Xbox is going big. Instead of just a simple software upgrade, the July 15 update brought out the likes of custom profile artwork, improvements to the social networking features, and even lengthier gamer tags.

Per the Xbox Websites, these are the features that have been added or changed:

• Gamertag changes
• Library customization
• Profile color
• Console update release notes
• Service alerts
• Mutual friends
• Xbox Accessories app
• Offline personalization
• Settings changes
• Cloud gaming
• Achievements
• Bug fixes

The biggest change here is the one to gamertags. Previously, Xbox users could create gamertags with the length capped at 12 characters. That has been changed to 15 characters. Per Xbox, this has been following requests from Xbox users around the issue.

Interestingly, this is not the only change to Xbox's social networking features. You can now see if another Xbox user is a mutual friend from their profile. This is similar to features platforms like Steam offer.

Alongside this, there is greater customization of the Xbox home screen's visual design and more. Not only can you select specific color themes for your home screen, but game tiles can also get poster-style artwork. It lets each Xbox user create their own unique setup.

Finally, a few optimizations have also been made, such as directly loading into games in cloud gaming and Xbox service alerts, patch notes, and bug fixes.

These updates could be expanded in Xbox Helix

The next step in consoles for Xbox is Project Helix, a PC-console hybrid, with a likely release coming up in 2027 or 2028. The console itself will be similar to a pre-built PC that functions like a room console.

However, considering its capabilities of running like a PC, we could see better social features similar to the way Steam or Epic Games function.

The Helix will be able to get better usage out of the same. In any case, Xbox has some time to explore this idea before Helix, especially in light of their recent statement.

"While the entire industry is facing a components crisis, we believe we have been impacted more greatly than many of our peers due to the choices we made over the last half decade. We are currently unable to make as many consoles as players want to buy, and we need a new business model and partnerships for hardware as we remain committed to Helix."

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Written by

Siddharth Shirwadkar

Edited by

Siddharth Shirwadkar