The July 2019 firmware update for Xbox One has been rolled out by Microsoft. And this month’s Xbox One system update focuses more on Xbox Game Pass. This new update adds a few new features for Xbox Games Pass subscribers as well as additional commands and countries to use your console with an Amazon Alexa device.
Xbox Game Pass:
Microsoft’s game subscription service, Xbox Game Pass now has over 200 games for players to choose from. Such an amount of games can be a bit overwhelming. That is why Xbox One now has a new feature called “Play Later”. With this, you can now add games from the Xbox Game Pass library to a Play Later list. By doing this, the desired games in the catalog will be marked for you to download and play later. This is a simple, but very handy feature if you’ve spotted a game that you want to play later but don’t have the time right now.
The whole “Play Later” feature is like a wishlist, except you already own access to everything on it. The only thing you’re missing is, of course, the time to play the games. This list can be managed through your Xbox One console or the Game Pass mobile app.
Xbox Skills for Alexa:
The latest firmware also brings new updates to the Xbox Skills for Alexa. Microsoft has added a bunch of new commands for Alexa specifically for Game Pass. For example, you can now ask Alexa to list the new games added to the Game Pass or ask what your friends are playing. There’s also another handy feature that lets Alexa pair your Xbox One controller to the console just by asking.
To enable Alexa support on your Xbox One, head to System > Settings > Kinect & devices > Digital assistants, then say “Alexa, open Xbox” or find the Xbox Skill in the Alexa app on your smartphone, and then follow the instructions to sign in to your Microsoft account and pair the console with your Alexa devices.
The new console update is available as of now. You can download and update your Xbox One, the next time you start your system.
