Microsoft has announced that its newest Xbox dashboard update will begin rolling out to users starting today, adding a ton of customization features for quickly accessing your favorite and most-used games and applications. The most attention-catching new feature, though, is a big emphasis on backgrounds, with more screen real estate devoted to the backgrounds and an option to have the background change to match the game you’re highlighting in your “recently played” list.
This update has been in alpha testing since May. The new UI moves your row of icons downward, making them smaller and adding more of them, to give more of the screen to backgrounds, and lets those backgrounds change based on what’s in your recently played list.
The new Xbox Home screenGallery
The new UI update also makes a number of changes to how you can find and organize your games and apps. A quick-access menu makes it easier to find your Library, the Microsoft Store, Game Pass, Search, and Settings menus. You’ll also be able to pin your favorite games and even system groups like Quick Resume into the Home screen. And Microsoft says it boosts discoverability by offering personalized recommendations of games and a better look at your community groups with its own dedicated area.
Microsoft says that at first the update will only roll out to a subset of Xbox owners, so you may have to wait a few weeks before your Xbox updates. Once the update does hit, you can consult Xbox’s guide to customizing your Home for tips.