Microsoft Makes Testing Xbox One Updates Into a Game

When it's not causing issues with its unfinished features (hey, it's QA testing), Xbox One's preview program can be rewarding in and of itself--you get to try out cool new features not yet available to the general public. Apparently not satisfied with that, Microsoft is trying to turn testing system updates into a sort of game by tracking your stats and offering points.

Preview program members will now find a new My Stats section in the Preview Dashboard app. From there, you can check out how many points you've earned, which in turn contribute to your level. A leaderboard tracks your progress against that of your friends (or other users, if none of your friends get preview updates), similar to the new gamerscore leaderboard released in this week's Xbox One update.

Points are earned by completing quests, rating updates, and participating in surveys and polls. Fortunately for those who have been in the preview program for some time, you'll retroactively earn points for all of your past contributions. More things are coming to the My Stats page "soon," according to Microsoft, which also says you can earn rewards by participating.

The preview program launched back in February, offering "select" Xbox Live users the chance to help test in-development features. We've seen these users get a variety of updates ahead of time since then; aspects of the update that went live for everyone this week have been available to testers since August. Should you want to join in, you'll unfortunately need an invite from Microsoft.

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Filed under: Video Games

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