Xbox Social Clubs was a feature introduced to help players meet like-minded people. It allowed users to chat, play games, and share content within dedicated spaces, effectively giving them the tools to build their own communities.

However, starting in April 2026, Xbox will shut down Social Clubs across Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Xbox hasn't really provided a detailed explanation for the decision, though it has pointed players toward alternatives such as Discord integration, party chat, messaging, and Looking for Group features.

What happens to existing clubs and communities?

According to Xbox, Official Clubs are not currently affected by this change. Users can still access Official Clubs accessed through an individual game’s Game Card.

Community-created clubs, however, will close in April 2026. That includes the removal of the Clubs tab from the Friends and Community Updates tab.

If you still want to find like-minded players, Looking for Group remains available. It allows you to post sessions, set requirements, and join existing groups. Xbox also points players toward features like party chat, messaging, and Discord integration to stay connected.

For sharing content, the activity feed will remain active. Players can continue posting game clips, screenshots, and achievements there or share them to external social platforms.

Clubs may have been a niche feature, but it is still disappointing to see it go. For the players who relied on it, it offered a simple way to build and maintain small communities.

At the time of writing, it is unclear whether existing club content will remain accessible after the shutdown. If you have posts, screenshots, or shared media you want to keep, it may be worth saving copies now, just in case that content is eventually removed.

Did you ever use Xbox Social Clubs, or have you already moved your communities elsewhere? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and make sure to take part in our poll below:

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So, Xbox Clubs. Remember those?

Xbox Clubs were introduced a fair while back, alongside an update in 2016. The social system effectively lets gamers on Xbox Live set up communities for all sorts of activities, pooling shared clips, messages, and other content, through a single forum-like space. However, since their initial launch, Xbox Clubs have had almost no updates whatsoever.

Furthermore, Xbox Clubs are completely absent in the new Xbox app for Windows 10, the Xbox Game Bar, and the upcoming Xbox mobile app redesign.

According to Microsoft, at least as of a few years ago, there were millions of active users of Xbox Clubs, and tens of thousands of communities on Xbox Live. In 2020, though, we have to ask, is Microsoft gearing up to ditch them completely?

Where's the development?

A while ago, we saw some detailed plans from Microsoft to expand the Xbox Clubs toolset, beyond the simple chatroom and clips sharing aggregate we have today. One feature we uncovered was Microsoft's move to make some Discord-style channels, allowing people in Xbox Clubs to set up different topics within a single Club. Unfortunately, this feature never came to pass, for some reason.

Beyond some more Discord-like features, Microsoft also built an Xbox Clubs API developers could use to attach a Club directly to a game, to serve as a game's clan system if a developer didn't want to create one for themselves.

As far as I'm aware, literally the only game that uses this is Minecraft, which gives Realm subscribers an Xbox Club automatically linked to their dedicated server. Microsoft doesn't push the feature, though, so I doubt many people even know it exists.

The fact that Xbox Clubs have had virtually no new features since they launched would be worrying enough, but when they're missing from the latest Xbox apps on PC and mobile, it could be indicative that Microsoft is gearing up to remove them completely.

Would development be worth it?

The only data we have for Xbox Clubs is a few years old, but Microsoft told developers in a presentation that there were over 30,000 active Xbox Clubs, with over 5 million active participants. I have no idea if Xbox Clubs grew or shank in usage since then, but you'd have thought that the number of users engaging with the system would've been more than enough justification to continue developing the service.

The Xbox (Beta) app on Windows 10, which powers Xbox Game Pass for PC, does have Clubs integration ... but only for developers and official "Clubs." Player-made Clubs are completely missing from the system.

If a game has an official Club, you can see updates from the developer on the store page, and also comment, like, and interact with users in the thread. This could be a glimmer of hope that Xbox Clubs made by players will eventually see the light of day on Microsoft's PC and mobile apps, but it may also not be the case.

Indeed, since the rise of Discord as the de-facto preferred method for gamer communication, it begs the question of whether or not Xbox Clubs is even worth keeping around. Maybe it would be better to simply do a deal with Discord and fully integrate the service into Xbox Live.

Do Xbox Clubs have a future?

We have no real information on whether or not Microsoft is gearing up to shelve Xbox Clubs, or whether the service is simply on the backfoot while the UI and software teams deal with bigger fish. We recently discovered that Microsoft has fully revamped the Xbox Store on console, bringing the design in-line with the new Xbox apps on PC and mobile. We suspect that the Xbox dashboard will get a similar facelift to further modernize it ahead of the Xbox Series X launch.

Perhaps sometime after Microsoft has finished sorting out the more critical aspects of Xbox Live, they can turn their attention to things like Xbox Clubs, but knowing Microsoft ... it could really go either way.

Do you use Xbox Clubs? Do you want to see them stick around or should Microsoft try and court Discord integration instead? Let us know in the comments.

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Nintendo is increasingly known for its focus on portable games, PlayStation is known for its big-budget blockbuster games, but what is Xbox known for?

At least personally, I feel Xbox has typically been known for its platform services. Xbox Live, Xbox achievements, and now, Xbox Game Pass, completely changed the game. Microsoft has generally been far speedier than Sony and Nintendo at updating its Xbox ecosystem with new features, tweaks, and other improvements. Just this week, Microsoft finally delivered the much-requested wishlist and checkout feature for its store platforms, including Xbox, for example.

Despite the achievements of the Xbox platform team, there are several noteworthy aspects of Xbox Live and its associated services that have slipped into disrepair and neglect. While some of these things are relatively minor, I believe others represent huge missed opportunities that will harm Xbox in the longer term if not addressed sooner, rather than later.

The rise of Discord

One of Microsoft's biggest failures as a tech company is how little care and attention it has given to its instant messaging services. Skype is still hilariously slow when compared to modern systems, and the team working on Skype doesn't seem to realize or care, for whatever reason. While it's not specifically relevant to Xbox, it's indicative of a bigger area of company-wide neglect that is affecting Xbox, in a world where virtually all core gamers have moved their friends lists to Discord.

