- [today] → Xbox Wire — Xbox announced the Insider console features are available starting today
- [November 22, 2013] → Xbox Wire — Xbox One launch date and the Day One achievement
The Recent Games row at the top of the Xbox Home screen has always annoyed people who share a console. Starting today Xbox Wire, Xbox Insiders can finally clear it out.
Microsoft’s Xbox team said the change came from listening. “We’ve heard from players who want more control over what shows up in the Recent Games and Apps list at the top of Home,” the company wrote in its Insider announcement.
That one line fixes three separate nagging problems.
The biggest practical win is local save storage. Xbox automatically backs saves to its network, but the local copy can fill a drive and quietly block new progress. Insiders can now view, sort, and delete unused local saves from Settings > System > Storage > Manage local game saves, or jump straight there from the “not enough space” warning. Network backups stay intact and resync on the next launch.
Home itself gets two tweaks. A right thumbstick press fades the entire UI away to show a dynamic or custom background. The Menu button can now remove any tile from the Recent list, including the Play History square.
Badges get a long-overdue explanation layer. Every profile badge now opens high-resolution art and the story of when and how it was earned. To mark the Xbox One’s launch on November 22, 2013 Xbox Wire, players who grabbed the Day One achievement are getting a commemorative badge.
Wishlists also tidy themselves: purchased games now drop off automatically.
Most of this reaches Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha rings first, with select features open to all Insiders. Xbox points Insiders to its feedback hub at Xbox Player Voice to report bugs.
These Insider tests tend to preview where the console is headed. Xbox previously opened ad-supported game streaming to Insiders zBrandco, and the Arkheron closed beta also targeted this group zBrandco.
