Microsoft’s new Xbox Home UI is getting reworked after complaints over ‘crowded’ backgrounds

Microsoft started testing a new Xbox Home UI last year that will be released in 2023, but fans haven’t been impressed with the aging tiled interface that does nothing to show off the dynamic backgrounds and wallpapers available on the console. The new Xbox Home UI started to feel like a giant Xbox Game Pass ad, and now Microsoft is acknowledging that it feels a little crowded.

“We heard from you that the changes to the top of Home did not leave enough space for you to enjoy your backgrounds and that it felt crowded,” says Ivy Krislov, senior product manager lead of Xbox experiences, in a blog post today. “We’re working to balance the experience, accessibility, function, and the needs of our community and bring you a great and refreshed Home experience.”

Microsoft is now removing the new Xbox Home UI for testers and pausing the experiment to prepare for bigger changes that are on the way. Krislov says the Xbox team will share more on the new Xbox Home UI soon. “Thank you for all the feedback you’ve shared. It’s a key part of our process, and our team is working hard to incorporate it into the experience and get it to you to use,” says Krislov.

I wasn’t a fan of the new Xbox Home interface, and I’m hoping to see something like we’ve seen from many fan concepts that put the backgrounds at the center of the UI and offer much more customization.

It’s encouraging to see Microsoft respond to criticism and fan feedback around this part of the Xbox dashboard. Microsoft has redesigned the Xbox dashboard plenty of times over the past decade, but it now feels like it’s largely in a good spot and just needs a refreshed Xbox Home UI and some improvements to the Xbox DVR feature to feel more complete.

Microsoft has added some truly useful features to its Xbox dashboard over the past couple of years, including Discord integration, a night mode, a 4K dashboard, and some great energy-saving power options.