Microsoft is beginning to roll out a new wave of features for Xbox consoles, starting today with initial testing for Xbox Insiders in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring. These additions are expected to become available to all Xbox owners in the coming weeks.
The most notable update allows players to include party chat audio in gameplay captures, enabling a more complete record of memorable gaming moments and reactions. This feature requires individual party members to manually opt in to have their audio captured.
For achievement enthusiasts, Xbox is introducing expanded options for tracking progress. The achievement list can now be sorted by metrics such as Last Played, Completion Percentage, Gamerscore Earned, and Number of Achievements Unlocked, with both ascending and descending order available for each category.
Cloud save functionality is also being enhanced with the ability for players to view and restore previous cloud save versions in supported games. This feature will initially launch with Forza Horizon 6 and aims to assist players who experience corrupted saves or wish to revisit earlier progress points.
Additionally, the Xbox game wishlist is expanding, allowing users to add up to 1,000 titles.
These updates follow recent price adjustments for some Xbox Series X and S models, which saw increases of up to $150 in the U.S. and an additional £220 in the U.K.