Discord has utterly replaced Skype for me, and millions of other gamers. Discord's chat and voice services are faster than Skype, often better quality than Skype, and its focus on community-building tools has left Skype in the dirt, which seems more interested in creating shallow copies of Snapchat's features than improving the quality of life of its remaining userbase. Watching Skype's tires spin in the mud has been a tad frustrating, but not as frustrating as watching Microsoft squander another opportunity it had when it first added Xbox integration to Windows 10.

I recall in the early days of the Xbox app getting voice-enabled party chat on Windows 10. For a brief window of time, it seemed like Microsoft might have been pushing Xbox Live as an alternative voice and social network for gamers. The services there are complete with integration for PC games, sharing of screenshots and clips natively on Windows 10, and beyond. The glacial pace of updates to these services, however, has left the goal wide open for Discord to score, and score repeatedly.

Discord is now the global gamer friends list

We've seen some evidence that Microsoft was concepting more Discord-like features to Xbox Clubs, but they have yet to materialize. Regardless of interface tweaks, there are systemic issues surrounding Xbox Live that will need to be addressed if Microsoft actually wants Xbox Clubs to be anything more than a vanity feature nobody really uses in the real world.

Not only does Discord now do voice chat (arguably better than Xbox Live), it also leaves Microsoft's own tools for building communities languishing in the dust. Xbox Clubs are slow to load on every platform, clunky to use, and have nowhere near as many customization features that Discord has. Even basics like sharing images, gifs, or adding custom emojis are features that are likely to never hit Xbox Live, as Microsoft struggles to decide what kind of social network it wants Xbox Live to be. Aggressive safety policies to protect youngsters are great, but by denying adults the freedom to share content they choose to share, it only adds to Discord's allure.

With Discord actively exploring selling games now, any hopes Xbox had of getting a big chunk of PC gamers to use its services for anything other than an annoying DRM hoop on Microsoft Store games has arguably slipped away. Given how slow and restrictive Xbox Live messages and Clubs are, I have no doubt that Xbox console gamers would abandon those services too were Discord an option on their consoles. Microsoft just doesn't seem to get "social."

Microsoft plans to beef up Xbox Clubs with Discord-like features

What should Microsoft do here?

In Skype and Xbox Live, Microsoft effectively has two different platforms it could use to allow users to create gamers within its network. Even GroupMe, the little-known messaging app Microsoft inexplicably owns and maintains, provides a better instant messaging experience than Xbox Live and Skype combined. Clearly, something needs to be done to get these systems operating under the same roof, rather than against each other.

Skype needs to get real and start integrating Xbox Live more directly. Why can't I get my Xbox Live messages through Skype, despite the fact they use the same Microsoft Account and authentication? Additionally, why can't I use Skype to make calls on Xbox Live without going through the painfully slow, universally reviled Skype Xbox app? It should be directly integrated into the OS, rather than separated out.

The Xbox apps for Android, iOS, and Windows 10 are slow, badly maintained, and unintuitive as community-building tools, which try to incorporate far too much into a single interface. Skype could be the place you use to interact with your Xbox Live messages and your Xbox Club communities, leaving the Xbox app to handle other things like game share clips, store purchases, and other features.

Microsoft generally needs to improve speed across all of its services. It takes far, far, FAR too long for me to receive my messages on Xbox Live, to the point where I don't even really bother checking them anymore. Skype too is so slow to open on Android when compared to Discord and other services, and the endlessly annoying spam of downloading messages it received from other platforms is a quirk that seems exclusive to Skype. This would be even more annoying if it had community-building features, since communities you were apart of would potentially receive hundreds of messages while you were offline. Why can't an app, based around communication, get something as basic as instant messaging right? It's maddening.

Can Microsoft get it right?

Clearly Microsoft cares about this stuff, since it uses engagement as the sole measure of Xbox's success. With more and more of that gamer engagement heading across to Discord, regardless of preferred platform, Microsoft has effectively surrendered a huge opportunity it had with Xbox Live and Skype to be a frontrunner in this space. There isn't a single star on Microsoft's own Mixer streaming platform that's using Xbox Clubs to build their communities — they're all using Discord.

I'm sure Discord will eventually sell itself to one of the big tech companies, as tends to be the case with start-ups like this. Microsoft can't afford to stand by in hopes of winning a bid, and complacently allow Discord to grow (and, actively contribute to its growth, considering Redmond uses Discord quite broadly across its various teams) while neglecting their own platform. What if Amazon wins Discord and integrates it more directly with Twitch? What if Google outbids and combines its community tools with YouTube? Either scenario would be devastating for Xbox Live and Mixer.

It's fine if Microsoft doesn't want to report Xbox console sales anymore, which trail behind PlayStation. But if you're living by engagement, you'll be dying by engagement, and Microsoft has neglected the basics — communication — for far too long.

One of my biggest pet peeves with Xbox is how clunky its Windows 10 app is. It's functional for party chat, accessing your Game DVR, and things of that nature, but it's painfully slow, particularly so for text-based communication, which is dominating gaming right now. Steam chat, Discord, and various other services are simply far faster than the Xbox app when it comes to sending messages at any sort of scale.

In a recent Q&A session at E3, Phil Spencer touched on the topic, noting that progress on the Xbox app has slowed down, due in part to Microsoft rethinking how it approaches PC gaming. Spencer said that rather than bring console-like features to PC, it will focus on bringing PC gamers playing Xbox games on their computers features that emulate what's already out there, such as Steam and Discord.

We got a glimpse of at least some concepts Microsoft is working on to achieve this goal, starting with changes to Game Hubs and Xbox Clubs.

Official Clubs

Microsoft is exploring ditching Game Hubs entirely, replacing them with what they're referring to internally as "Official Clubs." Official Clubs will function similarly to Clubs, but they will be owned by the publisher or developer of the games they are attached to and will come with robust features to help developers engage with their customers over Xbox Live.

If Microsoft moves ahead with this plan, Official Clubs would get links wherever they're contextually relevant, such as a Microsoft Store page or within the Xbox Guide menu.

Microsoft's documents say the Official Clubs will come with moderation tools similar to what's available today, with features such as locking comments down on a thread, allowing community managers to add scheduled posts, and robust engagement analytics.

