Xbox One system updates rolling out today, adds Party Chat, more

As usual, Major Nelson is up on his blog bringing us Xbox goodness, and this time, it’s all about the newest system update to Xbox One and the Xbox app on Windows coming out today, bringing new features from the Preview, while adding more improvements to both the game-playing and social experience.

The first improvement makes the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller an even more awesome gamepad than it currently is (if that’s even possible), with the new firmware update improving precision for the thumbsticks. The position of the thumbstick is now measured relative to the center focus point of the thumbstick base instead of the normal method, allowing for increased accuracy. Another controller-related improvement is in the Xbox Accessories app for Windows 10, which will now display current firmware version, battery status, and other controller information, similar to its Xbox One counterpart.

On the social side, the much-awaited feature of Party Chat broadcasting while Twitch streaming has finally been added. Enabling it is as simple as choosing the option to “Broadcast party chat” in the Twitch app settings. Friends can decline to be broadcasted but still be able to chat, and party leaders can choose to mute a member’s audio. The feature works across Xbox and Windows 10 PCs: members from the latter can also join in the broadcast.

A number of other features were introduced in the preview and now available for all, as a refresher, here’s Major Nelson introducing all of the features, including the ability to purchase Xbox 360 backwards compatible titles from Xbox One:

Are you in the preview, or do you wait for the “real thing?” Either way, there are some nice new features now available on your Xbox One.