Microsoft is now adding a row of stories to its Xbox app on iOS and Android. It’s the same interface that originated in Snapchat and has spread to every single social media app, including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook Messenger, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Even Slack is adding stories soon, too.
Even the Xbox app has stories now
Yet another app gets stories because why not
Yet another app gets stories because why not
is a senior correspondent and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years.
Now you’ll also see stories from Xbox games in the mobile app, just in case you haven’t had enough stories in your life. While most social media apps have stories content that’s created by your friends or whoever you follow, the Xbox stories will be from game brands instead. So if you play a lot of Fortnite or Call of Duty, you’ll see stories from these games and any others you follow on the Xbox network.
Stories in the Xbox app are simply being used as another form of marketing for games to advertise promotions, updates, and more. Thankfully, it’s not all that intrusive in the Xbox app, and Microsoft has placed these stories halfway down the page rather than prominently at the top. They’re simply labeled “official posts from games.”
It’s not clear whether Microsoft will ever allow Xbox network users to create their own stories in the Xbox app, but there’s certainly no way to do that right now. Microsoft says it’s adding stories into the Xbox app “because everyone deserves to see that no scope,” but you’ll only see the no scopes from brands and not your talented friends.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