Discord-like Clubs channels

Microsoft is working on Discord-like channels for its Clubs system, which look as though they will allow users to customize different types of content feeds, chat channels, and also voice-chat channels, dubbed "parties."

You will also be able to pin Mixer channels to your Club, making it easy for your friends (or customers, if you're a publisher) to find your content.

A step in the right direction

Microsoft has an opportunity to create deeper integration between its gaming systems and its social systems, some of which have been dramatically underserved in recent years. Discord has become the go-to tool for building gaming communities almost everywhere, and the explosive growth shines a spotlight on just how slow innovation has been at both Xbox and Skype with regards to communication for gamers. Thankfully, it looks like Microsoft is putting more investment into Xbox to take control of some of these features and get them to where they need to be.

As always, plans such as they can and often do change, but Microsoft is at least exploring building on Clubs and its Xbox app, and hopefully, we'll see the fruits of that exploration sooner than later.

"Monthly Active Users," or MAU, is the primary way Microsoft measures the success of its Xbox Live platform, which is growing at an impressive rate. More engaged users mean more spending on Xbox Live, whether it's on movies and TV shows, subscriptions such as EA Access, or on games themselves.

We revealed recently how Microsoft is planning to open up Xbox Live Clubs to developers to help Xbox players stay connected to the network for longer, even when they're not at their computers or consoles. The primary method of achieving this will be the Xbox app, which is available across Windows 10 devices, iOS, and Android.

If Microsoft wants to make Xbox Live the defacto social network for gaming, there are some key things it needs to address.

1. Xbox app needs work

The Xbox app tries to do far too much right now. Particularly on Windows 10, it is quite slow when switching between sections, typing messages, and beyond. It simply doesn't deliver a pleasant experience, particularly for communicating through messages in Clubs or with friends.

Discord is the number one hotness in video game communication right now, and its apps on Android and iOS are incredibly fast, lightweight, and intuitive. But above all, they're focused on the social experience. Xbox Live has great features, but they're spread out and disparate, and bringing them together under the Xbox app just creates a cluttered experience.

I created a Club recently for friends on Twitter, but one of the first responses I got was, "let's create a Discord server instead." Xbox Clubs might have great features, such as a shared Facebook-like activity feed, a Looking For Group tab, and a high degree of customizability. But let's face it, you're never going to use it over Discord (or other IM-focused apps) for chatting with your gamer buddies.

Either the speed and access of the Xbox app's social features need to be improved, or Microsoft needs to allow Xbox Live Club members to sync chat across some of its other services, too, such as in a Skype group, or Microsoft's excellent-but-often-forgotten GroupMe chat app.

2. Xbox Live sucks for sharing

Xbox Live is great for sharing Xbox content. But what if you want to express yourself in a GIF, or upload a highly-produced video to your Club or profile page? You can't, and it's lame.

Microsoft recently opened up Xbox Live to custom avatars, which is a step in the right direction, and I appreciate that Microsoft has a duty to ensure children and youngsters are adequately protected from potentially offensive content. However, there are parental controls for that functionality, and the company could easily let adults decide the extent to which they want to participate in the network.

Perhaps Microsoft doesn't want the headaches faced Twitter and Facebook, which have both been criticized for facilitating the sharing of controversial (and even illegal) images. But these scenarios are on the periphery of the full blown range of interactions and content you can get on real social networks.

If Microsoft wants to stop people from leaving Xbox Live to chat on Discord, or from sharing things on Facebook, then perhaps it needs to match them on sharing non-gaming content as well. Perhaps the company could even integrate it with the new My People bar coming in Redstone 3.

3. Streamline and improve the activity feed

Microsoft has already made some hefty improvements to the Activity Feed on Xbox One, allowing you to disable automatic sharing and filter different sorts of content. However, far more could be done to fix these features.

Galleries that consolidate multiple screenshot uploads or achievement pops, algorithms that surface favorite friends' content at the top as well as filter, and, as mentioned above, the ability to share content that isn't necessarily gaming-focused, would all be welcome additions. Of course, allowing users to filter and customize their experiences as much as humanly possible would also be great. I really don't need (or want) to see a huge list of every single achievement my friends have unlocked, but I'd love to keep seeing their game clips and screenshots, for example. The feed is a cluttered mess right now, and Microsoft needs to make it more compelling if it wants users to engage more proactively.

Finally, verified Xbox partners are allowed to post videos and embedded URLs in their respective Game Hubs, which appear in the Activity Feed, and I think it's frustrating and patronizing that Xbox users aren't afforded this functionality as well.

4. Clubs vs. Clubs

This is more of a future consideration, but there are a few ways Clubs could be evolved to improve their engagement potential. Beyond boosting the speed of the chat app, giving us the power to create moderation hierarchies and highlight different types of members, similar to Discord, would be a great start.

The ability to create your own channels based around different topics within the community would also be welcome, but perhaps the most obvious thing I can think of is integration with Xbox's new tournament system.

The Xbox Arena system allows players to schedule and create their own competitive tournaments, restricted to Killer Instinct as of writing. It would be awesome if, one day, you could have Club-versus-Club tournaments, with all the other Beam streaming and activity feed integrations to go along with it.

Wrapping up

Xbox Live is a constant work in progress, with new features being piled on all the time. Whether it's Clubs, Arena, Looking For Group, or the recent additions of customizable avatars, Microsoft is always looking at ways to improve the experience, based on UserVoice feedback. However, I feel like the insistence on including new features before polishing or properly integrating existing ones is a little detrimental.

Either way, polish takes time. I just hope Microsoft is serious about making Xbox Live a quality social experience, and that it isn't simply a side project, because it could really make Xbox a fun place to be, even when you're away from the controller.

Microsoft introduced Clubs in 2016 as part of the console's big Summer update, allowing users to create unique spaces based around any game or any topic. Now with the Xbox branch of the Windows 10 Creators Update, Club owners can endow their pages with custom branding and backgrounds, giving them a stronger presence.

Private documents for Xbox developers and partners have given us a glimpse at the future of Xbox Clubs, which include third-party API access (as we've previously reported, but can now confirm!) and some other new features.

