Xbox Tests Rotating Backgrounds and a Right-Side Guide for Insiders

Xbox has started testing three new personalisation options on console with Xbox Insiders: rotating Home backgrounds, more control over games claimed from discs, and a choice of which side the Guide opens on. Alpha Skip-Ahead members get them first, announced on 12 November, and Xbox says they'll reach more Insiders and players over time.

Rotating Home backgrounds

You can now save favourite dynamic backgrounds and shuffle through them automatically.

• Save a favourite: go to Settings > General > Personalization > My background > Dynamic backgrounds > Dynamic backgrounds, choose a background and press X. It appears in a new Favorites category.
• Shuffle: choose Shuffle at the start of any background category. The background can change each time you sign in, or hourly, daily or weekly, from your favourites or from a whole category.

Saving a controller-exclusive background as a favourite, such as the one that comes with the Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition, lets you keep using it even when that controller isn't connected.

Disc-based games in their own category

Since August, Xbox players have been able to claim digital licenses for their disc-based games. Insiders who have done so will now see those games in a separate category in their full library. To keep them alongside your other owned games, switch back in Settings > General > Personalization > Games & apps, where you can also hide the digital license icon on game tiles.

The Guide on the left or right

You can now choose whether the Guide opens on the left or the right side of the screen, in Settings > General > Personalization > Guide.

Want to try features early? You join the Xbox Insider Program with the Xbox Insider Hub app on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One or Windows PC. On PC, the Xbox app was recently redesigned to launch up to 60% faster.