If a pulled blog post by Larry Hryb, a.k.a. Xbox Live’s Major Nelson, is any indication, Clubs, Looking for Group (LFG), and other functionality is launching on the Xbox Live Preview for members enrolled in the program on the Xbox One very soon. In addition, these features will be rolling out on the Xbox app on Windows 10, iOS, and Android devices soon after it rolls out on the Xbox One.
UPDATE (09/06/2016 3:05p PT): Major Nelson has just posted that Clubs and LFG are rolling out live today. We’ve added higher resolution screenshots to the original post below. Go check it out!
ORIGINAL STORY:
We first heard about Clubs and LFG back at E3, and it looks like the release is getting closer. Let’s take a look at the new upcoming features.
Clubs
Clubs are pretty much what they sound like, gamer-created groups that will be geared towards meeting people and adding communities of like-minded gamers. Club members will be able to chat, set up parties, play games, and share content with the Club across Xbox One and Windows 10, iOS, and Android devices with the Xbox App.
Gamers will be able to browse for and join Clubs in the Community tab, and also have the option to create their own. Once Clubs launch, you’ll want to start yours quick as no two Clubs can have the same name.
Looking for Group
Anyone who’s played an MMO is familiar with the old “LFG! Need super-awesome-1337 mage/warrior/priest for super-duper-impossible dungeon! NO NOOBS!” If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, basically it’s a broadcast to other gamers telling them that you’re looking for more to join you for a particular task. With LFG on the Xbox One, you’ll be able to create an LFG post for any game that has a Game Hub. In addition to the post, you’ll be able to specify the game, the game mode, how many people you need, rules like no trash talking or casual friendly, and any other in-game requirements like level, gear, or character type.
Once the post has been placed, the LFG host who posted it will be able to choose from those interested and then once the group is full get them quickly into a party chat and the game.
Improved Gamerscore Leaderboard
One of the features that’s been around for awhile is the Gamerscore Leaderboard where you can check out your Achievement progress against your friends over the last 30 days. Not only is the Gamerscore Leaderboard getting an update to make it more reliable and faster loading, it now resets at the beginning of each month instead of using the 30-day rolling period it currently does.
Emojis
Love ’em or hate ’em there’s no getting away from emojis, and these will be coming to the Xbox One virtual keyboard. To use emojis, simply hold the right trigger down until they show up on your virtual keyboard, and then you can navigate to, and press and hold on a specific emoji to get even more versions.
We’re not sure when these updates will be rolling out, as the post indicated they were supposed to be coming today. With PAX West just around the corner, we suspect this may have been a case of someone jumping the gun and hopefully we’ll be seeing them sooner rather than later! What’s your favourite new upcoming feature? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
Last Updated on September 6, 2016.
