Microsoft is working on an update that “fundamentally changes the concept” of the Xbox achievement system.

Xbox platform corporate vice president Mike Ybarra teased the company’s upcoming changes in a recent interview with Windows Central. Though Ybarra didn’t describe how the new system would work, it seems that Microsoft has a new goal: making players’ progress and personal skill visible in a way that’s not tied to Gamerscore.

“[There are] bigger, more bolder changes that we have in mind,” Ybarra said. “Nothing that I can talk about now, but something that fundamentally changes the concept [of achievements]… we are working towards a bigger, more meaningful change about somebody’s gaming accomplishments in history, as a gamer on Xbox.”

Ybarra pointed out that certain highly-skilled players, such as those on esports teams, may actually be contracted to only or primarily play a certain game. Even though they may be one of the top players in the world, the current approach to achievements and Gamerscore does not reflect that person’s skill.

“[Microsoft] can do a lot more to reflect and let people show their gaming history and their status,” Ybarra continued. “Whether it’s somebody who only plays multiplayer in Halo 5 at a professional level, maybe they only have 2,000 Gamerscore, you want to be able to celebrate that person. You want people to be in the know. This person doesn’t play a lot of games, but they’re world top ten at Halo 5. All the way to people [with over a million Gamerscore].

“It’s that range that we really need to look at and celebrate.… 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.”

The specifics of how this system could work haven’t yet been revealed. The achievement system hasn’t changed too much since it was first introduced in 2005 on the Xbox 360, so perhaps it’s time for an update.

Posted: Aug 11, 2017 10:01 am
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: http://www.egmnow.com/all/xbox-planning-to-fundamentally-change-how-achievements-work/