Anyone Can Join the Testing
Microsoft is now allowing people to test out new features that they are going to be rolling out for the Xbox One. Usually, these kinds of tests are very hush-hush. However, this one is exceptionally transparent and open. Pretty much anyone can join. Microsoft is calling it the Alpha Skip Ahead program.
But you should be reminded that this is an alpha after all and it is probably going to be quite the chore. Alphas are notoriously buggy (obviously) and can be a massive headache for the people who have been brave enough to participate in them. There are only faint rumors about what the participants will actually be testing out. But some have speculated that Microsoft might be thinking about overhauling the Xbox dashboard. But that is totally unsubstantiated.
This generation of consoles has not been too kind to Microsoft. Long ago are the glory days of the Xbox 360. The sales of the Xbox One are behind those of their competitor Sony. The launch of both the PS4 and Xbox One were slow and sluggish, however, Sony was able to get on its feet faster. It also didn’t help that Sony seemed to offer much more in the way of exclusive titles. Whereas Xbox could only offer series like Gears of War and Halo. Both of them were dominant back on the 360 but had slowed down significantly in the past years.
Microsoft seems hell-bent on returning to their past successes and perhaps open tests like this are a step in the right direction. Gears of War 5 has also been considered a great addition to a series that was in danger of becoming stale and boring. So there is hope.
We’re almost one year away from the next Microsoft console. So be optimistic.