With the Xbox Series X console launch looming ever nearer – not to mention that of the PS5, another new console you may have heard of – Microsoft is taking no prisoners. It's announced a new Xbox Store, to bring the retail pain in the latest round of Xbox Series X versus PS5. It's like a big punch-up between two men, only the men are actually boxes of electronics that you can play games on!
- Samsung Galaxy Note 20 gets ULTIMATE feature for Xbox Series X gamers 🎮
- Xbox Series X dishes out another blow to PS5 🥊
This is no mere makeover; Microsoft says it has rebuilt the Xbox Store from scratch. The electronics giant proclaimed on its blog that the Xbox Store is now 'faster, safer, and easier to use than ever before.'
The new Xbox Store will also include a seamless and structured navigation system that includes tabs for major components and provides seamless access to sub-categories such as subscriptions, new games, deals, coming soon, and more.
Further features include a revamped wish list, redesigned search engine, 'Recently viewed', showing games you have 'recently viewed', logically enough, and an updated shopping cart which makes adding new games to your cart easier than ever.
Regarding speed, according to Microsoft, the new store is twice as fast as the current version, loading in two seconds or less.
Security is one of Microsoft's top priorities with the new Xbox Store, which is no surprise. You will now not be able to engage in any activity before logging in to your account – that's mainly in order to ensure nobody sees anything that's not age appropriate. Naturally, the new store has parental controls, letting parents choose what is appropriate content for their kids.
The first beta of the new Xbox Store is available now for select Xbox Insiders, and will gradually roll out to the rest, before becoming widely available to all Xbox One users, followed by Xbox Series X owners when the new console launches in the autumn.
