After a decade-long break, Microsoft is reintroducing the Friend Requests feature to Xbox. In a recent post on Xbox Wire, Microsoft announced that the feature will be making a return as part of the new “Friends and Followers Experience”.

Xbox Insiders will be the first to get their hands on the revamped friend and follower feature. Initially, it will only be available to Alpha Skip-Ahead users on Xbox consoles, as well as users who have joined the PC Gaming preview on Windows PCs and handheld devices. This exclusive access will allow them to test the feature and ensure everything works seamlessly before it becomes available to all players.

“We’re thrilled to announce the return of friend requests! Now, you can easily send, accept, or delete friend requests, making it simpler to connect with others,” mentioned Microsoft in their post. The company added, “Friends are now a two-way, invite-approved relationship, giving you more control and flexibility.”

Existing friends and followers will be automatically updated, so players will remain friends with people who had previously also added them as a friend, while continuing to follow anyone who hadn’t. To manage friends and followers on consoles, players can access the People tab in the Xbox guide. From there, they can view existing friends, accept or delete new requests, and even send requests of their own.

Along with the friend requests feature, Xbox is rolling out new privacy and notification options to help players decide who can send them friend requests or follow their account and which notifications they wish to receive. Although the blog post didn’t provide a specific release date for the public rollout, the friend requests feature is available this week as a preview for members of the Xbox Insiders program.

This reintroduction of the Friend Requests feature marks a nostalgic throwback to the Xbox 360 era and is a clear indication of Microsoft’s commitment to improving the gaming experience for its users. Exciting times ahead for all Xbox players!