- Microsoft to retire the Xbox Console Companion app in August.
- The Xbox app will replace the legacy experience on Windows 11.
Microsoft has revealed that it will retire the Xbox Console Companion app for Windows 11 and 10. According to the company, starting on August 28, 2023, the app will be discontinued, and users will transfer to the Xbox app.
The Xbox app is the newer version that replaces the Universal Windows Platform app originally designed for Windows 10. The more recent experience removes some legacy features (such as access to Xbox Game DVR cloud clips on your device) and provides access to the PC Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and the catalog of Microsoft computer games.
The news doesn’t come as a surprise since the company has been trying to lure users to the newer app for a long time. The Xbox Console Companion app even included a warning that recommended users to switch applications.
The newer Xbox app has been available for quite some time, but it’s not until recently that it became a more suitable alternative since, during the early days, the app was slow and had many problems.
The Xbox Console Companion app became first available in 2014 with access to the activity feed and a feature that allowed users to stream the Xbox One console to their Windows computers. Then, the Xbox One SmartGlass was discontinued in 2016, and that’s when the Xbox app became the mainstream app that was later rebranded to the Xbox Console Companion app in 2019. And now, the Xbox Console Companion app will be discontinued in August, and the new Xbox app will become the only app to connect to the Xbox experience on Windows 11.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].