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September Updates for the Xbox App on PC: HowLongToBeat and More

We’re back with more updates on improvements and features for the Xbox app on PC! Before we dive in, we want to thank everyone for their continued feedback and discussions on Reddit, the Feedback Hub, Twitter, and more. We’re listening and excited to share what’s next.

Pick Your Next PC Game Pass Game with HowLongToBeat

We partnered with HowLongToBeat for a unique feature that makes it even easier to pick your next PC game — beginning today, you can view estimates for how long it will take you to complete a game in the game details pages for most PC Game Pass games. HowLongToBeat is a community-driven website that specializes in game lengths.

HowLongToBeat Screenshot

If you’re in the mood for something you can crush in a day or two, or maybe looking for your next long-term game, you can view the details for the game to help decide what to download and play next. Check out the category that best matches your play style:

  • Main Story (Required): You complete the main objectives, just enough to see the credits roll
  • Main Story and Additional Quests/Medals/Unlockables: You take your time, discover and complete additional tasks not required
  • Completionist (100%): You strive for every achievement, every medal and conquer all that the game has to offer
  • Combined: All play styles considered during estimation

You can click ‘View Details’ to submit your own times, manage your library of games, and help aid gamers around the world in their pursuit to conquer their backlog! You’ll also find additional insights on how people play including community reviews, playthrough notes, and data breakdowns by platform and playstyle. Visit https://howlongtobeat.com/xbox to view details about the entire Game Pass library, including categories for “New,” “Best Rated,” “Achievement Hunting” and more.

We’ve also made improvements to Game Details pages making it quicker to reach the game details you care about. You can now view trailers, screenshots, and the game description at a glance, right at the top of the page.

Faster App Launch and Improved App Performance

We’re committed to continuing to improve the performance and reliability of the app. With the most recent update, the app now launches up to 15% faster, and we’ve also made some fixes for overall better responsiveness when you interact with key experiences in the app. We’ve seen crash-free sessions improve to 99.9%, and player reports of games that didn’t download or didn’t install successfully reduced by nearly half. We’ve also focused on increased relevance for search results, and getting results back is now up to 20% faster.

Help Shape the Future of PC

Again, the biggest thanks from our team for all your feedback as you play. Please keep dropping your comments in the Feedback Hub, via Twitter, or the Xbox Insiders Reddit.