Microsoft is constantly evaluating ways that it can improve its Xbox consoles. That includes iterating on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S platforms' OS and particularly its user interface. How Xbox players utilize the user interface can make a significant difference in terms of accessibility. Sometimes these changes can go wrong, however, and for suspect reasons. A recent change Xbox was testing has now been reverted, for example, following a wave of negative feedback from Xbox users online.Around two weeks ago, Microsoft put out a version of the Xbox user interface for its testing flights. This update included, among other changes, a dramatic change to how Xbox players interacted with Twitter. Users would no longer be able to directly share content, whether it's videos or screenshots, to their Twitter accounts. Instead, they'd have to send their content to their phone or device and post from there. No explanation was provided for the removal of the "Share to Twitter" functionality.Xbox users' frustrated response to the decision was understandable. Sharing media through Twitter is a quick way to not only share things with friends but to put it in a place where it's accessible and can be shared with other places. If that wasn't enough, it's a feature that's also provided on both PlayStation and Nintendo's platforms. Why Xbox would remove a feature that is standard across devices is a question that baffled fans.
The criticism was strong enough to drive Microsoft to make a quick turnaround, though. A new update going out to Xbox's beta test flights confirms that the change to Twitter sharing is being reverted. There are no plans to change how Twitter sharing works on Xbox consoles for the time being. No explanation was provided for the decision in the first place.
While Microsoft didn't offer an explanation for why it removed the Twitter sharing functionality, there was a transparent reason for the decision. A new Twitter option had been added to Xbox's frustrating Game DVR feature. In other words, Xbox wanted its console users to be forced into using Game DVR instead of having a way to directly share clips.
Forcing users into using Microsoft features for basic functionality is a not uncommon practice for the company, going back to when Microsoft's Internet Explorer was the default browser for Windows devices. Still, to see a quick turnaround is a positive. It would be better if the change hadn't happened at all, but at least Microsoft is listening to Xbox users' feedback.