Xbox system software

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The Xbox system software is the operating system developed exclusively for the Xbox consoles. Across the four generations of Xbox consoles, the software has been based on a version of Microsoft Windows and incorporating DirectX features optimized for the gaming console. The user interface, the Xbox Dashboard, provides access to games, media players, and applications, and integrates with Xbox Live for online functionality.

Though initial iterations of the software for the original Xbox and Xbox 360 were based on heavily modified versions of Windows, the newer consoles feature operating systems that are highly compatible with Microsoft's desktop operating systems, allowing for shared applications and ease-of-development between personal computers and the Xbox line.

Xbox (first generation) software

The original Xbox UI in 2001, before the addition of Xbox Live.

The original Xbox runs a custom operating system that is based on a heavily modified version of Windows 2000. It exports APIs similar to those found in Windows, such as Direct3D. While Windows 2000 was built for multitasking of multiple applications including memory paging, the Xbox console was planned to only run one application at a time, and these features were removed for the Xbox software. When loading a game, the operating system would unload itself to give all of the console's resources to the game, and then when the player left the game, the operating system would load back up again.

Xbox Live support was added in November 2002.

The original Xbox operating system source code was leaked in 2020.

Xbox 360 software

From top: the "Blades" UI, the "New Xbox Experience", the "Metro" UI.

The system software for the Xbox 360 was also based on a modified version of Windows 2000, expanding beyond the original Xbox console's operating system. This would prove troublesome for Microsoft from multiple directions. For the Xbox division, it made it difficult to bring in other Microsoft applications like Internet Explorer and Silverlight which had to be modified to work on the Xbox software. For Microsoft, the separate fork of these apps for the Xbox 360 and for the versions they were developing for the mobile-based Windows CE environment became difficult to maintain. These complexities led Microsoft towards its "Windows Everywhere" approach circa 2010, reviewing all the dependencies within the desktop, Xbox, and mobile versions of Windows atop the MinWin process and creating a CoreSystem that contained the basic functionality of Windows that could be ported to other systems.

User interface

Microsoft released the Xbox 360 console on November 22, 2005, a year earlier than both the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii. Having the advantage of the lead, Microsoft was able to experiment with various customization options for the consumer's individual consoles. The ability to customize the way the console looked with various themes to fit the front and sides of it was something very different for home console users. In system, the Xbox 360 Dashboard had the ability to have multiple profiles with password on the same console with each user being able to customize the dashboard to exactly fit their own unique style. There were premium themes available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace apart from the default styles. Originally there were five tabs or sections known as the "blades" for the Xbox 360 menu, namely the Marketplace, Xbox Live, Games, Media and System. In scrolling from left to right, each section would have a different-colored background signifying its own unique area but users also had the option to change all sections to one background color as well.

At E3 2008, Microsoft announced that all Xbox 360 owners would receive a new dashboard update, called the "New Xbox Experience" (NXE), on November 19, 2008, that added several new features. A major new feature was the ability to install an entire game disc onto the Xbox 360's hard drive, which decreases loading times, and significantly reduces noise due to the game being read from the hard drive and not the louder disc drive. For most games this feature also reduces the amount of time spent reading the disc, thereby helping to extend the life-span of the optical drive mechanism. The Xbox Guide was redesigned. If a user has installed any game onto their Xbox 360 hard drive, they are able to immediately start the game from the guide, whether they are in a game or in the dashboard. The update gives players the ability to create Avatars, which were required by Xbox Live. They also announced that the update supports 16:10 on VGA or HDMI, expanding the choice of resolutions.

On September 22, 2010, Microsoft announced that the Xbox Live dashboard would be updated again. The new design would incorporate the Metro interface used in other Microsoft products, such as Zune HD and Windows Phone. As well as a new color scheme and other minor tweaks to the overall layout, the update would also include a "Kinect hub", designed specifically for the Kinect sensor for easier dashboard navigation. The update was released on November 1, 2010.

On June 6, 2011, at E3, it was announced that the dashboard would be updated once again to include the Bing search engine. Kinect would also be updated allowing users to navigate the dashboard and Bing using their voice. Other updates would include cloud storage, YouTube access, and live television streaming. The new dashboard officially went live on December 6, 2011.

Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S software

The Xbox One home screen in the March 2020 update, based on the Fluent Design System.

The operating system for the Xbox One was based on Windows 8 Core at the console's launch in 2013. The UI maintained the same "Metro" design that had been used in the last Xbox 360 update, and which resembled the desktop Windows 8 interface.

In November 2015, Microsoft released the "New Xbox One Experience", replacing the base system with Windows 10 Core; this allowed for Universal Windows Platform apps to be available on Xbox One.