Xbox Is Bringing Back Friend Requests for the First Time Since the Xbox 360 Era

Xbox is bringing back friend requests for the first time since the Xbox 360 era — a decade and two console generations after they first went away.

The long-requested feature will be will be accessible to Xbox Insiders starting this week, as well as those who have joined the PC Gaming preview on Windows PC and handheld devices like the ROG Ally. It will let users “easily send, accept, or delete friend requests,” and will make friends on Xbox a “two-way, invite-approved relationship.” Users will also be able to continue to separately follow their favorite creators on Xbox.

If you’re feeling confused about how all of this works, you’re not the only one. In the current system, adding another user to your list makes them a follower until they also add you to their friends list. With no notifications, it can sometimes be hard to keep track of friends on Xbox’s platforms.

The system, which was first introduced more than a decade ago with the Xbox One, has never been especially popular. There have been periodic calls to bring back friend requests, which were a simple and relatively straightforward way to connect with players you met online during the Xbox 360 era.

“I understand why they phased out the requests. They wanted to make it so you can follow your favorite streamer and whatnot without them needing to approve the “friendship”, but why get rid of any sort of sustained notification whatsoever,” one user grumbled back in 2018. “As far as I can tell, if you’re not online to receive the pop up notification the instant someone friends you, you’re SoL for knowing they did. Earlier I was playing Sea of Thieves and someone from my crew friended me. I was currently busy at the time, so I couldn’t reciprocate.”

According to Xbox’s post, existing friends and followers will update automatically with this change. If someone isn’t currently a Friend, you’ll be able to send them a request through the People tab. Xbox says it will also add new privacy and notification settings to manage friend requests. Xbox did not indicate when the feature would become widely available to current users.

In the meantime, check out our best Xbox Series X|S games to play right now.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.