A major Xbox One update rolled out on schedule this week, bringing with it tons of changes meant to bring a better multiplayer experience for Xbox One owners. The update was an important one for Microsoft as it comes just one week before the launch of Titanfall, the game the company is banking on to create a large Xbox 360-like multiplayer community on its new console.
The update is likely one of the most-previewed updates in the history of video game console updates. As promised, the update will put an “Invite friends to game” option in Xbox One multiplayer titles, separate party chat from in-game chat, and turn on party chat audio by default – all inexplicably missing features that helped make the Xbox 360 a popular multiplayer gaming console. Also included in the update is better surfacing for the friends list and a list of recently-met players.
On the technical side of the update, the Xbox One will now support Dolby Digital 5.1 playback and Dolby Digital surround sound support over HDMI. The console will also now support 50Hz output – an important feature for European Xbox One owners.
All of these features are previewed in yet another trailer for this update. Xbox Live Director of Programming Larry “Major Nelson” Hyrb walks through all the specifics, with a liberal amount of Titanfall gameplay featured: