Gamers will also be able to boot their console directly to TV

Aug 12, 2014 12:08 GMT  ·  By

The development team in charge of the Xbox One at Microsoft is ready to announce that the home console is set to get access to a variety of new major features in the coming months, including a new Friends section, threaded messages, support for DLNA, and more.

The announcement comes from the blog of Larry Hryb, aka Major Nelson, the main community liaison at the company, who is not saying exactly when all the new features will be implemented.

A new Friends section is being added to the device in order to make it easier for gamers to stay connected with their peers, and it has already been offered to those who are part of the Preview program.

It will provide info on activities, popular games, and the Gamerscore that they have managed to acquire during the past 30-day period.

Threaded messages will allow gamers to keep track of entire conversations with ease and to embed Game DVR clips.

A new Snap Center is being added to the Xbox One in order to grant players more flexibility when it comes to switching between video games and applications.

The Media Player app is also set to arrive and “enables users to play media files from either an attached USB device or from a network connected home media server that supports DLNA protocols. The preview version of the Media Player app will initially only support USB devices, with DLNA support coming soon.”

More formats will be added after that and gamers will be able to use formats like mpeg 2 TS, animated gifs, and mkv, which will be added by the end of the year.

Players who use the Xbox One will also be able to stream TV content to their SmartGlass device and a new boot option will allow the home console to start directly with a television channel.

Most of the modifications are based on feedback that was delivered on the special page that Microsoft has created for Xbox One users, and all those who are interested in seeing other changes should log in and deliver their requests and then vote on the ones that they believe are interesting.

Microsoft adds, “We continue to be amazed by our fans’ enthusiasm for our Xbox One system updates and their fantastic input. We’re working hard to make Xbox One more social and the best place for all your games and entertainment, and we can’t wait to roll out these new features, and more, in the coming months.”