What you need to know
- Xbox's Insider Program is an opportunity for users to test new games and features while providing feedback that shapes the console's future.
- The latest update for users on the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring introduced several new features and bug fixes.
- One notable newly introduced feature allows users to connect to direct voice chats via Discord directly from Xbox's Parties and Chat tab.
A new update for Xbox Insiders on the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring rolled out today, including a notable improvement for Discord.
The Xbox Insider program allows console users to test out new features before they hit the operating system for widespread use, giving Xbox's development teams a chance to squash bugs and tweak new features based on actual player feedback. The program is divided into various rings, each gaining access to features in varied states of stability.
Release notes for the latest Xbox Update Preview rolled out today alongside a new system update that brings the operator system up to version XB_FLT_2411GE/26100.2843.241021-2200 for Xbox Insiders who are in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring. Among the patch notes was the announcement that Direct Voice Chats through Discord would be included with the new update.
Alpha Skip-Ahead ring users who download the new update will be able to open the Xbox guide by pressing the Guide button on their controller and navigate to the "Parties & chats" tab. Then, select Discord and choose Direct Voice Chats to find a list of direct message channels that are joinable from the Xbox console. Currently, users are only able to use Discord voice channels from servers they are a part of, but this change will allow peer-to-peer calling without requiring a server with a voice channel.
Features in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring are typically a little more buggy and unstable than features that hit the Delta ring, for example. Users who are accepted into the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring are typically those who Xbox's team knows it can trust for critical feedback on bugs and features. They have worked their way up through the program by providing high-quality feedback and participating in playtests and surveys before receiving an invitation to the ring.
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The new operating system, which Alpha Skip-Ahead users will be required to update to no later than 3:00 AM PT on October 24, also included new options for mapping Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 and Adaptive Controller thumbsticks to button, mouse, or keyboard inputs. This new feature gives users the freedom to use their controllers for keyboard and mouse inputs in games that support them. Users can create a new profile or edit an existing one in the Xbox accessories app to map their inputs.
Various bug fixes, focused primarily on local language support across the console, are also included in the update. Some known issues, such as mapping mouse input requiring you to restart your controller and the wrong input being displayed when controller thumbsticks are mapped to mouse input, are persistent but are under investigation without a solution at this time.
Because of the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring's more critical nature in playtesting, it is unlikely that the new Discord calls will make it to public release before early 2025.
