XBOX has been on an update roll, at least since Asha Sharma took over as CEO and decided to deliver long-awaited features. And, looking at XBOX Wire, it isn’t stopping. Rolling out to XBOX Insiders in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring, fans can expect a nice and welcome update from today.

First up, fans who are big into game ownership are getting more control over how disc-to-digital licensed games appear in their library. Perhaps more exciting, however, is the ability to now switch which side of the screen the XBOX guide appears on. Yes, it’s a small but welcome change, and I’m sure many will appreciate it.

Last but not least, fans who make use of dynamic backgrounds can now dynamically rotate between them. We don't yet know how many dynamic backgrounds you can rotate between (or if there is any limit at all), but this is probably what I’m most excited to try as someone who likes to change things up from time to time.

These Insider changes are expected to roll out gradually, but they’re all welcome, and I’m surprised they weren’t already available. Still, it's great to see them added here nonetheless. Honestly, the pace and speed at which these changes are happening for XBOX is great to see. We are on the cusp of XBOX’s 25th anniversary on November 15, 2026, for those who didn't know, and fans have been eagerly waiting for what XBOX will reveal ahead of that date.

With all that said, I’m impressed. I know it’s going to take a while for XBOX to get back on its feet and appeal again to the masses, but over the past few months, steady progress has been made; not long ago, it was even reported that the online perception of XBOX had improved. Most of us are stuck looking at our gaming history via the new XBOX Playback feature.. that's a lot of hours.

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Halo: Campaign Evolved came and went, didn’t it? It’s a fairly solid remake, but plenty of fans, myself included, felt it was missing that special something. And that special something was multiplayer.

I was okay with the decision to skip a full multiplayer component, given that I wanted the campaign to be the absolute best it could be. However, adding a mode like Firefight would have definitely gone a long way toward boosting replayability.

In fact, I covered news recently suggesting that Halo: Campaign Evolved might get one final update, despite the franchise being handed off to Activision. In that piece, I detailed reports that the game would receive both Firefight and Theater mode. While I can’t speak to the status of Theater mode, Xbox announced that Firefight is definitely heading to Halo: Campaign Evolved.

When can we play Firefight?

Fans attending Xbox FanFest in Seattle today (November 12, 2026) will be the first to play, with additional details set to be revealed next month at Halo Fest, taking place between December 12 and December 13, 2026. It's all part of an ongoing celebration of Xbox's 25th anniversary, which includes Halo as its launch title.

Not much is known yet, but we have been told that Firefight will arrive as a free update this winter. It will feature new maps, new weapons, and four-player co-op. For those unfamiliar, Firefight is a wave-based PvE mode that pits you against escalating waves of enemies, usually with modifiers coming into play.

I think this is pretty great. I was absolutely gutted that we didn’t get any real form of replayability for Campaign Evolved at launch, so it’s nice to see what remains of Halo Studios pull together and get something for fans to enjoy out the door.

I will definitely be jumping in to try Firefight when it releases. Part of me is hoping we’ll see a new batch of achievements, too, but I think that’s just wishful thinking on my part since I’ve already 100%’d the game. Until then, we can look back on our gaming history with Microsoft's Spotify Wrapped-style nostalgia feature: Xbox Playback.

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