Xbox is testing a weekly streak counter that requires players to use the console on at least three days each week to start or continue a streak. Xbox Insider users have spotted the feature in the dashboard and profile menu, journalist Stephen Totilo reported.
In an image Totilo shared, the profile menu shows a checkmark for each day the user signed in during the past week. Empty circles mark days without a sign-in and days that haven’t happened yet. If the user maintains a streak, a flame appears beside the indicator, with a number showing how many consecutive weeks they’ve kept it going.
The dashboard also displays the streak, more prominently in its top-left corner. It shows the number of consecutive weeks maintained and how close the user is to extending the streak that week.
Streaks are common across tech platforms because they incentivize users to keep coming back through gamification, and watching a number go up feels good. They’re relatively harmless in health apps or learning tools like Duolingo, but they feel far more manipulative elsewhere.
In recent years, tech companies such as Meta have faced increasing scrutiny over software design that enables unhealthy habits. In August, Meta settled a $17-billion lawsuit with 47 states over its use of “addictive features” on Instagram and Facebook that “knowingly exposed young users to serious mental harms.” Streaks weren’t among the specific features listed in the lawsuit. Meta is changing its apps, including by setting time limits on its social media services and making other changes.
The streak test comes as Xbox goes through a tumultuous “reset” that has led to more than 1,600 job cuts. Console sales have dropped sharply due to rising hardware costs. Xbox is clearly trying out new methods to keep users coming back to its platform, while Microsoft needs to find ways to increase engagement and revenue from existing users.
Xbox recently announced another interface and profile update: Mythic Achievements, awarded when players reach 100% achievement completion in a game. Unlike a streak, you can chase these at your own pace, and nothing penalizes you for stepping away from the console.
