Xbox Insider Update Lets You Play Games Over the Cloud While Updating

Xbox has pushed out a new Insider update for those in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring. This update adds the ability to play games from the cloud while they install or update on your console. Additionally, there are some nice tweaks being made for Xbox 360 Achievements and more.

Via an Xbox Wire post, the company announces that Alpha Skip-Ahead ring insiders can now preview the ability to stream a game through Game Pass while an update is underway. Using this ability, you can jump into a game as it updates in the background instead of having to wait to play something else entirely. Xbox states that you’ll see the option to play a game from the cloud on the game card during installation or an update.

For those with a good internet connection, this is a fantastic option for launching and playing a game, as install times can be time-consuming, depending on the game.

Xbox also revealed that it is adding game cards to Xbox 360 games. Now, any installed Xbox 360 game has a game card where you can find achievements, captures, and other information about the game. Detailed achievement pop-ups for these legacy titles are also added to your profile, making them a more consistent piece of the Xbox ecosystem.

Other notable updates include the expansion of “unique” Gamertag character limits. Now, players can create Gamertags of up to 15 characters long, up from the previous 12-character limit. Gamertags that are “not unique” or contain Latin characters will still be limited to 12 characters and be assigned a numerical suffix.

If you’re eager to join the Xbox Insider Program and gain access to Alpha Skip-Ahead ring updates, you can join the Program here or the Xbox Insider Hub on your console.