Xbox One Will Get Two System Updates in the Next Month, Says Chief Product Officer

Xbox One owners — your console is set to improve in the coming month. According to a post from Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer, Marc Whitten, two system updates are on the way for Microsoft’s shiny new console; one on February 11, and the other on March 4.

I’ve been an Xbox One owner since the beginning of December and, while there are a lot of new bells and whistles packed into Microsoft’s next-generation console, it falls short in some areas.

One major gripe from gamers has been the fact that you can’t see how much storage space you’re using on the hard drive. When game installs are mandatory — as they are on the Xbox One — knowing how much space you have is important. It could mean the difference between being able to install and play a game without issue, or having to uninstall a title from your library.

Kinect commands are also hit or miss, at times. I use the “Xbox On” and “Xbox Turn Off” commands frequently and I usually have to say them two or three times before they take. Kinect also misunderstands what I say about a quarter of the time when trying to switch between TV channels, though it seems to do okay with app names and game titles.

These issues will be addressed in the February 11 update, which will also add a controller battery life indicator to the home screen and USB keyboard support. Games will also be split out of the “My Games & Apps” section on the home screen and put into their own category — no more scrolling past a bunch of apps to get to the game you want. Whitten says, “These are just a few of the many updates we will be shipping on February 11,” so expect some smaller updates and fixes we haven’t mentioned here.

The second update will try to fix another issue gamers have with the Xbox One: Xbox Live. The Xbox 360 operating system was refined over several years, no doubt, but Microsoft nailed Live on that system almost instantly. It felt like a core part of the OS and the center of the Xbox experience. On the Xbox One, it just feels like another app. Whitten states in his post that, for the March 4 update, Microsoft “will be shipping a new party and multiplayer system,” which I hope is the overhaul that Live so desperately needs for the One. We’ll see next month.

Any other improvements you’d like Microsoft to make for the Xbox One? Share your wish list below.