The Stats

Microsoft touted the adoption of Clubs, which already enjoys 5 million active users across 33,000 active groups, based on all sorts of subjects. Microsoft emphasized that Clubs are being created not just for games, but also topics, including LGBT and Anime.

Microsoft analysed two months of data from separate groups of Club-using and non-Club-using Xbox Live users, and found that users who had joined a Club sent more messages, made more friends, and connected to Live more frequently than those that didn't. Club usage increases Xbox Live engagement upwards of 40% per player on average, which, of course, in turn leads to more spending on Xbox Live.

It certainly seems within developer's and publisher's interests to give Clubs a serious look in, particularly when you consider just how powerful they will be when placed inside games in the future.

In-Game Clubs

Soon, developers will be able to leverage the Xbox Live Club's API to build clan infrastructure directly into the games. The idea is to gives players the ability to remain engaged across mobile apps and the web, even when away from their consoles or PC. For gamers, it'll mean that we can manage scheduled playdates, in-game invites and parties anywhere, at any time.

Using the example of Minecraft Realms, Microsoft will soon give developers the option to set dedicated servers in their games as Clubs on Xbox Live, allowing those communities to stay in touch at all times. With the example of Minecraft Realms, you'll be able to see how many people are currently online in your dedicated Realm from your friends list on the dashboard and on any of the apps, pinned to the top.

Developers will also be able to add deep links to their game-focused Clubs. For example, there will be a button to jump straight into Minecraft from the Realm's dedicated Club page, making it quick and easy to join your friends.

It's easy to imagine how this could work in other games, including other sandbox-type games like ARK: Survival Evolved or Astroneer. Perhaps you could use it to instantly jump into a party with your Platoon on Battlefield 1, or prepare for a raid with a clan in Destiny. The feature has huge, HUGE potential, if, of course, it gets adopted by developers.

Wrapping up

Microsoft continues its push to turn Xbox Live into a network you want to be in, rather than have to be in, simply to access your games. Every feature Microsoft has put together in recent times is about making the experience more engaging, more fun, and more interactive than ever before, and it's only going to get better.

With Beam, Looking for Group, custom avatars, the new Clubs system, and whatever else Microsoft is cooking up, Xbox Live could certainly evolve into something far more than Microsoft's multiplayer platform.

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• How to create a Club on Xbox
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Microsoft unveiled Xbox Clubs in late 2016 as a way to create social groups on Xbox Live. Using the Xbox One itself or various Xbox apps, players can now set up and manage their own "Clubs," complete with membership systems, a common chat room, and a Facebook-like social feed for sharing screenshots, clips, and status updates.

Targeting an April launch, developers will soon be able to access a new tool, or application programming interface (API), that will let them leverage Xbox Live's Club system in their games, according to official Xbox developer documentation leaked to Windows Central. Developers will be able to use the API to create structures such as clans and multiplayer guilds, and then sync them to Xbox Live.

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The document we received details various upcoming known improvements to Xbox and the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) APIs developers will be able to use in their games, including dev optimizations to leaderboard systems, stat tracking, and various hardware analysis improvements. This in-game Clubs API for devs, however, is a new feature.

We don't have a full description of exactly what will be accessible in the Club API, but it could provide a huge boost to games such as Destiny and Elite Dangerous, which have traditionally lacked decent in-game clan support. Hopefully, the new Club API will allow you to view community chat systems, invite members, and create "Looking For Group" ads in-game, so you can create scheduled play dates without having to jump out of the game and into an app.

It's easy to speculate on how Clubs could evolve as an API, as well. Perhaps eventually it will include branding and logos, maybe even pick up an open web API for creating Clan sites and beyond. Microsoft will likely announce the Club API and its features in the coming weeks, ahead of the planned April release timeframe.

It's clear that Microsoft has huge aspirations for Xbox Live, not just as a multiplayer service but also a gaming social hub. Between Clubs, Beam, and Xbox Live itself, Microsoft might just achieve its goals.

You can join our Windows Central club by searching for us on Xbox Live. Request an invite, and we'll accept you ASAP.

More about Xbox Live Clubs

Clubs are essentially player-created gaming communities. Players in a Club can post Looking For Group ads, make parties quickly using the Club's membership roster, and share a feed of player-curated content, including screenshots, clips, achievements, and general messages.

Clubs are enhancing the social experience across Xbox One and Windows 10, replacing the functions of third-party websites for creating and organizing clan-based activities. But first, you're going to need to know how to join one!

Join a Club on Xbox One

1. Navigate to the Community Tab to the right of the main dashboard.
2. Select Clubs on Xbox.

1. Select Find a Club.
2. If you know the Club name, type it in. Note: Like Gamertags, Club names are unique.
3. If you don't have a Club in mind, you can browse Clubs with a combination of by game or by tag.
   • Tags include things like "no trash talking," "experienced players only," "all ages welcome" and so on.
   • Tags are designed to help you find the Club perfect for you.
   • Clubs can also be associated with specific games enjoyed by its members, to help you find like-minded players.
   • The app also recommends Clubs based on your usage and gameplay style.
4. Select either "Choose tags" or "Choose games" to browse by criteria. Note: Even Win32 PC games can be associated with Clubs.

1. Once you have found the Club you want to join select it, then hit request invitation.
   • A Club Admin will have to approve your membership, but you can still follow to receive updates.
   • Public Clubs can be followed by anyone, even when you're not a member.
   • Private Clubs can be found via search, but their content is for members only.
   • There are also hidden Clubs that are accessible only via invitation.

Leave a Club on Xbox One

If you're unhappy with your Club, you can quit at any time using the following steps.

1. Navigate to the Community Tab to the right of the main dashboard.
2. Select Clubs on Xbox.
3. Select the Club you wish to leave.

1. Select "Leave this Club" on the Club Info tab.

Join a Club on Windows 10

1. Open the Xbox app by typing "Xbox" into the Start Menu.
2. Select Clubs from the menu on the left side of the app.

1. If you know the Club name, select Find a Club and type it in. Note: Like Gamertags, Club names are unique.
2. If you don't have a Club in mind, you can browse Clubs with a combination of by game or by tag.
   • Tags include things like "no trash talking," "experienced players only," "all ages welcome" and so on.
   • Tags are designed to help you find the Club perfect for you.
   • Clubs can also be associated with specific games enjoyed by its members, to help you find like-minded players.
   • The app also recommends Clubs based on your usage and gameplay style.

