Yesterday, Microsoft announced a new "mini" feature for the Xbox Insider Program on the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring, but it may be more meaningful than you think.
Xbox's Game Hubs are up in A-B testing on the Xbox Insider Program right now, offering a glimpse at Microsoft's efforts to further converge its features between Xbox and PC. Indeed, these Game Hubs already existed in some form, typically accessible via search up until now, but Microsoft is surfacing them right from the dashboard.
The new Game Hubs pop-up when you first select a game, which is similar to when you select a game from your library on Steam. There, it surfaces information about said game, including Xbox achievements, active friends in-game, and other things, but it's their future potential that is perhaps their most compelling aspect.
The Xbox Game Hubs have some rich potential
I couldn't help but immediately notice how similar these were in functionality to the game listing pages on Steam. With rumors abound that Microsoft is trying to converge its console and Windows PC gaming feature sets, aligning Xbox more closely with expectations being set by Steam is probably a safe bet.
With previous comments from Xbox lead Phil Spencer, as well as VP Jason Ronald, and Xbox's own concept art, many Xbox users are fully expecting Microsoft to integrate Steam itself into the next console platform. Windows Central understands Xbox's next big hardware push revolves around OEM devices, starting with Project Kennan, potentially slated for later this year from ASUS. Microsoft is working on its own Xbox Series X successor as well as a handheld, tentatively planned for 2027. It's widely expected that these devices will run Windows all up, completing a full circle from Xbox's original vision 20 years ago, which was to be a gaming PC for the living room.
Features like the Game Hub will help Microsoft surface content and features that are perhaps more typical of a PC-like environment, including mods, community tools, and updates from developers. And yes, just FYI, you can turn it off in the settings.
It'll be interesting to see how they evolve over time, in any case.
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