Xbox Fans Furious Over Game-Changing Dashboard Update

Highlights

Xbox fans are frustrated with the updated dashboard UI as it makes games and apps harder to find, shifting focus towards the store.

Fans expressed a desire for a more organized dashboard to display dynamic backgrounds. However, the updated UI now prominently features advertisements and a store button, resulting in frustration among many fans. Xbox recently implemented changes to its dashboard UI, initially undergoing extensive testing in late 2020. The updated UI, known for its sleek appearance, has gradually been made available to all users in the past few weeks. Notably, the previous significant update in late 2020 introduced rounded edges to the square game tiles.

With the launch of the Series X and S, Xbox's dynamic backgrounds became a highly sought-after customization feature. Fans expressed their desire for a less cluttered dashboard, allowing the new backgrounds to take center stage on the screen. The old UI posed multiple challenges, including the presence of space-consuming apps for Xbox's settings and store on the dashboard. Thankfully, the updated dashboard UI addresses these concerns by integrating the frequently used functions, such as the store and settings, without the need for separate apps. Additionally, the game tiles have been reduced in size along the bottom of the screen, allowing the player's backgrounds to truly shine.

While the updated UI brings several improvements, one aspect that remained unchanged is the placement of the My Games and Apps tile. Both the new and old UI feature the tile located directly below the leftmost, most recent game tile, providing convenient access to the player's game library. However, a user named elsid 156 on the Xbox Series X subreddit pointed out that their My Games and Apps tile had been replaced by a "Browse the store" tile.

Fans are understandably upset about this change as it appears that Xbox is prioritizing selling more games over providing easy access to players' owned titles. The altered dashboard now only has a small circle icon at the top of the screen for accessing games and apps, which leaves a negative impression on fans who are not interested in the Xbox store. Additionally, the presence of three large tiles dedicated to advertisements for Game Pass and other games adds to fans' dissatisfaction with the new UI update.

Although the new Xbox dashboard has an appealing appearance, its heavy focus on pushing players to make more purchases through ads and the replacement of the My Games and Apps feature with a large store tile is unlikely to win over fans. It is possible that this change is a temporary test, but considering Xbox's Insider program for testing, it seems unlikely. As the new dashboard update continues to be rolled out to Xbox owners, only time will tell if this new store tile will be a permanent addition.