The Xbox dashboard has undergone a multitude of updates over the years, spanning all the way back to the Xbox 360 Blades to the New Xbox Experience to the current iteration present on both Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles. The most recent version of the dashboard has led to complaints from many fans, however, as they felt that the large tiles obscured the dynamic dashboard wallpapers and was too heavy on the ads. Even in a poll run right here on Windows Central back in 2022 we found that player opinions of the dashboard were evenly split.
Xbox heard the complaints from fans about the September 2022 Home experience update loud and clear, and as a result they’ve reworked the Xbox Home experience in a new update that will begin rolling out to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One users starting today.
In an Xbox Wire post Ivy Krislov, Senior Product Manager Lead of Xbox Experiences, stated that the 2023 dashboard update was “designed from player feedback and makes it easier to discover new games, rediscover games you already love, connect with communities, and create a more personalized experience.” To accomplish this the new Xbox Home experience will feature a dedicated quick access menu at the top of the screen. Your library, the Microsoft store, Xbox Game Pass, search and settings buttons will all now be front and center for quick and easy access.
With these important buttons dedicated to a small icon menu at the top of the screen and the game and app tiles pushed down to the bottom the new Xbox Home Experience is able to give you more space to view your background. Add your favorite screenshots, choose one of the awesome dynamic backgrounds currently available, or set your background to match the game you are currently highlighting in your recently played list; either way you’ll be able to actually see more of it, now.
This update is designed from player feedback and makes it easier to discover new games, rediscover games you already love, connect with communities, and create a more personalized experience.
Ivy Krislov, Sr Product Manager Lead
As with the previous Home experience you’ll still have the option to pin your favorite games and curated groups to your Xbox Home dashboard, although now you’ll also be able to add in system groups like Quick Resume.
An all-new list of game recommendations curated and personalized specifically for you will also be introduced below the recently played list in an effort to improve new game discovery. Similarly, a new Watch & Listen spotlight will feature recommended entertainment apps and content that is available to you. Last but not least, the Community Updates row will also be getting an update to be more beneficial so you can stay in touch with what is going on in your favorite game communities.
According to Xbox the improved Home Experience was a collaborative effort with engineers, designers, researchers and more from across Team Xbox investing in infrastructure and studying how different layouts with different content affected the experience for the user, and an early version of the newest Home Experience rolled out to Xbox Insiders back in May.
After further finessing and player feedback, the new Home experience is ready to roll out on Xbox Series and Xbox One consoles starting today, but it may still take a few weeks for the update to hit your system as the roll out is currently planned to be done gradually.
