During their E3 conference, Microsoft announced some new features being added to the Xbox Live service later this year. One of the biggest new additions will be Arena, a new social platform focused on tournament play, from registration and competition to spectating. Popular multiplayer games Smite and World of Tanks will add Arena support, along with future titles from EA Sports.
More conventional additions will include the Clubs feature, which will help players connect online through common interests and favorite games. A Looking for Group option will also allow players to put out requests for specific types of multiplayer partners. Users will also soon have the option to manually pick a native language, regardless of their location. Finally, the ability to play background music during games, an Xbox 360 feature that initially didn’t make the jump to Xbox One, will soon be returning.
Microsoft is aiming to get many of these features out later this fall, so stay tuned for more information as we’ll surely be getting some over the coming months.