Microsoft rolls out Xbox One update ahead of Titanfall launch
The update includes improved matchmaking, party chat, and friends features.
Microsoft has begun rolling out its Xbox One update for March, ahead of the planned release next week of Titanfall, the highly anticipated first-person shooter game.
Detailed in February, the update adds new features and fixes issues related to the Xbox One's party and multiplayer features. The goal of the update is to prepare the game console for the release of Titanfall, an online, multiplayer game that will launch on March 11.
The interface's revamp includes improved matchmaking, party chat, and friends features, according to a Microsoft blog post Tuesday evening. The user's friends list has been moved to the center of the Friends app's homepage. Chat audio will turn on by default when a player engages with parties, and the update will allow players to chat with other players even if they aren't currently playing the same game.
In addition to options to invite friends to play and see a list of Xbox Live members the user has played games with recently, the update adds support for live streaming on the game-streaming app Twitch, 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, and 50Hz output to Xbox One.
The update also addresses a host of general improvements such as volume control, notifications of Xbox Live messages through SmartGlass, and support for Xbox One accessories.
Titanfall is arguably the most anticipated game to hit store shelves since the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 launched late last year. The first launch from Respawn Entertainment, the game is being published by Electronic Arts exclusively for Microsoft and will launch on Windows and Xbox One on March 11. It will make its way to the Xbox 360 on March 25.