Microsoft Plans to Redesign Xbox Achievement System
Microsoft is doing some thinking when it comes to the design of global achievements on their Xbox consoles. With the rise of leaderboards and other ladder-based ranking systems, it could be the right time for an overhaul of the trophy collection scheme that Xbox fans have since its peak during the days of the Xbox 360.
Xbox Platform Vice President Mike Ybarra tackled the topic of achievements in a recent interview with Windows Central, among other topics including the new Xbox Fluent Design update that was just released for the console's Insiders program.
It looks like Microsoft is getting ready to test out a few planned changes to the Xbox Achievement system, after taking a hard look at current gaming industry trends.
While the Gamerscore just added up Xbox Achievements points to arrive at a nebulous number, the Microsoft executive noted that this approach does not do much to highlight a player's skill with a particular game.
To do so, the company could be looking at overhauls that "fundamentally changes the concept" of Xbox Achievements, even if it means putting Gamerscore off to the sidelines.
"We're going to go big in the area of letting people show off and represent their gaming history and the type of gamer that they are, far more than we do with Gamerscore," Ybarra said in his interview.
Without going too much into detail, Ybarra hinted at an alternative Xbox Achievement system to complement the existing trophy and Gamerscore based scheme. This new ranking could highlight the feats of players who choose to specialize in a particular version of a game, as is common in e-sports scenarios.
In this way, players who chose to be competitive in a narrow selection of games can also get the same kind of recognition as those who play a ton of games and earned a lot more achievements, including the easy ones, as Den of Geek notes.
More information on the possible new Xbox Achievements system is expected in the coming months ahead of the launch of the new Xbox One X.
