May’s Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S update has arrived, and it’s more than just a hotfix for Microsoft’s consoles. It also helps address one of the biggest frustrations with the console: controller battery drain.
Anyone with a rechargeable battery on their Xbox controller, such as the Xbox Elite Series 2, should be able to game for longer once updating their machine. The update will fix a bug that was causing controllers to unexpectedly drain their battery.
But that’s not all the update includes: other controller issues around the device cutting out when connected to headphones have also been fixed with this latest round of controller firmware. Hurrah!
Xbox beat PlayStation to the punch with Discord but now you’ll also be able to see your Discord friends’ embarrassing GamerTags while connected to the voice chat service on your Xbox. This should help you invite everyone into a game much quicker, and make it clearer which of your friends you are actually inviting to play.
For those who haven’t subscribed to Game Pass yet (what are you doing?) the Microsoft Store has also received a tweak that should help you find your next favourite game more easily. You can now filter by language, accessibility, price, and whether a title is included in any subscriptions.
It’s great to see support for consoles these days continuing well beyond release. If only the Xbox had more killer exclusives as opposed to the disappointing and broken Redfall. Hopefully, the likes of Starfield can win some favour back amongst Xbox gamers. Judging by that game's size, we’re gonna need that extra battery life!
