Back in April, Xbox announced they’d be making adjustments to the Xbox Home dashboard amid community concerns that it was too crowded. Today, the company has provided a major update on this project.
Xbox has updated the Xbox Home Dashboard with their new design. Announced on Xbox’s social media and Xbox Insider, this revamped Home page is now displayed on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles worldwide. According to Xbox, this redesign factored in player feedback and “makes it easier to discover new games, rediscover games [players] already love, connect with communities, and create a more personalized experience.”
Ivy Krislov, Xbox Experiences Senior Product Manager Lead, elaborates on this update through an Xbox Insider blog post. Krislov noted that improving the Home Dashboard was a “Team Xbox effort”, with the project including engineers, designers, researchers, and many others. Krislov described the process by writing:
We started by investing in infrastructure that would allow us to try different layouts of the page with different content for different situations and customers. We then evaluated many different elements of the design process including what people interact with in the experience, how easy it is for people to complete the action they want to take, and how satisfied they are with the overall experience. Once we had a version that was ready to share, we started to roll it out to our Xbox Insiders.
The new Xbox Home Dashboard contains seven key features. First, it’s easier to visit the Library, Microsoft Store, Xbox Game Pass, Search, and Settings at the very top of Home via a quick access menu. Second, recently-played games and other content are now towards the bottom of the screen to allow more space for personalized backgrounds. Third, players can change their backgrounds to match a recently-played game they’re highlighting. Fourth, the Home Dashboard features personalized lists of games for players to improve game discovery. Fifth, players can also pin their favorite games, curated groups, and system groups like Quick Resume to Home. Sixth, the Friends & Community Updates row has been updated for player convenience. Lastly, a Watch & Listen spotlight among a list of entertainment apps presents players with available media apps and content.
Xbox is still rolling out the new Home experience to consoles. Over the next few weeks, all Xbox consoles should contain the new Home Dashboard.