We’re just months away from a brand new console generation and Microsoft is giving the Xbox Store a much-needed overhaul just in time for the Xbox Series X.
The revamped store, which is coming to the consoles Xbox Insiders first of all, is an an experience “rebuilt from the ground up to be safer, faster and easier to use than ever before,” Microsoft says in a blog post on Monday.
The company says the new store has a “fully redesigned navigation system”, which features tabs for the main elements and the ability to dive into sub-categories like subscriptions, coming soon, new games, deals and more.
There’s also a redesigned search engine, a revamped wish list feature, and a new shopping cart experience that simplifies adding items to your cart during the purchase process.
Gamers can also browse categories per system, meaning you’ll be able to filter the newest games form those on the original Xbox console.
As for speed, Microsoft says the new store is twice as fast as its predecessor. It’ll launch in just under two seconds and has dramatically improved browsing speeds the company says.
Microsoft is also touting the safety improvements within the new store and is now requiring that all customers are signed in before browsing the store. That’ll ensure age-appropriate content is surfaced, while also ensuring gamers see the content relating to them.
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In the blog post, Microsoft’s Cody Bird adds: “Similarly, we’ve made improvements to the way content is filtered to align with the family settings applied to child accounts. With this update, we ensure that content rated beyond a user’s content filter level does not appear anywhere in search or browse experiences. This means that a child with content filters set for an 8-year old will not be able to view content in the store that is rated for a teenager, for example. The update also guarantees that content filters are applied even when multiple users are signed in.”
Xbox Insiders will be available in beta on August 5 for some gamers in the program. For the rest of us, it’s a fair guess this will launch on the Series X console due before the end of the year.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
