Microsoft announces HowLongToBeat integration on Xbox app on PC, better app performance

Microsoft made new improvements to the Xbox app on Windows. Starting this Wednesday, not only would you experience a faster app lunch and a better performance, but you’ll also be able to know the game lengths of specific titles with ease.

That is possible through a partnership Xbox established with HowLongToBeat, the community-driven website specializing in determining the lengths of games. The name should be familiar to many users as it offers incredible insights about games and how worthy different titles are for your money. In the original site of the HowLongToBeat, the length of a game is shown in four categories: Main Story (includes main objectives), Main Story and Additional Quests/Medals/Unlockables (includes discovering and completing additional tasks not required), Completionist (includes every medal and challenges the game is offering), and Combined (includes all play styles considered during estimation). 

The direct integration of HowLongToBeat on the Xbox app on PC should allow gamers to easily pick the games they want to play. The information will be shown on the game details pages of most PC Game Pass games. Additionally, the pages will show trailers, screenshots, and the game description at the top section, making the most relevant information glanceable for players.

Gamers can also expect better reliability of the Xbox app on Windows, thanks to the update Microsoft rolled out recently. According to the company, it has allowed the app to launch 15% faster and deliver better responsiveness. “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,” added Jason Beaumont, Partner Director of Product Management, Player Experiences, and Platform at Xbox. “We’ve also focused on increased relevance for search results, and getting results back is now up to 20% faster.”

It is just one of the recent updates on Xbox after Microsoft made Discord Voice finally available for all Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles and released its party chat noise suppression feature. The company, nonetheless, is aiming for more. Last week, Xbox encouraged its users and Insiders to improve and develop its console dashboard homepage before launching in 2023.