Microsoft has started rolling out a redesigned Xbox PC app, promising launches up to 60% faster and a cleaner, simpler interface. The updated app began reaching members of the Xbox Insider programme on 5 November 2026, alongside a refreshed Xbox Cloud Gaming web experience.

Microsoft announced the overhaul on Xbox Wire, putting three figures on the performance work. The company says the app launches up to 60% faster, while Home, Store and Game Pass pages load up to 50% faster and windows inside the app open up to 65% faster. Those figures come from Microsoft's own testing, and the company says results may vary by device, internet connection, system configuration and usage.

What changes in the PC app

Beyond speed, the redesign reworks how the app is organised. The Library gains simpler navigation, updated filters and new ways to organise games, which should make large collections easier to browse. Friends and social features move into the main navigation, putting what friends are playing, chat and party invites a click away rather than buried in menus.

Search now covers games, installed titles, downloadable add-ons and other players from one place. Game cards, the Home and Settings pages and animations also get a visual refresh, with smoother transitions between sections. Early hands-on impressions from Windows Central and The Verge, after Microsoft briefed them on the overhaul, pointed to substantially improved responsiveness, particularly when browsing large game libraries.

The redesign had been in testing before its public rollout: the app was reportedly being overhauled internally under the codename Garrison, and an early version was demonstrated in October.

Cloud gaming gets the same treatment

Alongside the PC app, Microsoft is expanding its redesigned Xbox Cloud Gaming web experience, which had been in Insider preview since earlier in 2026. The refreshed web version brings cloud-playable titles together in a unified Library tab, including supported purchased games and Game Pass titles, with improved sorting and filtering and a desktop-optimised layout for larger screens.

It also adds dark and light themes and five high-contrast accessibility options. The refreshed web experience is rolling out automatically to more players over the coming weeks, and anyone can try it early at play.xbox.com.

Microsoft is also bringing similar navigation improvements to Xbox Cloud Gaming apps on supported televisions and VR headsets, aiming for greater consistency across its gaming ecosystem. The company has not named supported devices or regions for the TV and VR rollout.

Insiders first, no date for everyone else

For now, the redesigned PC app is available only to Xbox Insiders, who can sign up through the Xbox Insider Hub on Windows. Microsoft has not announced a general release date, so most players will have to wait for the wider rollout.

The overhaul addresses one of the longest-running complaints about Microsoft's PC gaming software: that the Xbox app felt slow and cluttered next to rival storefronts such as Steam. Whether the redesign can meaningfully narrow that usability gap remains to be seen, but the speed figures and the library rework are the clearest attempt yet to answer it.