Leave a Club on Windows 10

If you want to ditch your Club, you can quit at any time using the following steps.

1. Open the Xbox app by typing "Xbox" into the Start Menu.
2. Select Clubs from the hamburger menu on the left side of the app.
3. Select Your Clubs at the top, then go to the Club you want to leave.
4. Click on the Info tab.
5. Select Leave this Club.

Clubs are a powerful addition to the Xbox Live feature set, allowing gamers to form communities around practically any topic. Now that Clubs have hit Windows 10 and Xbox One, they could revolutionize the way gamers organize across Xbox One and PC, replacing third-party web-based grouping systems often used by communities in Destiny and Elite Dangerous.

If you want to create your very own Club, we also created a guide on how to do that linked below. Also, feel free to seek out and join the Windows Central Club, accepting membership now!

• How to Create a Club on Xbox One and Windows 10
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Clubs are a brand new way for Xbox gamers to connect across console and Windows 10. Using an Xbox Live Club, you can schedule group activities, have a shared feed for game clips and screenshots, make use of a group chat room and even showcase your Club's greatest content for all to see.

We're running our very own Windows Central Club, allowing you guys to connect with us, receive giveaways and much more. If you want to join the Windows Central Club, search for the Club in the community section on Xbox One or in the Clubs tab on the Windows 10 Store app.

Of course, if you would rather create your own Club, here are the steps you need to take!

For Xbox One users

1. Navigate to the Community Tab to the right of the main dashboard.
2. Select Clubs.
3. Select Create a Club.
4. Choose a Club Name. Note: Like Gamertags, Club names are unique and can only be used once.
5. Select your club's visibility:
   • Public Clubs can be viewed and joined by anyone.
   • Private Clubs are searchable, but their content is available to members only.
   • Hidden Clubs are only visible to those who have been invited.
6. Add additional information about the Club:
   • Description
   • Background image
   • Logo
   • Descriptive tags
7. You can also associate the Club with specific games. This is for the types of games your Club will play frequently. Your Club will appear in the associated title's Game Hubs.

You can edit the information at any time via the Club homepage by selecting Customize.

For PC users

1. Navigate to the Windows 10 Xbox app, by typing "Xbox" into the Start Menu.
2. In the left-side hamburger menu, select Clubs.
3. In the top right hand corner of the Clubs section, select Create a Club.

1. Select your club's visibility:
   • Public Clubs can be viewed and joined by anyone.
   • Private Clubs are searchable, but their content is available to members only.
   • Hidden Clubs are only visible to those who have been invited.
2. Choose a Club Name. Note: Like Gamertags, Club names are unique and can only be used once.
3. Add additional information about the Club:
   • Description
   • Background image
   • Logo
   • Descriptive tags
4. You can also associate the Club with specific games. This is for the types of games your Club will play frequently. Your Club will appear in the associated title's Game Hubs.

Xbox's new Clubs feature has huge potential to engage gamers from across the console / PC divide. It feeds into the company's Xbox Play Anywhere strategy, which sees more and more co-operative games become functional across platforms.

Clubs could also help limit pressure on developers to build these sorts of features directly into their games, many of which rely on third-party websites or tools as present. Clubs and Looking For Group should also drive up engagement for Game Hubs as well, which are a dedicated space for developers to communicate directly with their fans. Xbox Live is getting a whole lot more social.

Everything you need to know about Xbox Clubs and Looking For Group

Xbox Clubs are rolling out in waves to Xbox One owners and the Windows 10 Store Xbox app, feel free to apply to join the Windows Central Club!

Clubs and Looking For Group are rolling out to the public now, both for the Xbox app on Windows 10 and Xbox One consoles. The update should become available from 8 AM PT / 4 PM GMT / 11 AM ET onwards, so check your console for updates around that time.

Clubs allow players to form moderated community groups based on all sorts of custom criteria, and Looking For Group will allows players to post advertisements to help find like-minded gamers for co-operative activities. This update also contains new features for the Gamerscore Leaderboard, rare achievements, group messaging, and emojis for the on-screen keyboard. Xbox Arena features will remain in preview for a little while longer.

Here's everything you need to know.

Clubs

Clubs are a brand new way for gamers to connect on Xbox Live, whether they're on a Windows 10 PC or Xbox One. Via the Club section in the Community tab on your console or via the Club section in the various Xbox apps, you can search for all sorts of Clubs based on the tags associated with the Club in question.

You could create a Club centered around a particular game or activity, such as achievement hunting or helping newbie players to learn Killer Instinct. PC gamers can even get in on the action. You could use the Windows 10 app to create a Club for your World of Warcraft guild, taking advantage of the quick access to party invites for raiding voice chat.

Clubs will also get a dedicated area for communal clip sharing, a dedicated chat room, Looking For Group ads, and a "Who's online?" list to make it easy to party up.

Not only can you associate Clubs with specific activities, but you can link them to any game within Xbox Live's database. Upon doing so, the Clubs will appear in the Game Hubs for the relevant titles, allowing users to browse and apply to any Club they see fit.

Of course, it will be up to the administrators and moderators those Clubs to decide who is allowed to join – and it will also be up to them to ensure their Clubs are free of toxic behavior. Naturally, players will still be able to report individuals, and even entire Clubs that violate the terms of service directly to Microsoft.

Clubs are a powerful new addition to the Xbox Live ecosystem. Not only will they help bring like-minded players together across console and PC, but they will also provide tools for massively multiplayer games that don't support robust social features natively, such as Elite Dangerous.

Windows Central Club!

When you're able, navigate to "Community," select "Clubs," then search for "Windows Central" to apply to join our Club on Xbox One. Or select the Clubs tab on the Windows 10 Xbox app!

Looking For Group

Looking For Group is another very potent addition to the ecosystem, as more and more online communities rely on third party websites to find groups for connected games like Destiny.

