Microsoft is updating the Xbox mobile app on iOS and Android to let you share your gaming moments in the form of Snapchat-style stories, the company has announced†Gameplay clips, screenshots, and achievements are all compatible with the new sharing format, which can be accessed by tapping the “+” button next to your gamertag on the Xbox app home screen. Content will then be shown on your profile for 72 hours. New network management features are also coming to Xbox.
Stories were all the rage a few years ago, with everyone from Instagram to LinkedIn and Spotify imitating the format in their respective apps. While the trend seems to have abated lately with the shift in focus to TikTok-style scrolling feeds, I can see how the Stories format makes sense here: video games are a visual medium and stories are a fun way to display images. full screen. That said, it’s a little inconvenient to see a landscape video taking up such a small slice of a portrait phone screen in the above images from Microsoft.
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In addition to the new Xbox app feature, Microsoft has also announced a new Quality of Service (QoS) tagging feature on Xbox consoles. It is designed to prioritize traffic prone to network congestion, such as multiplayer gaming or party chat, and can be accessed in the Advanced section of the Network Settings menu. However, Microsoft’s support page says the feature must be supported by your home router or ISP network, and warns that it may cause problems with some networks.
Microsoft’s announcement message says the Stories feature is now live in Australia and will be coming to more regions “soon”.