Xbox’s Insider Program Now Open To Everyone, Here’s How It Works

For a while now, Microsoft has been running an Insider program on Xbox One, enabling a certain few to test out exclusive features for the system before they open up to the public. To give you an idea of how beneficial a program like this is, several people got to test out Xbox 360’s backward compatibility on the system with it, playing a few games months ahead of anyone else.

Up until this point, the program was exclusive to particular registrants. However, per this new blog post, it’s now open to everyone, although there are certain tiers that it is broken into, so you won’t be able to get into the higher tier right away. That said, you’ll still be able to gain access to certain features and see how the Insider program works.

In regards to how the groups – or rather, the Rings, as they call it – are broken down, we’ve got the four groups listed over the next few paragraphs, to show what each one particularly gets. You should be able to qualify for one of these fairly easily, though getting to the top tier will, again, take some time.

Omega

This is the first tier of the group, which was previously known as Ring 4. “Anyone can join the Omega group, which will be used to test minor changes made to the previously released monthly updates,” the website explains. “Additionally, the Omega group will usually get early access to an upcoming monthly update shortly before the GA (General Availability) release date.” So while that’s not full access to the program, that’s certainly a step into it, so you can begin gaining tenure and eventually make your way up to other tiers, and hopefully other features that will make you feel like you’re really roaming inside the latest updates for the system.

Delta

Next up is Delta, or Ring 3 as it was previously called. It’s a new group that’s “open to any Xbox Insider with a tenure of 1 or more months that has reached Xbox Insider Level 2 or higher,” according to the site. “Members of the Delta group may also receive builds earlier in the release schedule to test service scalability and feature acceptance. This means that not all users in the Delta group will have access to the same features at the same time.” So this is a slight step above Omega, with more features available to you, but you’ll need to have gained at least one month of experience in the program. Still, it’s a pretty neat step in the program, and gets you closer to…

Beta

This is the second-to-highest tier in the Xbox Insider program. Although its description is pretty basic, it does lay down the features of this particular section pretty nicely. “Now open to Xbox Insiders with a tenure (time in program) of three or more months and an Xbox Insider XP of Level 4 or higher.” As you can see, it requires a greater deal of experience, probably more aimed at veterans, but if you just joined earlier this year and interacted with the program for a good deal of time, you should have no trouble qualifying for this particular tier, and eventually making your way to the elite class of the Xbox Insider program, which is…

Alpha

Here it is, the very top class that you can get in Xbox Insider, and it’s really top notch for those of you that want to see what’s on the horizon of the system. “Invite-only early access ring reserved for Xbox Insiders that provide the most customer feedback, report problems with clear repro steps and are especially active on Xbox One consoles,” the site reads. “From time to time, our best Beta and Delta users will get invited to join the Alpha group.” So it’s the hardest one to get in, but worth it if you interact with the program and its community in the right way. It’s like the red carpet of Insider, so if that’s your bag, don’t hesitate to reach out and see how you can contribute.

The Xbox Insider program is open now for Xbox One.