Similarly to Clubs, players will be able to create and moderate game-based advertisements for all sorts of custom criteria. Players will be able to generate and search for specific hashtags relating to games and types of play, as well as set system criteria such as "Mic Required."

Some other examples could include things like "no trash talking allowed," "casual friendly" and "experienced players only."

Once you have found an ad you're interested while browsing the Looking For Group tab of a Game Hub either in the Xbox app or on your console, you can request to join. The creator of the ad can then browse and approve the applicants, who will then be sent an actionable notification on Xbox Live, inviting them to join the party.

Looking For Group will also alleviate pressure on developers to build these sorts of systems into their games. As more and more titles become permanently connected, I expect Microsoft could drive a lot of PC gamers into the Xbox app to take advantage of its free services. Mike Ybarra has noted in the past that they see a lot of traffic from World of Warcraft players, who use the Xbox app's party chat functionality.

Emojis, Gamerscore Leaderboards and Rare Achievements

This update wave will also add Emojis into the on-screen keyboard, but perhaps more importantly, it will issue some updates to make the Gamerscore Leaderboard a little more competitive.

At the end of every month, the Gamerscore Leaderboard will now reset, rather than show a rolling 30-day tally. You will be able to view previous months as well from a drop down menu, adding a competitive slant to the feature. Additionally, the Leaderboard will also pick up some stability improvements.

Additionally, this update will add Rare Achievements, which pop when you acquire an achievement that few players have received. It looks like this!

Huge potential

With these new features, Microsoft has the potential to engage PC gamers further by providing features that, up until now, often relied on third-party websites and tools to do the job. For games like Microsoft's connected pirate adventure Sea of Thieves and the upcoming zombie survival simulator State of Decay 2, these sorts of features will become invaluable. Not only will they enable gamers from across PC and console to connect and take advantage of Xbox Play Anywhere titles, but it will ease pressure on smaller developers to include these sorts of features natively.

Games like ARK: Survival Evolved and Elite Dangerous have some social features, but many players defer to Reddit or other forums and websites to connect with other gamers. World of Warcraft guilds have often relied on forum posts or low-quality free-to-build websites, rather than make use of the clunky in-game tools Blizzard provides. Xbox could be solving a historical accessibility problem with these features, and Microsoft no doubt hopes to gain a heap of engagement from it on the side.

Will you be making a Club? If not, feel free to join the Windows Central club, and I'll approve your application as soon as possible!

• How to create a Club on Xbox One or Windows 10

According to Mike Ybarra, the number of Clubs you can join on Xbox One Preview is now up to 25. This is a nice change for anyone who felt 10 Clubs was too restrictive.

Clubs are available for both Xbox and Windows 10 users and are designed to allow players to create moderated groups centered around specific criteria — games, achievement hunting, or help groups.

Don't forget to check out the Windows Central Club by navigating to Community, selecting Clubs, then searching for Windows Central.

Need to learn about Xbox Clubs? Read our Everything you need to know guide about Xbox Clubs and Looking for Group to get started!

Join us for a walkthrough of the new features available in the Xbox One Preview, including how to set up your very own Looking For Group ad, as well as the creation of Windows Central's very own Xbox Club!

Clubs and Looking For Group give Xbox Live a potent social injection. Gamers will now be able to form their own groups based around any topic or goal, and share them with the rest of Xbox Live. Whether you're on Xbox One or PC, you will still be able to join in on the action, creating groups for your World of Warcraft guild, your mining corporation in Elite Dangerous, or just a group to share content privately with friends.

Microsoft is showing no signs of slowing down updates to the Xbox Live service, with competitive Arena features just around the corner as well.

For more detail on what this update contains, check out the links below. If you wish to join Windows Central's Xbox Club, navigate to the Community tab on the dashboard, select "Clubs," then search for "Windows Central" to apply!

• Everything you need to know about Xbox Clubs and Looking For Group
• Xbox One Preview patch notes: Looking For Group, Clubs and more

The new features will give Xbox Live a massive social injection, supporting titles not only on Xbox One, but also Windows 10 PCs via the Xbox app. Players will be able to create LFG ads and Clubs, associate them with searchable tags and even specific games. You will be able to browse for ads and Clubs via Xbox One initially, and later via the Xbox app on Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, iOS and Android. This update also includes Emojis in the Xbox One keyboard, and a month-by-month view for the Gamerscore leader board.

Here are the full patch notes from the Xbox One Preview Forums. There are a fair few bugs associated with the features as of writing, so please take a moment to look over the patch notes if you want to test them out.

DETAILS

OS version released: rs1_xbox_rel_1610.160901-1900

Available: 2:00PM PDT 9/6 (1:00 AM GMT 7/9)

NEW FEATURES

Clubs

Check out the Community tab on the dashboard to find the new entry point for Clubs on Xbox Live. Create your own Club or explore the Clubs our team has created. You can request an invite to a Club, share content to the Activity Feed, and check out Clubs on Game Hubs and your friends profiles. We've got a lot more functionality coming soon!

Join the Xbox Preview club for all the latest information on Xbox Preview, comment on posts from the Xbox Preview team, and interact with other Xbox Preview participants.

Club Quests:

Check out the following Quests for Clubs: 

• Joining a Club
• In The Club
• Mod the Club
• Create a Club

Clubs FAQs

• I just joined a Club, but I'm having problems posting or sharing to the Activity Feed.

Workaround: Please wait for 5 minutes after joining a Club before posting or sharing to the Activity Feed.

• I requested a Club invite, but it still hasn't come through!

Workaround: Club notifications aren't yet functional, and it can take a while for moderators to check for new Club invite requests. You can also try messaging the Club owner directly.

LFG (Looking for Group)

Need to find players to help unlock an Achievement, complete a weekly quest, or build a team? Xbox Looking for Group allows you to post a "want ad" that other players can see and answer. Each post can contain a description, number of players needed, and searchable tags. You can tag a post with communication and playstyle preferences like "Mic required" or "Cooperative", Achievements you want to pursue, or custom tags created by the community for each game. Once you've found other players who share your goals, you can quickly and easily form a party and get into your game.

