Xbox Is Bringing Back Friend Requests, Marking the End of a Decade-Long Absence

After a ten-year hiatus, Microsoft is planning to bring the Xbox friend requests feature back. In a latest Xbox Wire post, Microsoft revealed that the Xbox will revive the friend requests option with the latest “friends and followers experience”.

According to the revelation, Xbox Insiders can try out a redesigned friend and follower experience. The feature will only be available to Alpha Skip-Ahead users on Xbox consoles, and users that have joined the PC Gaming preview on Windows PCs and handheld devices.

Xbox Friend Requests Are Back

With that, we will finally see the friend requests option return to Xbox. The last time we witnessed the friend request feature was in 2013. During this period Xbox players could follow a person and check their feed. However, if both parties followed each other, they would become friends and could game or even chat together.

In the current system that is coming for insiders first, Xbox will let you manage friends through the People’s tab. Through this tab, you can view your friends, review requests, and send friend invitations.

According to Xbox, “following someone remains a one-way connection, allowing you to stay updated with their shared content, whether it’s another player, club, or game.”

However, for the friends part it is different. Microsoft says, “Friends are now a two-way, invite-approved relationship, giving you more control and flexibility.” Microsoft is also cranking up the privacy and notifications settings for these features.

You can manage who can send you a friend request from the Xbox console as well as other devices or browsers now. With a new improved notifications system as well, the new friends feature looks promising for the green side. Who knows? It might even help it win the PS5 Pro vs Xbox Series X battle.

Are you excited about the friend requests return after a decade in Xbox? Will you run Call of Duty Black Ops 6 day one with your new friends on Xbox? Tell us in the comments below.