Big changes have been happening at Xbox over the last couple of months–from Xbox Game Pass price modifications to an all-caps rebranding–and Microsoft’s gaming division is now looking to hear directly from its users with the launch of the Xbox Player Voice.
Essentially a hangout for gamers to voice their thoughts and ideas, the Xbox Player Voice is a Reddit-like forum for comments that users can vote on so that its visibility is boosted. Teams analyze feedback and ideas that could potentially be implemented in the Xbox ecosystem, but Microsoft did stress that not every idea will make the cut.
“We want to be clear: this doesn’t mean every piece of feedback will turn into a feature or result in a change,” Microsoft wrote. “Building across a large, global platform means weighing a lot of inputs. But better visibility helps close the gap between what you tell us and what you see happen next on Xbox.”
So what are the top suggestions so far? Right at the top of the list is one simple “EXCLUSIVES” topic, which has earned over 8,000 upvotes at the time of writing. It’s debatable if traditional Xbox exclusives could make a return, as several of its first-party games are performing very well on PS5. Microsoft currently rolls out timed exclusives to PS5, allowing its Xbox and PC userbase to play its new games first.
It’s worth noting that Sony is reportedly looking at keeping its single-player games exclusive to PS5 for now. New Microsoft Gaming boss Asha Sharma has also addressed Microsoft’s controversial multiplatform strategy, saying that they’re trying to make “the right decision, not the fastest decision.”
Users also want to see the Xbox backward compatibility program resurrected (6,059 upvotes), free online multiplayer (5,832 upvotes), and further improvements to Xbox achievements (3,417). Other interesting topics include the idea of an Xbox Game Pass family plan and a plea for the company’s upcoming Project Helix next-gen console to support physical games still. Xbox avatars are another hot topic, as user Christian Farrell remarked on how these digital personas gave the Xbox 360 generation a unique identity.
Other recent changes to Xbox hardware include the console’s new bootup animation that features the brand’s greener logo and an overhaul of Gamerscore badges.
