Microsoft has offered a glimpse at what next month’s Xbox One system update will introduce, and the most notable feature is what it calls “Achievement Snap.”
This feature, which was teased during a pre-E3 event on Monday, adds support for something that has always seemed like a natural use of Snap mode: tracking achievements. While you’re playing, you’ll be able to easily see the number of achievements (and accompanying gamerscore) you’ve unlocked in that game, as well as the progress you’ve made on individual achievements.
By default, achievements will be sorted by how close you are to unlocking them and will update in real time as you play. Alternatively, you can choose to pin specific achievements to the top that you’re hoping to complete. And, should you have any trouble doing so, each achievement will offer a button you can press to easily search the web (with Bing, of course) for help.
Also added in the update is a new way to control Snap mode. If you don’t already have anything snapped, double tapping the Xbox button will bring up “Snap Center,” allowing you to choose from a list of apps that can be snapped. If you do already have an app snapped, double tapping will work as it does now, switching the focus back and forth between that app and whatever is in the center of the screen.
Expanding the system’s social features, recorded game clips can now be “Liked.” From SmartGlass, you’ll also be able to Like any item in your activity feed.
Two other small additions will be made in July. The first is the ability to choose your voice control language in New Zealand, Ireland, and Austria, allowing English and German speakers in those countries to select from these two languages.
The other is support for “future digital bundles and compilation discs.” Xbox Wire describes this as such: “We’re doing some work now so that publishers will have options for great digital bundle and disc compilation offerings in the future. As we test this feature, we’ll be seeing more flexible combinations of game titles and game content.”
A launch date for the update was not announced; we only know that it’ll officially be out in July, or sometime in the next few days for those who opt to get updates early. (This month’s update launched last week and added support for external storage devices and a way to use your real name on Xbox Live.) In the meantime, if you have any ideas you’d like to see implemented in a future update, Microsoft launched the Xbox Feedback website this week, allowing fans to submit and vote on ideas for Xbox One and Xbox 360.
| Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheSmokingManX |
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