Microsoft has announced a new update for its storefront on Xbox and the Xbox Game Pass app which aims to make it easier for players to identify which games support their preferred language, and the extent to which these languages are supported, before they play them.
In a new Xbox Wire post, Microsoft Senior Program Manager, Briana Roberts, outlined the new language labelling system that’s being implemented and explained how it works.
According to Roberts, on the Microsoft Store on Xbox and the Xbox Game Pass app, a new Language label will now appear alongside existing labels like Genre, Rating and optimization support, meaning users will now be able to see how many languages a game supports before clicking into its product page.
For instance, in the example given in the post, it’s now possible to see at a glance that Forza Horizon 4 supports 27 languages in a label which is displayed alongside those showing that the game also supports Smart Delivery and is Xbox Series X/S Optimized.
Getting into the details
In the store page it’s possible to pull up a table which delves into more detail, displaying which specific parts of a game – whether that’s its Interface, its Audio or its Subtitles – have been localized for each language. If a player has selected a default language for their console, it’ll be bumped to the top of the list so that they don’t have to scroll in order to find it.
Microsoft has said it’s collecting the in-game language information across 27 languages and that while “hundreds” of games have already been tagged, it’s planning to add more “over time”.
Given gaming is a global hobby, more robust language support and user-friendly interfaces are likely to be improvements welcomed by millions of Xbox players. The post rounds off with a promise to unveil more updates intended to “make it even easier for you to find and play games that are right for you” later this year, though it doesn’t give any hint as to what these might be.