Microsoft details Xbox One Friends App with Twitter-style friends feed

The new app includes features such as the ability to follow friends and a real-time Activity Feed

Microsoft has unveiled its new Xbox Live Friends App for the forthcoming Xbox One.

The details of the new app are outlined in a blog post, written by Larry Hyrb, Xbox Live’s Director of Programming. Hyrb, otherwise known by his gamertag, Major Nelson, is also the narrator of an accompanying video which offers an “informal walkthrough” of the app.

Xbox Live members will have their Xbox 360 friends automatically imported into the next-gen console, and can then increase their number of friends all the way up to 1,000.

The most prominent new feature of the Friends App is seemingly Twitter-inspired: members can now follow people who they aren’t friends with, such as celebrities and pro gamers, and can also be followed back. What can and can’t be seen differs between friends and followers, with only some information available to followers.

Hyrb makes it clear in the video that it’s entirely up to the individual whether they follow back or not, and also highlights how easy it now is to block people who you don’t want to interact with.

Another Twitter-style feature is the Activity Feed, a real-time insight into what the people you are interested in are up to on Xbox Live.

There’s also a quickly accessible favourites list, to which users can add a core group of friends who they regularly play with.

The Xbox One is set to be released in the UK on 22 November.