Much of the conversation surrounding Xbox and how Microsoft and the new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma plan to strengthen the brand moving forward has been centered around the upcoming console-PC hybrid console Project Helix, but some major moves have been happening on the software side of things as well. Just recently, a huge overhaul to Achievements went into testing, and a large April Update brought numerous features and improvements to the Xbox user experience.

Now, it appears that Microsoft has plans to refine the Xbox dashboard UI across console, PC, and handhelds like the Xbox Ally as well. In a new video that recaps Microsoft's GDC keynote showing off Project Helix's technical features and provides a clearer view of slides from the presentation, an image of Xbox interfaces with some noticeable differences to what's live today can be seen (visible above).

Notably, these UI designs aren't entirely uniform across different devices, and that's by design. While showing this slide off during his keynote presentation, Microsoft's VP of Xbox gaming devices & ecosystem Jason Ronald noted the interfaces have small differences "because we think about things like screen size, or things like input modalities."

Still, it's the goal of Ronald and the Xbox team to address the fact there's "a lot of fragmentation within the experience" by making the ecosystem's interfaces as similar as possible, ensuring that it won't feel jarring or awkward to switch between console, PC, handheld, and the cloud.

"What the team has been doing behind the scenes is doing a lot of work to deliver a consistent experience, so it feels very familiar and very distinctly Xbox no matter where you’re choosing to play," he said.

Ultimately, even if these changes are quite minor overall, I'm still glad that they've been made, as I do think it's important for Xbox to look and feel like Xbox no matter what device or platform you're using to engage with it. It will also be interesting to see if further changes come as well, as these interfaces are still a work-in-progress. Only time will tell.

What do you think of these adjustments to the Xbox dashboard UI across console, PC, handhelds, and Cloud Gaming? What are some other tweaks you'd like to see Microsoft and Xbox make? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).