Microsoft makes the Xbox app on Windows PC much better with a new feature it's been missing since release

Xbox app on Windows.

What you need to know

• Microsoft has introduced a new feature for the Xbox app on Windows called "Home." As the name suggests, it's a Home screen for the software.
• The menu shows featured game releases and Game Pass additions, and events, along with headings for top game deals currently available and a curated list of games suggested to you based on what you've played previously.
• In the gaming handheld-friendly Compact Mode, Home also displays games you've recently played so you can quickly start playing them again when you're ready to.
• The new Home menu is only available to Xbox Insiders for now, though signing up for the Xbox Insider Program and its PC Gaming Preview is very easy and free. An explanation and relevant links can be found in the text below.
• The Xbox app has been criticized for years for poor performance, clunky menu navigation, and other issues, but this update represents Microsoft's latest efforts to make it software that PC players will like using.

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Since its introduction a few years ago, Microsoft's official Xbox app for Windows has garnered quite the controversial reputation. Though it serves as a place to find new Xbox and Xbox Game Pass titles available on PC well enough, users frequently complain about slow performance, bugs that cause problems when installing games, and having to dig through lots of menus to find exactly what you're looking for. Over time, Microsoft has worked to address these issues with updates and additions, and today, it's implemented a new feature for the app: a "Home experience."

The Xbox app's Home menu is similar to the Xbox dashboard on Microsoft's consoles, and is honestly something the program should have had at release. There's a section of featured content that displays new game launches, Game Pass additions, and special events, along with headings for the best game deals available as well as a curated list of titles the app's algorithms think you'll enjoy based on what you've played previously. On top of that, Home also shows tiles of recently played games in the gaming handheld-friendly Compact Mode and lets you quickly jump back into them with something Microsoft fittingly calls "Jump back in."

"We’ve listened to your feedback and have been testing different designs internally over the last several months," wrote Xbox Experiences project manager lead Tila Nguyen in Home's announcement post on Xbox Wire. "Our goal is to create a unified Home experience that combines the best and latest content from both the Game Pass and Microsoft Store tabs, so you can easily find what you love without having to jump between tabs."

In Compact Mode, the Home screen shows tiles for games you've recently played so you can jump back in quickly. (Image credit: Microsoft)

Notably, the Home menu is only available to Xbox Insiders right now since it's being tested, though signing up for the program is free and only requires downloading the Xbox Insider Hub app from the Microsoft Store on Windows. Also, since it's rolling out to all Xbox Insiders today, you'll be able to use Home right away as long as you enroll in the PC Gaming Preview within the Xbox Insider Hub — even if you're a brand new Xbox Insider.

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Microsoft hasn't yet said when PC gamers can expect the new Home experience to release for everyone, but historically, new features are fully added a few months after their initial introduction in testing. Given that the menu has been made available to all Xbox Insiders immediately, though, I wouldn't be surprised if it launched even sooner.

While it's being tested, the company has created a short survey for users to fill out with feedback once they've checked out the Home screen and what it has to offer. It's also encouraged fans to post on the official Xbox Insiders subreddit if they're having an issue with the menu, and also report any encountered problems directly through Xbox Support channels.

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The Home menu will show you some of the best PC game deals currently available through the Xbox app. (Image credit: Microsoft)

It's great to see the Xbox app finally get a proper Home tab, though I haven't been able to use it myself yet as the update that adds it for Insiders is still coming out in waves. Still, this is a big step in Microsoft's plan to transform the Xbox app into a piece of software that PC and PC Game Pass players actually like using, and I hope it proves to be as good as it looks in the preview images.

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We've written about the Xbox app's shortcomings before, but it's genuinely gotten pretty good in the last year or two, with significant updates streamlining its design, taking care of some problematic bugs, speeding up its performance, and stopping it from annoyingly hogging system resources. The introduction of this Home experience is long overdue, but nevertheless, it's another major improvement I'm happy to see come through the pipeline.