New Xbox PC app claims 60% faster launch times and UX improvements

Epic Games’ recent proclamation of significantly faster launch times on its new ambient-coded Epic Games launcher, followed by a Steam update bringing similar performance improvements, appears to have inspired Microsoft’s Xbox to work to improve its Xbox app for PC, with a new announcement making several claims about improved performance.

Although claims for the new Xbox app for PC are more ambiguous, with no claimed startup times or testing data provided, Microsoft says the new Xbox app launches up to 60% faster, while home, store, and Game Pass pages load up to 50% faster, and app windows launch 65% faster. Perhaps more important than the performance improvements, however, Xbox has streamlined the app, with “simpler navigation, updated filters, and new ways to organize your games,” in addition to a more visible location for the Friends tab, a broader search that covers installed games, add-ons, and people, as well as a cleaner aesthetic that “makes the app easier to scan and navigate.”

At the moment, these improvements are being tested in the Xbox Insiders program, but Xbox says it will roll out the visual and UX changes to the Xbox Web Experience and update the experience for a variety of other devices, like TVs and VR headsets. Barring any major issues during the testing phase, the new Xbox App UX should be rolled out to a wider audience in the coming months.

XBOX Insiders will start to see improvements in the XBOX PC app designed to make everyday actions faster and easier: