Microsoft has revealed the details of Xbox One’s upcoming March update, while the February update hasn’t even been released yet. Console owners can expect to get more social with more aggressively tweaked online multiplayer features.
First off, Party Chat will be on by default. This is definitely something you need to know in advance. The audio will also be on by default.
Related to that, Party chat will have demarcations among different games. The default Party Chat you have on will be independent of whatever game you are playing. Likewise, different games will have different chats going. This way, you can choose to keep talking to friends or chime in with other players when you are in a game.
Your Friends List will be made easier to access. It will be at the forefront of the Friends app homepage, and easily accessible via the Social Tile from Home. You can also use the Kinect voice command ”Xbox, go to Friends.” You will then see who is available to talk and choose to send messages or start a Party Chat.
Microsoft is carrying over a feature from the Xbox 360, to invite friends to game. It will appear in the in-game menu, when you select “Invite Friends.”
Finally, there will be a new list called Recent Players. This will ease keeping in touch with frequent contacts, especially for online multiplayer games.
Microsoft is pushing online multiplayer hard for the Xbox One, and you may see it as either a positive or negative. If you’re in the latter camp, consider this fair warning that you will need to check those settings after that March update.
