Goodbye Groove Music: New Media Player rolls out to Windows 11

Media Player Windows (Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

The new Media Player is rolling out to Windows 11.
Microsoft started testing the updated Media Player app with Insiders in November 2021.
The app supports browsing and playing music and video files.

To start off the new year, Microsoft is shipping the new Media Player app to some PCs running Windows 11. The app replaces Groove Music and is the successor to the legacy Windows Media Player app ,the latter of which is still available from Microsoft.

To get the new Media Player, your PC needs to be on Windows 11 Build 22000.346 or later. Even if you're running the latest build of Windows 11, you may not see the Media Player app at the moment. TechRadar reports that the app is rolling out gradually and that it may take some time to reach everyone.

The new Media Player app has a modern look that aligns with Windows 11. It also supports HDR for videos and album art and artist imagery for music. You can expand the app to full screen mode or compact it to control content through a mini player.

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Media Player Windows 11 — Source: Microsoft (Image credit: Source: Microsoft)

We have a complete guide on how to get started with the Media Player on Windows 11, including steps on how to manage playlists and how to edit track and album information.

If you use Groove Music, your library and playlists will move over to the new Media Player. While the new Media Player supports video, Microsoft's Movies & TV app (known as Films & TV in some regions) will remain available. Both the new Media Player and the Movies & TV app can play local content, but the Movies & TV app can also stream videos purchased through the Microsoft Store.

Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.

He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.

Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.