Discord on Xbox will soon let you watch your friends’ streams
Illustration: The Verge
Microsoft and Discord are greatly improving the integration of the communication platform into Xbox consoles. While you’ve been able to stream your gameplay to friends over Discord since last year, you’ll soon be able to watch your friends’ streams whether they’re streaming gameplay from a PC, a mobile phone, or an Xbox.
Xbox Insiders will be the first to get access to viewing Discord streams today, with the feature showing up inside Discord voice calls and in the “happening now” Friends section of the Xbox dashboard. If your friends are talking or streaming in a Discord server, the channel will also now be shown in this section.
Image: Discord
The Discord streams are integrated straight into the Xbox dashboard.
Image: Discord
The UI for watching a Discord stream on Xbox.
Much like watching streams on the Discord app, you’ll be able to mute a friend’s stream or control the volume with the Xbox integration. The stream itself will open in full-screen but natively within the Xbox dashboard experience and won’t require a separate app.
The Xbox and Discord integration is also being improved to support direct calls to friends, so you won’t have to join a Discord server call to get chatting. Microsoft and Discord are also improving the information you see about Discord friends on Xbox, with the ability to see mutual servers and friends and Xbox gamertags.
Sony also recently improved its Discord integration on the PS5 to finally allow owners to join voice calls directly from the console. The PS5 version still lacks the ability to stream gameplay to friends or watch friends’ streams.
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Illustration: The Verge
Microsoft and Discord are greatly improving the integration of the communication platform into Xbox consoles. While you’ve been able to stream your gameplay to friends over Discord since last year, you’ll soon be able to watch your friends’ streams whether they’re streaming gameplay from a PC, a mobile phone, or an Xbox.
Xbox Insiders will be the first to get access to viewing Discord streams today, with the feature showing up inside Discord voice calls and in the “happening now” Friends section of the Xbox dashboard. If your friends are talking or streaming in a Discord server, the channel will also now be shown in this section.
Image: Discord
The Discord streams are integrated straight into the Xbox dashboard.
Image: Discord
The UI for watching a Discord stream on Xbox.
Much like watching streams on the Discord app, you’ll be able to mute a friend’s stream or control the volume with the Xbox integration. The stream itself will open in full-screen but natively within the Xbox dashboard experience and won’t require a separate app.
The Xbox and Discord integration is also being improved to support direct calls to friends, so you won’t have to join a Discord server call to get chatting. Microsoft and Discord are also improving the information you see about Discord friends on Xbox, with the ability to see mutual servers and friends and Xbox gamertags.
Sony also recently improved its Discord integration on the PS5 to finally allow owners to join voice calls directly from the console. The PS5 version still lacks the ability to stream gameplay to friends or watch friends’ streams.