We'll be adding new features and upgrades to Looking for Group over the course of the preview, but we're excited to get this build into your hands so you can start giving your feedback. Note that you may not find Looking for Group posts for every game due to the limited size of the Preview community. In general, we recommend trying out LFG for multiplayer games that involve co-operative gameplay or team competitions such as:

Halo 5: Guardians

Minecraft: Xbox One Edition

Destiny

Call of Duty: Black Ops III

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege

Overwatch: Origins Edition

• LFG Quests:

Check out the following Quest for LFG:

• LFG
• Find Looking for Group
• The easiest way to get started with Looking for Group is to open the Parties tab on the Guide. 
• You can browse and search a game's LFG posts on its Game Hub. Choose from your games by clicking the "Looking for Group" button on the Parties tab of the Guide.
• When you Host or request to join an LFG, you can find it in the "Upcoming" list on the Parties tab of the Guide. The Parties tab will also show you LFG posts your friends have made.
• If you're the leader of a party and need more players, you can also create a Looking for Group post directly from the Party roster.

LFG Known Issues

• LFG posts do not yet show up in user profiles, Clubs, or the friends list.
• LFG posts can currently only be posted to all of Xbox LIVE, visible to everyone on each Game Hub's "Looking for Group" page.
• LFG posts can currently only be posted for "right now". LFG posts will time out if you disconnect from Xbox LIVE for more than 5 minutes.
• You can currently only host one LFG post at a time, however, you can request to join as many as you want.
• On the Game Hub "Looking for Group" page, posts do not yet update in real-time. You'll need to hit the refresh button or change your search tags to get fresh results.
• Currently, all LFG posts for a game are visible in all regions and languages.
• Currently, custom tags cannot start with a number.
• When creating an LFG post, creation will fail if your custom tags or description contain profanity. 
• When selecting tags to create or search for an LFG post, Achievement tags are not yet sorted by whether they are locked or unlocked.
• Currently, Party Chat sessions linked to an LFG post can be joined (without having to use Looking for Group) if the Party is set to "Joinable".
• The Posted Time is not yet shown when browsing LFG posts on a Game Hub, however, posts are sorted with the newest at the top.
• To create or view LFG posts, your Privacy & Online Safety setting, "Others can communicate with voice, text, or invites" must be set to "Everybody". Don't worry, Looking for Group will let you know if this setting isn't set to "Everybody" and will help you change it if you like.
• You cannot currently view previous LFG posts.
• At this time only Xbox LIVE-enabled games support LFG posts.
• At this time LFG posts for Xbox 360 games will not show up in the Game Hub, but will be visible to you and your friends in the Party tab of the Guide.
• At this time when choosing a game for a Looking for Group post, search may not find a game if you haven't played it before.

FIXES

• Backward Compatibility

This build contains a fix to address stuttering and framerate issues in backward compatible games.

This update will go live at 2:00PM PDT 9/6 for select preview members, indicating that it will likely hit users with high amounts of feedback before rolling out more broadly.

Hit the link below for more information on what Clubs and Looking For Group will achieve for Xbox and PC, as well as details on how you can join the official Windows Central Club!

Everything you need to know about Xbox Clubs and Looking for Group

Microsoft announced the features at their E3 2016 briefing on Monday but didn't go into much depth about how they work. We now have a better idea of what gamers can expect from these new aspects as they roll out across Xbox Live and the apps for Android, iOS and Windows 10 devices before the end of the year.

Henshaw was keen to stress that he wants these features to be seen as an inflection point, in a similar fashion to the way Xbox Live changed the nature of console gaming forever. It certainly seems as though the features could be a big deal, especially for games that are currently relying on third-party forums or other solutions for making groups and finding other players.

Xbox Play Anywhere: Halo 6 for PC?

First, we discussed Xbox Play Anywhere, which is essentially Microsoft's branding for games like Killer Instinct which see your content roam between Windows 10 PCs and Xbox One devices. When you see the Xbox Play Anywhere logo, it definitively means those licenses are valid on both Xbox One and the Windows 10 Store.

Henshaw stated that all Microsoft Studios published titles would be Xbox Play Anywhere from now on, which appears to indicate that games like Halo 6 will indeed hit PC. Henshaw said that third-party titles would be joining the program as well, but stated that they didn't have any announcements to make at this time.

Win32 gamers

Microsoft also gave us a look at how classic Win32 games typical of Steam will seamlessly integrate with Xbox Live after the update. Xbox Platform lead Mike Ybarra previously stated that they see a lot of World of Warcraft guilds using Xbox Live party chat to organize raids, and it certainly seems as though a lot of these features are targeted towards those sorts of gamers.

Henshaw used the examples of Counter Strike Global Offensive, DOTA 2 and League of Legends as games that would integrate with Xbox Live on Windows 10 – complete with their own game hubs, the ability to invite friends to parties and so on. The whole goal with Xbox Live seems to be trying to connect gamers across the entire Windows ecosystem. Presumably, Microsoft has recognized the importance of gaming to PC sales as it's the only segment of the industry that is seeing positive growth.

Microsoft has also updated Xbox Smartglass on Android and iOS to more closely to resemble the apps on Windows 10 and 10 Mobile. I asked about the possibility of iOS and Android updates outpacing Windows 10 Mobile due to their market share, to which they replied that it wouldn't be the case. They stressed that the company sees Windows 10 as a single platform now, and UWP would ensure the 10 Mobile version of the Xbox app would see the same improvements indefinitely.

Cortana

We didn't get to see a demonstration of Cortana's capability on their demo Xbox preview build, but I did ask about those gamers who hail from countries where Cortana isn't supported, even on PC. I noted that even in English-speaking countries like Ireland, Cortana has yet to see any availability – despite that Cortana'sr features work just fine if you swap your region to US or UK.

Henshaw stressed that the aim is to take Cortana global, and they're working hard to bring the functionality to more regions as soon as possible.

Looking For Group

Microsoft debuted the Looking For Group (LFG) feature during their E3 press conference. The idea is that players will be able to post and search for ads to accomplish goals in different games.

LFG is handled by Xbox Live's game hubs system. Each game has its own 'hub' on Xbox Live, which allows developers to post updates on the game into a dedicated news feed. Players can follow games they like and receive updates directly into their own activity feed on Xbox One or the associated apps.

