Highlights

  • The Xbox Insider program allows beta testers to try out new features on consoles before their official release, improving the user experience.
  • Microsoft enables users to change subscription plans and billing status straight from the Xbox console for convenience.
  • Various gaming subscription services are available on Xbox, with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offering EA Play as a free perk.

Microsoft is making some small but notable changes to subscription service management on the Xbox console that will provide a significantly more convenient experience for players on the platform. Though the company typically doesn't add or overhaul major aspects of the Xbox operating system outside of occasional redesigns, the quality-of-life updates that Microsoft consistently releases for its consoles often come in handy for gamers who regularly use the Xbox ecosystem.

Microsoft offers individuals the opportunity to beta-test features on the Xbox platform prior to their full roll-out in future system updates. Users who want early access to these new additions have to join the Xbox Insider program by downloading its app onto their consoles. Although the features available to Xbox Insiders vary depending on the tier each user is in, most of the beta testers often get the chance to try out Xbox console updates weeks, if not months, before everyone else does. Just recently, members of the program had the chance to test out a new Xbox dashboard feature and some recently-added filters on the My Games & Apps Section on Xbox consoles, among other things. One of the latest Xbox Insider updates, though, is especially useful.

Related
New Xbox Console Update Includes 1 Big Improvement

Xbox releases a new update for certain Insider members that makes a massive improvement to an important aspect of the console.

As mentioned in the Xbox update preview release notes for May 31-June 3, 2024, Microsoft has "enabled the option" for users to change their subscription service plan or update its "recurring billing status directly from [their] console" without having to open up the built-in web browser. With this feature, players will be able to renew or cancel their Xbox Game Pass subscription, for example, in a more convenient manner. In order to take advantage of this update, Xbox Insiders must "head to Settings > Account > Subscriptions" on their Xbox dashboards.

Xbox Players Have Access To Multiple Gaming Subscription Services

  • Xbox Game Pass
  • EA Play
  • Antstream Arcade
  • GTA+
  • Ubisoft+

In addition to Xbox Game Pass, there are quite a few gaming subscription services that are available on Microsoft consoles, from Ubisoft+ and Antstream Arcade to GTA+ and EA Play. In fact, the latter of those four services is even available as a free perk included with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate memberships. With how many there are, handling all these memberships can get a bit cumbersome, especially if a user is subscribed to multiple subscriptions simultaneously. Being able to manage one's plans straight through the Xbox console itself without using its Microsoft Edge browser will likely save many people a lot of time.

Currently, this feature is available to members of all Xbox Update Preview rings—or tiers—including the Alpha Skip-Ahead, Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omega rings. Unfortunately, Microsoft has yet to mention when this update will go live for Xbox users who aren't members of the Insider program. However, based off the precedent the console manufacturer has set so far, it will likely take at least a few weeks for it to leave the beta-testing phase. In the meantime, players can try out more of the best games on services like Game Pass before canceling or renewing their memberships on Xbox consoles.

Xbox

Xbox is the console offering from Microsoft, dating back to the original console in 2001. This is a page for everything Xbox, including walkthroughs, guides, lists, opinion, and news for all the best Xbox titles, including Halo, Gears of War, and many more.