Microsoft Admits its Experimental Xbox Home UI Needs More Work

Microsoft has acknowledged that the redesigned Xbox Home UI it’s been testing for a couple of months hasn’t been resonating with Xbox Insiders. The experimental UI did give more room to recent games and system apps like Settings, Store, and My Games and Apps, but the result was probably a bit too busy.

“We heard from you that the changes to the top of Home did not leave enough space for you to enjoy your backgrounds and that it felt crowded. We’re working to balance the experience, accessibility, function, and the needs of our community and bring you a great and refreshed Home experience,” said Ivy Krislov, Senior Product Manager Lead, Xbox Experiences.

After listening to feedback, Microsoft has decided to bring back the regular Xbox Home dashboard to Xbox Insiders on the Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings that were testing the new experimental UI. “Your previous customized settings and backgrounds from Home will revert to what they were prior to the experiments, and we’ll save your “new Home” settings,” Krislox explained.

While the Xbox team will continue to work on a “refreshed Home experience,” it’s not clear yet what’s going to change. Microsoft is now used to updating the Xbox dashboard quite regularly, even though many gamers are probably in the “if it ain’t broken don’t fix it” camp.

Do you think the Xbox dashboard needs to be refreshed (again)? Or would you prefer Microsoft to focus on other things? Sound off in the comments below.