Microsoft has announced that it will be reintroducing a classic feature that has been missing from Xbox consoles since the Xbox 360 era: two-way friend requests. This change comes after years of Xbox offering a Twitter-style system of followers and followees, which many users found confusing due to the lack of mutual connections. The new feature will be rolled out to Xbox Insiders program members later this week, allowing users to send, accept, and delete friend requests as they did in the Xbox 360 era.
The reintroduction of friend requests is likely to be welcomed by many Xbox users who have been calling for this change for years. The current system does not notify users about new followers when they are offline, making it difficult to identify users one might want to follow. Additionally, the labeling of one-way connections as “friends” has added to the confusion, as they are more accurately called “followees” or “following.” With the new system, users will be able to clearly track two-way social connections, making it easier to manage their friends and followers on Xbox.
In addition to the friend requests feature, Microsoft will also be introducing new privacy settings that will allow users to control who can send them friend requests and follow them. These settings can be accessed through the Settings menu on the Xbox console. While there are no guarantees that the new social system will roll out to all users, the fact that it is being tested with Xbox Insiders suggests that it may become a permanent feature in the future.
For those who are interested in trying out the new friend requests feature, joining the Xbox Insiders program is the way to go. This will allow users to test the feature before it potentially becomes available to all Xbox users. With these changes, Microsoft is aiming to improve the social aspect of the Xbox gaming ecosystem and make it easier for users to connect with one another.
In addition to the social updates, Xbox users can also look forward to the Xbox Series X, Microsoft’s ninth-generation console that supports 4K resolution and 60 fps gameplay. Released alongside the Xbox Series S, the Series X features a Custom AMD Zen 2 CPU, a Custom RDNA 2 GPU, and 16 GB of RAM. With these powerful specs, the Xbox Series X offers an immersive gaming experience for players.
Overall, the reintroduction of friend requests on Xbox consoles marks a significant change in how users can connect with each other on the platform. By bringing back this classic feature from the Xbox 360 era, Microsoft is responding to user feedback and making it easier for gamers to build and manage their social networks on Xbox.