Quick answer: Xbox Insiders can now shuffle favorite dynamic Home backgrounds, see disc-to-digital games in their own library category, and move the Guide to the right side of the screen. Alpha Skip-Ahead members get the features first, and Microsoft says they will reach more Insiders and players over time. Current as of the November 12, 2026 Xbox Insider update.
Microsoft is testing three small but welcome ways to make the Xbox console feel more like your own. Announced on Xbox Wire on November 12, the new options cover rotating Home backgrounds, a cleaner way to sort games you claimed through disc-to-digital licenses, and a Guide that can open from either side of the screen. Members of the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring can try them now.
Rotating Home backgrounds
You can now save dynamic backgrounds as favorites and let the console shuffle through them. Go to Settings > General > Personalization > My background > Dynamic backgrounds, highlight one you like and press X. It lands in a new Favorites category.
Every background category also gets a Shuffle option at the start. You can have the background change each time you sign in, or every hour, day or week. The handy part: if you own a controller with an exclusive background, like the Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition, saving it as a favorite lets you keep using it even when that controller is not connected.
A separate shelf for disc-to-digital games
Xbox players have been able to claim digital licenses for their disc-based games since August. Insiders who have done that will now see those games in a separate “Disc to digital” category in their full library. If you would rather keep them mixed in with the rest of your owned games, you can switch back under Settings > General > Personalization > Games & apps. The same page lets you hide the digital license icon on game tiles.
Guide on the left or right
The Guide has always slid in from the left. Insiders can now choose the right side instead under Settings > General > Personalization > Guide. Xbox is even asking players whether they are team left or team right.
Game Beacon’s take
None of these will sell a console, but they are the kind of quality-of-life tweaks that make a dashboard feel like yours. Background shuffling makes the dashboard feel less static, and the library split matters more as disc owners claim digital copies of their collections. Microsoft has not given a date for the wider rollout, so if you are not in Alpha Skip-Ahead, expect to wait a while longer. It follows the October update that added Mythic Achievements, which we broke down here.
You can join the Xbox Insider Program for free through the Xbox Insider Hub app on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One or Windows PC, and send feedback at aka.ms/XboxPlayerVoice.
Source: Xbox Wire, November 12, 2026.
