The first major update for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S has just been released, adding in fun and useful new features like dynamic wallpapers and game identification tags. Xbox’s newest generation of consoles finally hit online retailers on November 10 - though, just like with the PlayStation 5, fans have been struggling to get their hands on the systems ahead of the scalpers.
For those who were able to score a new console, Xbox has provided players a choice between the beefier (but more expensive) Series X or the more cost-efficient (but somewhat downgraded) Series S. Both of these machines feature several improvements over the previous generation such as better graphics and a drastic reduction in load times, not to mention being able to play pretty much every Xbox game ever via backward compatibility. Now, Xbox is adding more functions to the Series X and Series S, though these aren’t as drastic.
Yesterday, Xbox announced its November 2020 update patch for the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, which adds several new features large and small. These consist of dynamic wallpapers for the Series X Dashboard (which even include tributes to previous Xbox console generations), identification tags for games that utilize Xbox Series X’s Auto HDR feature (which upscales graphics from older titles with no additional developer input), badges to signify which games have been optimized for Series X, a new Game Activity Tab where players can track their Achievements, and the ability to add extra accounts for family members during the initial setup. Players will also be able to pre-download games ahead of their addition to Xbox Game Pass.
While the Xbox Series X and Series S have been well received by those able to get their hands on them at this early stage of the latest console generation, there have been some bumps along the way. Aside from the previously mentioned supply issues (which are expected to continue well into next year), the new Xbox systems are facing fierce completion from the PS5, which has managed to outsell Microsoft's offerings within the past few weeks. Worse yet, fans have been reporting hardware issues like strange noises and their consoles shutting off at random. Despite these problems, Microsoft reports that the Xbox Series X is the company's most successful console launch in history.
The November 2020 update patch for the Xbox Series X and Series S doesn’t feature anything particularly game-changing, but these new features will certainly make things easier for players to keep track of which titles are compatible with the system’s impressive graphical enhancement technology, set up separate accounts for the younger gamers in their lives or even spruce up their Dashboard with a cool new wallpaper. All of these new features are now available to download via Xbox’s System Updates.
Source: Xbox