Surprise! Here’s a quick look at the new Xbox PC app, which will potentially be available to Xbox Insiders before the end of the year. Over the summer, Microsoft began testing a new Xbox Cloud Gaming interface codenamed Bastion, which aimed to bring the user experience closer to the Xbox Series X|S console. The Xbox for PC app looks very different from this general ID today and has a variety of performance issues, particularly when loaded into large libraries or the general Xbox for PC games store. This week, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma signaled her intention to elevate Microsoft’s gaming offering on PC, and here’s an early look at at least some of what it will look like. Microsoft is preparing to ship the next interface, codenamed Garrison, at some point in the near future. I had access to an early version of the app this afternoon and thought I’d give you a quick look. Hands-On: NEW Xbox App for PC Coming in 2026 (Huge Performance Boost!) – YouTube Watch On In the video above, I give you a quick tour guide of the new PC app’s interface, including layouts for the mouse, keyboard, and controller. You can set this app as your default home screen when you load it in Windows 11’s new “Game Mode” settings, and by default it will use controller scaling, ideal for devices like Xbox Ally. For me, first impressions revolve around performance. This is much faster than the previous app, particularly when it comes to loading my large library of over 1,400 Xbox titles from across the years. It’s much easier to see when something can be installed now or simply streamed from Xbox Cloud Gaming. Navigating between game lists is also much more agile. There are no longer two separate pages for games, and both the store list and the games list now share a single interface. It’s early, but there aren’t many new features here yet. (Image credit: Windows Central | Jez Corden) For the most part, there aren’t many new features offered yet. It seems that it is, above all, about improving performance and usability. Xbox’s PC offering has greatly differentiated itself from Steam, with Steam offering many more community tools, developer dialogue systems, and more visible reviews. Steam arguably has a better selection as well, and while the store pages in this version of the app aren’t fully implemented yet, I’m eager to find out if Microsoft has improved visibility for developers through this app. It would be nice if developers ended up with more tools to communicate with their audiences in the Xbox app for PC as well, and Microsoft had the opportunity to integrate Minecraft and its other live service games more deeply to potentially boost its community-building abilities. I suspect this version of the app could be available to Xbox Insiders on PC in the coming weeks, given that it’s already being integrated into versions of Windows 11. Microsoft has been a bit torn over the summer, restructuring its business, divesting studios, and refocusing. their efforts on the Xbox Series X|S consoles. It’s encouraging to see that Microsoft hasn’t let its Xbox PC efforts fall by the wayside either. This week, it announced a big partnership with NVIDIA for its new line of RTX Spark Arm laptops, including the Surface Laptop Ultra, which is a gaming powerhouse in its own right. Microsoft also announced Xbox XP this week, focused on building player retention and community outside of its traditional console channels. I wonder if the Xbox app for PC will play a role here as well. In any case, let me know what you think of the new Xbox app for PC in the comments and what you’d like to see added to Xbox PC in the future! Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your ideas and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
