Microsoft adds nearly 400 games to the Xbox app as it rolls out a 'new Home experience' to all users
Microsoft has rolled out a big update for the Xbox app on PC that it says will make it faster and easier «to find their favorite games and discover great new titles to play.» Alongside the update, nearly 400 games that weren't previously available through the app have been added to its lineup.
Central to the update is the new «Home experience,» previously only available to Xbox Insiders, that will help players «stay up to date on game releases, new events, Game Pass content, sales, and more,» Xbox general manager of content curation and programs Chris Charla wrote (via The Verge). «There are also new curated collections and recommendations, deals and discounts, and the Jump back in feature, which enables players in Compact Mode to click on any game card and jump right back into gameplay from the game’s hub.»
As for the new games added as part of the update, Charla said Microsoft began working with partners in the summer «to bring all PC games with Xbox features into the Xbox app.»
«We're super excited to see what Xbox games come to Windows PC from game creators in the future and to welcome nearly 400 titles that previously weren’t discoverable or purchasable in the Xbox app,» he wrote. «Among this list are dozens of games from veteran Japanese studios Kemco and Kairosoft, as well as games such as Shovel Knight Treasure Trove by Yacht Club the Jackbox Party Pack, The Invincible by Double 11 and many, many more.»
I can't do a before-and-after comparison because I discovered earlier today that I didn't actually have the Xbox app installed on my PC at all. I do now, and it looks perfectly serviceable (if a little sluggish, although could be my low-quality internet rearing its ugly head again), but I think that really speaks to the challenge Microsoft is facing as it looks to carve out a bigger space in PC gaming: The Xbox app is so inessential that I didn't even know I didn't have it installed.
Not everyone is going to be in that boat, of course. Game Pass subscribers
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