Microsoft encourages XBOX users to participate in improving console homepage optimization

Xbox is more focused on listening to its gamer community by conducting a "month-long series of experiments" that let users redesign the Xbox Dashboard on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles. Specifically, Xbox Insiders, part of the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring, can begin reviewing the "New Xbox Home Experience" this week.

Ivy Krislov, senior program manager lead at Xbox, stressed the importance of gamers being involved in the process.

"We know the Xbox Home is where our gamers spend the most time, and it's a very personal space," Chris Love said. “We also know that we can always listen and learn how to do better here, while making your experience fast and familiar. With this, we started a series of experiments over several months to understand how to create more personalization home screen experience and address some hot trends and fan requests.

The main changes to the homepage so far have focused on the layout and design, which may or may not include some of the things you've come to expect. Thankfully, though, the current Xbox Home UI has a long way to go before it's finalized in 2023. With Xbox expressing enthusiasm for suggestions and reviews, we can (maybe) expect a lot.

"We want to make sure the experience is the best it can be, and we know it takes some time to get it right, which is why we're rolling it out slowly and iterating along the way," added Krislov. "With your input , we look forward to launching this new and better home experience in 2023.”

As of now, one of the main highlights included in the latest preview update to the home page is the new "jump back" row at the top of the page, which lists the games and apps you've recently played or visited. Under this line, you'll find the Microsoft Store tile. If you scroll down the page, you can get curated content categories based on your past activities and preferences. The gear icon for the search bar and settings is also placed in the upper right corner of the layout.

With so few changes, Xbox still has a lot of work to do. For example, there's still an ad tile that everyone wants to remove, but it's still there in this preview. Customization is also an issue, with many users expressing a need for it rather than Xbox constantly recommending content based on its own algorithms. Xbox also has to consider whether it needs enough Xbox Achievement updates and so on. The list is really long, and with users constantly complaining about the Xbox Dashboard, we're sure that Xbox will receive more feedback than they expected.