Xbox One March update

The February Xbox One system update was supposed to hit on Tuesday, but it sounds like there were some unexpected delays. According to Microsoft’s Major Nelson, it will still be coming “sometime this week”, although exactly when is unclear. As we originally reported a couple of weeks ago, the update is set to bring a number of improvements, including storage and download management, controller battery power indicators, and the ability to plug in a USB keyboard.

Some sources are reporting that the February update will also feature some changes to controller input. The controller improvements will be coming in the midst of the Titanfall beta, which is no coincidence – the team at Respawn specifically requested the changes because they didn’t like how the joysticks reacted. According to Titanfall lead designer Justin Hendry, “It wasn’t really where we felt it should be; it was a little overly twitchy with the current controls. Now it’s fixed. We’re happy with it.” Obviously, Titanfall is a huge property for Microsoft, and they are doing their best to support it.

While the February updates sound interesting, March seems to be where the changes with the greatest impact are coming. One of the major complaints about the current Xbox One system is that the social features are a major downgrade from the Xbox 360. It sounds like Microsoft has taken that input to heart. In an Xbox Wire post on Tuesday, Marc Whitten outlined some sweeping changes to the ways you’ll be able to interact with your friends:

  • Faster access to the friends list.
  • Party chat will be turned on by default.
  • Chat with friends playing different games.
  • Adding “Invite friends to game” option in multiplayer titles.
  • Adding “Recent Players.”

The March update is scheduled to hit before Titanfall‘s March 11 release. Supposedly there will be more than just updates to the social features, but we’re guessing a lot of people will be excited for these in particular.

Sources: Major Nelson, Eurogamer, Xbox Wire