Xbox just rolled out a brand new Gamerscore feature that fans may be disappointed to find doesn’t include the one thing they have been asking for since 2008. Xbox’s new system may be a neat new way for fans to show off what their Gamerscore accumulation looks like, but it’s certainly no platinum trophy.
Xbox achievements were introduced in 2005 with the Xbox 360, and with them came the Xbox Gamerscore system, which massively altered how fans interacted with games. The system proved so popular among Xbox owners that Valve, Sony, and even Apple eventually integrated achievements into their own platforms, each with a different twist on the concept. PlayStation’s illustrious Platinum Trophy, which is awarded to fans who collect every trophy in any one game, has long been the envy of many players. Xbox shows when a game has been 100% completed, but there’s no associated achievement, and 100% status can be lost if achievements are added to the game later.
Xbox Achievements Are Getting a Change, But Not the One We’ve Been Asking For
Xbox’s new Cloud Gaming interface makes a noticeable change to the Achievement system, though it’s not the one gamers may be hoping for.
Xbox’s Gamerscore Badges Are Nice, but Fans Really Want Just One Thing
Microsoft’s latest update to Xbox’s achievement system comes in the form of a tiered Gamerscore-tracking system, which rewards players with a badge at certain milestones. As detailed in the latest Xbox Wire post, the badges start small, with one at every few thousand Gamerscore, up to the last tier, which requires a whopping 10 million Gamerscore and features a badge adorned with embellishments. So far, no one has reached 10 million Gamerscore, but a dedicated few have accumulated an impressive 8.5 million apiece and continue to climb. As of now, the badges cap out at 10 million Gamerscore, and it seems unlikely that Xbox will need anything past that any time soon. What’s more, Xbox Insiders can deck out their profiles with these new badges right away.
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
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Additionally, this console update for Xbox Insiders introduces a refreshed boot-up experience, featuring an animation and sound with the new Xbox logo. Fans can also expect to find a “Game Access” filter that lets them see which games they own, which are shared with them, and which games are installed on their Xbox but no longer accessible. These features should be particularly handy for any fans who still have games installed that have left Xbox Game Pass.
This update comes a month after Xbox’s previous patch that gave achievements a shiny new look, but it may still leave some gamers wanting more. It’s hard to ignore how much gamers like the PlayStation’s platinum trophy and how much Xbox fans have been asking for a similar feature. What’s most frustrating about Xbox’s current achievement system is that gamers can go through all the trouble of getting 100% in a game, only for it to be ruined once post-launch DLC adds new achievements. Platinum trophies don’t have that limitation by comparison. To make matters worse, even Xbox-published games on PS5 have a platinum trophy.
Xbox fans are still awaiting some sort of new status symbol to indicate that, at some point in time, a game was completed to its fullest, and for now, it is not there. But that doesn’t mean that this update to Xbox’s Gamerscore system isn’t neat in some regards. At the end of the day, trophies, Gamerscore, and achievements just but measure a fan’s dedication to a game, mostly for the sake of bragging rights. When that’s the case, it’s always nice to have a new way to show off all those earned trophies or Gamerscore to other gamers and friends.
