Xbox is updating its PC app, promising 60% faster boot times and an easier to use game library
Xbox Insiders can try the updated app now before it rolls out to everyone
Xbox has announced a major new update to its Xbox PC app, which it says runs much faster than before.
The latest version of the app is available now to members of the Xbox Insiders programme, before rolling out to everyone at a later date.
According to Microsoft, the new version of the app launches up to 60% faster (based on its own testing), with pages like Home, Store and Game Pass loading up to 50% faster, and in-app windows opening up to 65% faster.
The new version also features an “easier-to-use Library” with “simpler navigation, updated filters and new ways to organize your games”.
Friends and social features have been moved to the main navigation, “making it easier to see what friends are playing, start a chat or join a party”, it says.
Xbox says the Search functionality has also been improved, pulling in results “across games, including installed titles and add-ons, and people”.
As well as the PC app, Xbox is also rolling out its new cloud gaming experience to more people using web browsers. The company plans to bring it to more players automatically in the coming weeks, but people can visit the Play Xbox site if they want to try the updated experience now.
The updated cloud experience adds a new Library tab which shows players all the cloud games they can currently play, whether they own them or access them through Xbox Game Pass. Desktop mode also makes better use of the space on larger displays.
Xbox also says it plans to bring its refreshed look and navigation to Xbox cloud gaming apps on supported TVs and VR headsets.
Microsoft announced in September that it was capping the number of hours Game Pass subscribers can use cloud gaming, requiring users to purchase additional playtime.
From this month, Game Pass Ultimate subscribers will get 15 hours of cloud gaming per month, while Game Pass Premium subscribers will get 10 hours and Game Pass Essential subscribers will get 5 hours.
Xbox said it expects the change “to impact 4% of Game Pass subscribers”, suggesting that cloud gaming power users do not take up a significant portion of its paying subscribers.
