Xbox goes over the new Share button on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S controllers

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Share with the press of a button.

Xbox Controller Share Button
Xbox Controller Share Button (Image credit: Xbox)

What you need to know

  • One of the changes made with the new Xbox controller, debuting with next-gen consoles later this year, is a new dedicated Share button.
  • While we've known about its existence for a while, its exact features were previously unknown.
  • Xbox has now shown off what the Share button is capable of, and it looks dead simple to use.
  • A single press will immediately take a screenshot, while a long press will record a game capture.

A new YouTube video from the Xbox team goes over one of the key features for the new Xbox controller, which will debut alongside next-gen consoles like the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S later this year on November 10, 2020. After months of speculation, we now know exactly how the dedicated Share button on the new Xbox controllers will work, and it looks very easy to use.

According to the video, the Share button has two primary functions: a single press will immediately take a screenshot in any game you're playing, and a long press will record a game capture (presumably of the default length of 30 seconds, or your setting). Once the screenshot or game capture is saved, you can use Xbox's dedicated sharing UI, or the all-new Xbox app for Android to share to your friends, your profile, or any social media platforms.

While the Share button is an admittedly small addition, it's still important to make capturing and sharing gameplay easier than ever, as the current iteration means opening the Xbox Guide first, often leading to disruption in gameplay and sometimes inadvertant death. Hopefully the Share button really does work as well and is as simple as the video implies.

Xbox is dropping a ton of news today, with the biggest being that Xbox has acquired Zenimax Media, the owner of studios like Bethesda and id Software. This means big, big things are afoot for Xbox's future, ahead of Xbox Series X and S pre-orders opening tomorrow, September 22.

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Zachary Boddy
Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.