnite), then this feature should give you hope. There’s a new setting that will pre-download updates, and set them live as soon as the developer says “go.”
To enable this new feature, to go to “My Games & Apps” and then “Manage” and select “Updates.” From there, you’ll see all the pre-downloads, which at the moment is not very many. This feature currently only works with Sea of Thieves, Minecraft, and Cassette Beasts, but “many more” titles will soon support it.
Wish list notifications
If a game on your wish list becomes part of a Free Play Day, hits its release date, or joins Game Pass, you’ll now be notified. What a novel concept. And you can, of course, switch off this notification, although if you want to, it’s not clear why you were wishlisting things in the first place.
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