For passionate Xbox fans that play a wide variety of different games on console, PC, and Xbox Ally, one of the ecosystem’s most valuable features is Achievements. Unlocking a game’s achievements is a way for players to display their passion for and mastery of the title in question, and racking up a high total Gamerscore from earning achievements across lots of games gives fans something to show off, too.
Achievements have been a core part of the Xbox experience since the Xbox 360 days two decades ago, but throughout that time, they’ve been updated very little, and fans have wanted the Achievements system to get an overhaul of some sort for years. And at long last, one is finally coming.
Microsoft announced a series of improvements being made to Achievements on Wednesday morning, with select Xbox Insider Program members able to test them now. The firm says these enhancements will gradually roll out to additional Xbox Insiders over time, with “broader availability coming later to all players.”
So, what’s new? Well, the core of the revamp is a complete visual refresh for unlocking Achievements that includes new icons and animations for “classic” and “rare” accomplishments. Notably, these will also match your chosen custom color for your Xbox user interface, which is another feature Microsoft is testing with the Xbox Insider Program right now. You can see an example of how all of this will look below.
On top of that, two new features are coming to the Achievements system as well. The first is the ability to hide games from your Achievements List if you want to, which may come in handy if you want a cleaner look for your profile that only shows the games you care most about or if, for whatever reason, you earned achievements in a game you’d rather people didn’t know you’ve played.
Note that “hidden games will still count towards your total Gamerscore and your activity in these games will still be reported across Xbox.”
Secondly, any 100% completed games you’ve earned all available Achievements in will be highlighted in your Achievements list, which Microsoft says “gives you a quick, at-a-glance way to celebrate full completion.” The list is also being given new filter options to make finding games you’ve unlocked all Achievements for easier.
Overall, this is a nice revamp with several new visuals and quality-of-life improvements, but there’s further good news: more is on the way. Xbox devs have noted that this update “is one of our first steps,” so players can look forward to further additions and enhancements in the future.
“This is a small but meaningful step in a broader set of improvements we’re making to Achievements,” wrote the Xbox team. “We’re continuing to explore new ways to recognize completion and milestone moments over time, and this update is one of our first steps towards celebrating those moments.”
This was further confirmed by the new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma in a social media post: “We stood up a dedicated team to focus on fan feedback. Here are a few Achievements updates rolling out today, more coming soon.”
💬How much do Achievements matter to you?
It’s awesome to finally see Xbox’s Achievements system get some major upgrades, and it’s exciting to know that more are coming in the future as well. Achievements are something many Xbox gamers engage with passionately, after all, so they were more than deserving of some love from the platform’s developers.
Are Xbox Achievements important to you, or do you not really care about them? I’m curious to hear your take, so share it with me in the comments, and vote in our poll as well.
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