Microsoft Tackles Xbox PC App Bloat With 60% Faster Launch Times

Microsoft continues to refine the Xbox experience as it aims to provide a familiar interface for gamers regardless of what platform a player happens to be using. It’s an effort that began earlier this year with the refresh of the Xbox Cloud Gaming user interface that first rolled out to Xbox Insiders. Clearly the company has worked on more than just UI improvements, as the firm now says that the Xbox PC app is set to become much faster.

The House of Windows says it has put in serious work to improve the Xbox PC app, making "everyday actions faster and easier." It means the app will be more responsive when players launch a game, which will now be up to 60% faster, while navigating to different sections of the app (such as the Store or the Game Pass page) will apparently happen up to 50% faster. Additionally, in-app windows will open up to 65% faster. Taken together, these improvements should make jumping into the next game a smoother process.


While gamers will appreciate the speed boost, there are other quality of life improvements on the way as well. Finding games in your library will be easier with the addition of new filters and organizations options. Plus, search will now bring in results from across the entirety of Xbox, including games, DLC and people. Connecting with those people will be easier than ever, too, as social features become part of the main navigation.

Meanwhile, the updated Xbox Cloud gaming interface, which Microsoft says brings the web experience closer to what players see when using an Xbox console, is going to be more widely available. Up until now, users would have to go digging through the settings menu to enable this new interface, but soon it's going to take over as the default experience, saving users from this hassle. No word on whether players who prefer the current experience will be able to stick with it, though.

In any case, it's great to see Microsoft putting its best foot forward in improving both its app and web experience, which is a refreshing change of pace compared to the lengthy social media posts others in the space opt for instead.