Xbox app on Windows PC updated with new features and accessibility options

Screenshot of the Xbox app with the May 2023 update, showing the "at-a-glance" pop-out menu for social features.
(Image credit: Xbox)

What you need to know

  • The Xbox app is the best way for Windows PC gamers to access all the PC games in the Microsoft Store and on PC Game Pass.
  • On Wednesday, Xbox announced the latest content update for the Xbox app with new features and improvements.
  • Game discoverability is improving with updated game cards, new filter options, and unique game collections.
  • There's also a new dedicated accessibility settings menu and new options, and ways to pop out social features in "at-a-glance" windows.

Microsoft's official Xbox app is the company's window into the Xbox ecosystem on Windows PCs, and it has slowly evolved over time with new features and improvements. On Wednesday, Xbox is closing out the month of May with a new update for the Xbox app.

Shared via Xbox Wire, the Xbox App's May 2023 update is rolling out now to PC gamers with a host of improvements to discoverability, accessibility, and more. It's not a dramatic redesign, but these changes are welcome to see and should make the Xbox app just a little bit better. In case you missed it, the wider Xbox May Update also released earlier this month.

To begin, the Xbox app is getting updated game cards across the entire app, which do a better job surfacing important information like the publisher, pricing information, Xbox Game Pass dates, and even how long a game might take to beat. There are also new filter options for accessibility tags, game ratings, and game lengths. Finally, Xbox will begin releasing new curated game collections based on different criteria to help discoverability for the best Xbox games, such as collections of short or long games.

Elsewhere, the Xbox app is getting a new dedicated section in settings for accessibility options, as well as new accessibility features to help make the app more useable for players. Finally, the Xbox app is adding the option to pop-out different social features like friends lists or message threads into a separate window that you can move independently from the main Xbox app.

Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.