Microsoft’s avatar system is getting an update soon. One of the features being added with the update is one that’s pretty cool, and one that surprisingly hasn’t been asked for before.
It started with a comment made on Twitter by Seamus Blackley, co-creator of Xbox, about how hard it would be technically to add wheelchairs to avatars. Xbox engineering lead Mike Ybarra revealed images showing male and female avatars in wheelchairs.
When someone responded by saying he should start a petition, Xbox head Phil Spencer jumped in:
@goldennike11 @SeamusBlackley No petition needed, we hear you. This is something that we've already looked at, not far off.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 4, 2016
In addition to the wheelchairs, the sample avatars look a lot sharper than the current ones. Back in January 2015, Dualshockers showed job two postings from Microsoft where they revealed they were looking to improve the visual appearance of avatars. It could be that the upgraded visuals on the avatars Ybarra posted were the result of that work.
Avatars were introduced in 2008 on the Xbox 360. They were meant as a virtual representation of the player complete with customizable body styles, hair styles, clothing and accessories.
The next major update for the Xbox One, Anniversary, is expected to come out later this summer. There has been no mention if these or any avatar changes will be included.
