Microsoft is sharing several new gaming updates for Xbox in March, including a new look for the Game Bar on PC, a new Cloud Gaming feature, and new benefits for playing some free games through Game Pass.
The Game Bar on PC, which lets you quickly launch games, manage sound mixes, and track game performance, now has a cleaner interface. The Home panel and widgets, including Captures, Performance, Resources, and the Widget Store, now look lighter, with fewer lines and colors, making them less like Adobe Photoshop tools. Microsoft says this is just the beginning of the visual changes that will be rolled out this week.
The update comes the same week that Discord changed its interface, improving the distance between sections in the app and supporting full dark mode overlay. Both Game Bar and Discord allow you to view widgets during the game.
As for the Xbox Cloud Gaming update, it is now possible to switch between games without having to jump out and return to the main page. So far, this only works with a few Assassin’s Creed games, but Xbox promises that it will soon work with other cloud games. In addition, Cloud Gaming is expanding the number of games that support the Stream Your Own Game feature.
Finally, Xbox is expanding its in-game benefits to include more free games like Heroes in the Storm and, in April, Call of Duty: Warzone. This will allow you to purchase cosmetics, characters, in-game currency, and more in games like Overwatch 2 and Valorant.
