Xbox App for Windows is making PC gaming more accessible

Date:
Thu, 01 Jun 2023 16:14:14 +0000

Description:
New Xbox App puts accessibility front and center and helps you find the
games you want to play.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Microsoft has just powered up the Xbox App for Windows in a new update that brings in a lot of useful changes, on the accessibility front for starters, and also with game cards, better filtering for your games library to find
what you want, and more.

Windows Central reports that the May update for the Xbox App on PC is now out, reworking accessibility settings to make them more, well, accessible, bringing all these options together in a new menu. (Image credit: Microsoft)

Essentially, this acts as a one-stop-shop hub where you can access accessibility settings for the Xbox app for example, disabling animations or background images (those are actually two new features designed to remove
what might be unnecessary distractions for some folks). Also, the menu offers convenient shortcuts to other accessibility options (for Windows in general, for instance, or the Xbox Game Bar ).

Another significant change has been introduced for game cards, which offer up more info. So you can now see at a glance how long a game takes to finish (typically), details on pricing, and relevant info on when the title is
coming to Game Pass (or indeed being dropped). (Image credit: Microsoft)

There are also new options to filter your game library, so for example, its possible to look for games you can beat in a few hours (under five) if you just want a quick fix for your next venture into PC gaming. Its also possible to sort games via accessibility features, too.

Microsoft has implemented tweaks on the social side for the Xbox App, too, allowing you to pop out your friends list (or a chat) into a separate window. If you have two desktops going, you can have a game running full-screen in one, and your social stuff popped onto the other. (Image credit: Microsoft) Analysis: Impressive steps forward

Theres some very useful stuff added here, with the extra details on game cards, and additional filter options likely to prove very handy (especially the idea of looking for quick fix games, or indeed the opposite end of the spectrum games that will consume your life for the next month or three, perhaps). Note that the estimations of game lengths are drawn from a website (HowLongToBeat.com).

Furthermore, Microsoft continues to put its best foot forward with further efforts on the accessibility front. Weve seen a lot of such work in Windows
11 at a broader level with lots of progress with Voice Access in particular of late ( courtesy of the Moment 3 update ) and its great to see this happening on the gaming side of the equation in the OS, too.

As a final note, one thing PC gamers might have missed is that Windows 11s live captions work in games, too and the feature does a pretty good job for those titles which dont have native captions.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/xbox-app-for-windows-is-making-pc-gaming-more-a ccessible


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)