Custom Gamerpics are Finally Coming to Xbox

Custom Gamerpics are Finally Coming to Xbox

Microsoft announced today that custom gamerpics will be coming to Xbox this year. This and several other features will soon be available for testing by select Xbox Insiders.

“Starting this month, several fan-inspired feature updates will begin to roll out to select Xbox Insider members,” a Microsoft representative told me. “With this update, gamers will be able to upload their own custom Gamerpics and Clubs images on Xbox Live, use the new ‘Join broadcast’ button in their profile to access game streams, and see new relevant stats about players interested in joining their Looking for Group party.”

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Here’s a rundown of what’s coming.

Custom gamerpics. Xbox users on Xbox One, Windows 10, or mobile (which I assume includes Android and iOS via the Xbox app) will be able to change their gamerpic to a custom image. This is perhaps the most-often-requested Xbox feature ever.

Join Broadcast. A new Join Broadcast button in your profile view will let you join a (Beam, I assume) broadcast you’re viewing.

Activity Feed improvements. Now, you can hide individual posts in your feed, pin posts to the top of your feed, and filter posts by friends, games or Clubs.

Games and Apps improvements. In the My Games and Apps view, you can (finally!) filter your game library by platform, meaning by Xbox One and Xbox 360.

Arena improvements. World of Tanks is coming to Arena on Xbox One and arena discoverability is improving on Windows 10 and Xbox One. Also, Your profile will display your Arena tournament history and upcoming tournaments.

Clubs and Looking for Group (LFG). There are various improvements to Clubs and Looking for Group (LFG), check out the Microsoft post for more info.

As always, availability remains a raw spot for Xbox enthusiasts as Microsoft keeps selectively providing new features first to a select small group. These people will see the new features “over the next few weeks,” but it’s not clear when anyone else will.

 

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Conversation 12 comments

  • maethorechannen

    Premium Member
    20 March, 2017 - 2:13 pm

    <p>"feature updates will begin to roll out to select Xbox Insider members"</p><p><br></p><p>Any word on any new features at all coming to the Hoi Polloi?&nbsp; Because I'm getting kind of tired of hearing about all these great new features coming to "select Xbox Insiders" while people on the main release barely get anything at all, ever. </p><p><br></p><p>It's like the Insider Programme isn't a beta programme but a caste system.</p>

    • Ukumio

      Premium Member
      20 March, 2017 - 4:28 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#91948"><em>In reply to maethorechannen:</em></a></blockquote><p>When they vast majority (if not all the features) are stable. There are still features that are causing crashes or unstable in other ways. It seems that the days of monthly updates to the public are over, but that's not because they've stopped developing new features but rather because the new features are getting more complicated.</p><p><br></p><p>Being an insider isn't to give them these features early, but rather to have them test it and make sure its stable for the millions of Xbox owners. Feel free to join the insider program, but expect occasional crashes and a constant feeling of wanting to just return to the public build.</p>

      • maethorechannen

        Premium Member
        21 March, 2017 - 5:35 am

        <blockquote><a href="#91994"><em>In reply to Ukumio:</em></a></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Seeing as I've had my Xbox One become unusable after a system update, I'm not convinced by the "we're waiting for the features to be stable" argument. It's never stable.&nbsp;The way it looks to me, the Xbox team are more interested in getting features out to an elect&nbsp;set of "thought leaders"&nbsp;in order to generate buzz for the Xbox than they are in overall platform stability. And it's still an elect set – the Update Preview is still very much closed and even the Insider Programme has opaque levels of participation.</p><p><br></p><p>Microsoft&nbsp;needs to do a much, much&nbsp;better job of handling feature announcements,&nbsp;at the very least. Even something as simple as an indication of when a feature is going to go&nbsp;public when they announce the feature would be a start&nbsp;(if they're happy enough to make big game announcements at E3 only to kill the games down the road then they should be happy to do this with features). Because this "here's some cool new feature you plebs may one day&nbsp;get" (or not, like the DVR capability) thing is extremely annoying.</p>

  • adamcorbally

    20 March, 2017 - 2:50 pm

    <p>But will it fix Xbox's biggest problem? Or windows 10's for that matter?</p>

    • Ukumio

      Premium Member
      20 March, 2017 - 4:23 pm

      <blockquote><a href="#91951"><em>In reply to adamcorbally:</em></a></blockquote><p>Did you want to give any examples? Particularly on the Xbox side.</p><p><br></p><p>The only problem I can think are is that in My Games and Apps it takes ages to load up the Games/Apps I can install.</p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      20 March, 2017 - 4:56 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#91951">In reply to adamcorbally:</a></em></blockquote><p>Yes. They're adding the ability for Windows to bring top quality prescriptions into your home for pennies on the dollar!</p>

    • Darmok N Jalad

      20 March, 2017 - 8:40 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#91951">In reply to adamcorbally:</a></em></blockquote><p>Scorpio will fix the performance deficit issue, and granted, Xbox has some weird bugs that leave me scratching my head. Like when I load a disc and it auto-starts the game and then says there's no disc. So I have to eject and reload the disc and it works on the second try.</p><p><br></p><p>Otherwise I tend to side with MS when it comes to the online services. </p>

      • Paul Thurrott

        Premium Member
        21 March, 2017 - 8:36 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#92046">In reply to Darmok N Jalad:</a></em></blockquote><p>I think we're early enough in the process where saying that Scorpio "will" do anything is a bit premature. Let's see what they do.</p>

  • Manteno

    23 March, 2017 - 10:21 am

    <p>RE: Custom Gamerpics are Finally Coming to Xbox.</p><p>Great, now Call of Duty isn't the only place I'm going to be forced to&nbsp;see cartoon penises.</p>

  • Minok

    12 April, 2017 - 7:13 pm

    <p>Oh look it comes in under the Xbox360 category… only because its flagged as "not for the 360" I assume? Oh no… there is the my games filter thatsirrelevant to 360 users. The beauty of auto-tagging rather than curation. This is all good stuff for those with an Xbox One, but pointless for folks with 360's.</p>

  • ThatOneNerd

    19 July, 2017 - 2:21 am

    <p>hi</p>

  • technoworld

    14 October, 2017 - 2:41 am

    <p>Its a Good News However I've came upon a site. In they have written "How to play Xbox 360 Games on PC <a href="https://ourtechnoworld.com/how-to-play-xbox-360-games-on-pc/&quot; target="_blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Here</a> is the Link."</p>

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