LFG will appear as a new tab under an individual game's hub. In the tab, ads will automatically populate as cards, complete with unique backgrounds based on the game. Ad creators will be able to give cards both suggested and specific tags. It's up to the ad creator to decide who will be accepted into the game upon application. When you've been accepted, you'll receive an actionable invite on Xbox Live and the associated Xbox apps. When the notification is selected, you'll automatically get pulled into the game and party relevant to the ad.

Some of the tags players can create include things like "no swearing allowed" and "skilled players only", but also things like "casual players encouraged." A player could create a Killer Instinct training party, for example, looking to help out new players get to grips with some of the game's more complex mechanics.

Looking For Group seems like a powerful, intuitive and quite frankly necessary feature for Xbox Live. It feels like a natural progression of the network, and crucially, it eliminates the need for developers to build some of these systems directly into their games. In theory, Microsoft has freed up a lot of development time with this system. Games like Elite Dangerous, which have no in-game LFG system, will benefit immeasurably from it.

Clubs

Elite Dangerous and similar games will also benefit hugely from Clubs. This exciting new feature also enjoys its own tab in game hubs. Club owners can center their Club around a specific game or games, but also around specific activities or group ethos. Henshaw used the example of "parents who can only game after 10 pm", "mic required", "gender inclusive" and so on, as examples of tags people can attach to their Club, to seek like-minded players.

Like LFG, Clubs appear as cards under the relevant game hubs, allowing players to easily find and apply to join different groups. It'll ultimately be up to the Club owner and moderators to decide who joins the group, and it'll also be up to owners and moderators to remove trolls and toxic comments that appear in the group. The Xbox Live terms of service still apply as you'd expect, and any player can report content they deem offensive as usual.

Perhaps the coolest aspect of Clubs is that they also have a dedicated feed, allowing Club members to post game clips, content, and screenshots directly to showcase to the whole group. Additionally, Clubs will get chatrooms, accessible both on Xbox and via the iOS, Android, and Windows 10 apps.

Clubs almost feel like Slack for Xbox Live, allowing groups of like-minded players to band together, get organized and instantly create parties for venturing out online. Sea of Thieves developers Rare told me that Clubs and LFG will enhance their game as well, given the game's persistently connected nature.

Arena

Microsoft's big push into eSports begins with Arena, a system-level feature that allows people to create tournaments and challenges directly on Xbox Live. Microsoft is partnering with eSports groups like ESL, FACEIT, MLG, and more to create tournaments for both first-party games like Killer Instinct, and third-party titles like FIFA.

Game hubs play a part in Arena as well, as game developers will be able to share tournament opportunities to their followers. Those opportunities will appear directly in the feed of players who follow those games, and it only takes a single press to register to participate in the tournament.

The tournament screen lists the rules, whether there's an entry fee or prizes, and also dates of required participation. The system will also show you who your opponent is, using their Xbox Live avatar as representation. When you're registered to participate, a countdown timer appears on the dashboard of your Xbox One, and when it's time to join a match you'll get notification on Xbox Live that will pull you straight into the correct game and corresponding match lobby. The Xbox apps for Windows 10 devices, iOS and Android, will also serve notifications to participating combatants, to ensure that everyone who registered for the tournament shows up.

Speaking of people not showing up, I asked Henshaw whether there were concerns about competitions getting derailed due to the ease and availability of signing up. He said that it'll be up to tournament organizers to decide the rules on when non-participating competitors forfeit their matches.

The tournament page displays each bracket's winners and losers, all the way up to the overall winner and runner-up. It also presents clips, screenshots and other shared content from matches relevant to the contest, populating them underneath the bracketst for perusal.

Xbox One S and Xbox One Design Lab

Finally, we got to take a quick look at the new Xbox One S and its controller. The Xbox One S is indeed 40% smaller than the original Xbox One, and while that sounds like an impressive reduction, in reality, it's not really that much smaller. It can fit inside the original Xbox One, but I have a feeling that percentage is factoring in the removal of the power supply brick which is, of course, a hugely welcome development.

Owners of Kinect will be able to get a free adapter from Microsoft if they upgrade to the Xbox One S, but beyond the removal of the Kinect port, everything you'd expect of a Xbox One is still present. When I had previously asked whether the Xbox One S would ever arrive in black, I was told that Microsoft is always listening to feedback. So get voting on UserVoice if you want to see it!

Asked about the potential for airflow and heating problems, given that the power supply is now inside the console itself, Henshaw said that the Xbox One S has been tested through "millions of hours" to ensure airflow would be consistent. Considering the Red Ring of Death debacle of the Xbox 360, I'd expect Microsoft would go all out to avoid a repeat of that situation. The new Xbox One S also has a fixed internal hard drive, meaning you'll need to utilize the console's three USB ports to expand the storage.

The new Xbox One S controller has textured grips, similar to the Elite controller, but also features Bluetooth. The Bluetooth functionality will work with Windows 10 and 10 Mobile, but that it was up to developers to make use of the feature in their games. The Xbox One S controller also has improved range when compared to the current controllers, and Henshaw said there were no plans to launch an Xbox One Elite Controller with Bluetooth at this time.

Microsoft also gave us a closer look at the new Xbox Design Lab controllers, which allows users to customize the colors of the latest Xbox controller, and even engrave them with text. You can produce and order a custom design, or save your designs for later purchasing. While the Xbox Design Lab is initially launching just in North America, Henshaw if there were plans to take the design lab beyond North America, and he said the goal is to expand gradually to offer it globally.

Bright, social future

The additions of LFG, Xbox Play Anywhere, Arena, and Clubs exemplify Microsoft's push to turn Xbox Live into the most accessible social platform for gaming. Microsoft expects that even those who aren't traditionally console gamers might see the value in creating Clubs and LFG ads for PC games that fail to support those kinds of features natively. It's plainly obvious how connected games like The Division, Destiny, and Elite Dangerous will benefit massively from those social aspects.

From Arena and eSports to the six teraflop 'monster' Project Scorpio, Xbox is fully resurgent and on the offensive in the ever evolving console war. We'll have to wait and see to find out if those bets pay off.