November Xbox System Update Rolling Out For Series X/S And Xbox One

The Xbox Series X / Series S finally launched earlier this month to much fanfare, and Microsoft is already rolling out a major update for both these new consoles and the Xbox One. The November Xbox system update will bring some features that fans have requested, including more backgrounds, an auto HDR indicator, and the ability to pre-load games from Xbox Game Pass. The update is already available for some Xbox Series X owners, and it clocks in at 701 MB.

These dynamic backgrounds allow you to personalize your home screen with different colors or animations. The update will bring six new options, including several that are based on previous generations of Xbox consoles for that nostalgic rush. More backgrounds will be added in the future. The update also adds a new tag that lets users know when a game is using the console's Auto HDR feature. Auto HDR uses a specially-tuned algorithm that attempts to add HDR to older games that don't already have it. It's displayed in the upper right of the screen when you bring up the Guide menu, and not every game can harness it.

The system update introduces an "Optimized for Series X/S" badge to games that have been updated to take advantage of the platform's additional resources. Other minor additions include a Game Activity tab that tracks achievements--replacing the old Achievements tab--the ability to add family member accounts during setup, and the ability to pre-load games that are coming to Xbox Game Pass. Not all games are available for pre-install, but those that aren't can be queued to install first thing on day one using the Xbox Game Pass mobile app.

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