Xbox November Update Arrives With Big Discord Improvement
Microsoft kicked off November 16 with a number of big announcements, one of which is that its Xbox November update is now rolling out to consoles. This isn't a huge release, as far as console updates go, but it does bring a pretty substantial change for gamers who have thoroughly integrated Discord — the voice and text messaging app — into their gameplay workflow.
This has proven to be an exciting week for Xbox fans, as Microsoft has revealed that it's bringing its cloud gaming service to some Samsung smart TVs in the near future, and that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers now have access to a great perk, at least if they don't mind using services from Apple. Assuming you sign up for Game Pass Ultimate, you can get Apple TV+ and Apple Music for three months, meaning you'll no longer have a good excuse for why you haven't seen "Severance" yet.
Joining Discord voice chats is easier than ever on Xbox
Assuming you have your Discord account linked with your Xbox console, Microsoft says you'll be able to pull up the servers you follow and join their voice channels. The feature — which Xbox showed off in a screenshot alongside its announcement — is accessible within the Parties & Chats section of the guide.
Even better, the integration includes a small snippet showing which of your friends is currently in a server's voice chat. Beyond that, Microsoft also says this console update will tamper unwanted noise while on the mic via noise suppression — though if you want everyone to hear your audio feed raw for whatever reason, you can turn off noise suppression in the Discord options menu.
Meanwhile, if you're new to the Xbox world — or simply waited a while before updating to the Xbox Series X — there are a bunch of other useful features you should probably familiarize yourself with for the best experience.