First Xbox Series X update adds pre-loading for Game Pass members

NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

Microsoft has rolled out the first-ever update for the Xbox Series X|S that introduces a number of UI updates and more.

• Read More: Xbox Series X review: a quantum leap powered by Game Pass

The November update, which arrived on the last day of the month, most notably lets Xbox Game Pass subscribers pre-install some games that have yet to be released on the service. Although the function is not available for all forthcoming titles, Microsoft has also added a feature to the Game Pass mobile app that allows players to queue the rest for download once released on the service. Pre-installing is also available on Xbox One.

The OS update also introduces six different dynamic background designs. Among them are a couple that pay homage to previous generations of Xbox consoles, while the rest are “based on popular profile themes”. The tech giant also notes that they have more dynamic backgrounds in the works.

Other additions include an Auto HDR indicator tag, which shows players when the feature is running and can be found by opening the Xbox guide during a game. The Auto HDR feature boosts the visual quality of a game without altering the overall look of the game, without any additional work from developers.

Icons have also been added to titles that are optimised for the Series X|S, with an option to filter and only show those games. There are over 30 such games so far, including Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, and The Falconeer.

Check out the full list of changes at the Xbox Wire blog here.

In other Xbox Series X news, the tech giant expects stock of the console to be limited until the second quarter of 2021. “We’ll continue to see supply shortages as we head into the post-holiday quarter, so Microsoft’s Q3, calendar Q1,” said Xbox CFO Tim Stuart. “And then when we get to [Microsoft’s Q4], all of our supply chain continuing to go full speed heading into kind of the pre-summer months.”

However, despite the limited supply of systems, the Xbox Series X|S’s release in the UK was Microsoft’s best-ever for a console launch. The next-gen system moved a total of 155,000 units in its first two days of sales, beating out the Xbox One’s two-day opening figure of 150,000 in 2013.

The post First Xbox Series X update adds pre-loading for Game Pass members appeared first on NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News.