Microsoft is Sunsetting its UWP Xbox Console Companion App

The UWP-based Xbox Console Companion app that’s been around since the launch of Windows 10 is about to be sent to the Microsoft graveyard. In an update to an official support page spotted by Gamerant, the company explained that the app will be deprecated on August 28, 2023.

“On July 28, 2023, we announced that the Xbox Console Companion app on Windows would be deprecated on August 28, 2023. If you were impacted by this and are looking for ways to continue to engage with Xbox games, services, and communities on your Windows device, the Xbox app for Windows will keep you connected to all things Xbox and gaming on your Windows device,” Microsoft explained.

Just like Microsoft’s UWP-based Windows Mail and Calendar apps, which will be replaced by the new Outlook for Windows in 2024, the Xbox Console Companion app hasn’t been updated in years. It’s been replaced by the new Xbox app for Windows, which provides access to PC Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, as well as Microsoft’s PC games on the Microsoft Store.

As of today, the Xbox Console Companion app still offers a couple of social features that the newer Xbox app for Windows lacks, such as the Xbox newsfeed and Xbox Live Clubs. However, support for Xbox messages, Party Chat, and Looking for Groups has been removed a couple of years ago.

As Microsoft started moving away from Windows 10 UWP apps a couple of years, it’s no surprise that the Xbox Console Companion had to go away at some point. However, if the combination of Microsoft’s new Xbox app for Windows and the Xbox Game Bar is much better than the Xbox Console Companion app ever was, a game launcher like Steam still remains far ahead in terms of usability and reliability.