Through its Insider Program that is used for beta testing new features, Microsoft has started testing a new Game Hubs feature on Xbox. Available to Xbox Insiders, the Game Hub will allow players to launch their games by hitting the A button on their controller twice.
The feature was spotted by Tom Warren, who also posted a demonstration of the new feature on YouTube. Through the new Game Hub, players will see a new screen when they go to launch a game through the home screen. This new screen will present players with a host of details about the game, including a list of friends who play the same title, as well as details on play time and Xbox Achievement progress.
While the new interface does provide more details about any given game, as Warren points out, this increases the number of times players will have to hit A to get into a game. Rather than being able to launch the game directly from the home screen, players will have to go through another screen before they’re in the game.
As showcased through the video, this new Game Hub screen also presents a list of available addons (which includes expansions as well as smaller DLCs and microtransactions) that players can purchase right next to the giant play button. This would imply that the Game Hub was developed to present an easier way for publishers and developers to present new DLC to players.
Warren also notes that the Game Hub does not pop up when you launch a game from your recently-played list in the side-bar. This could either imply that the Game Hub will only be accessible through the home screen and the library screen, or that the feature is still under development, and through future updates, could also show up from the recently-played list.
The Game Hub feature also seems to be early in testing, since it is only available to some Xbox Insider Skip-Ahead testers. A wider rollout is likely planned for a later date.
While work on the Xbox Series X/S software is going on as one might expect, reports have indicated that Microsoft is working on a handheld Xbox gaming system behind the scenes. Earlier this month, Microsoft is slated to launch an Xbox-branded handheld gaming PC that would compete with devices like the Steam Deck and the Asus ROG Ally.
While no real details have been revealed so far, rumours point to the new system featuring Xbox-styled design sensibilities, including an Xbox guide button. Much like other Microsoft hardware, the handheld system is also expected to run on a modified version of Windows.
Microsoft itself has confirmed that it is working on a handheld gaming system, with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer mentioning that prototypes are currently in the works. However, the device is still some time away, according to Spencer.
For our thoughts on Microsoft’s future as a gaming hardware maker, here’s why we believe the company could become a dark horse in the market thanks to its future plans for console and portable gaming hardware.
