Xbox Series X|S Feature Lets People Bring Back Classic Xbox 360 Gamerpics
Microsoft is now testing a new Xbox Series X|S feature that'll allow people to revive their old Xbox 360 gamerpics on the newer consoles. This means that if you've had a profile picture on your account that's not aged well over the years or hasn't been available to you on the current generation of consoles, you'll have an option to bring it forward with you soon. The feature is currently testing before it gets its eventual public release.
Eden Marie, the engineering lead at Xbox, posted on Twitter this week to alert her followers of the new Xbox Series X|S feature that's currently in testing. It's available right now for those who are in the Alpha Skip Ahead Insider ring. If you're part of that group, all you have to do to try it out is reboot your console if you haven't already and then head to the "change gamerpic" option.
Hey all, I know a bunch of you were asking for a way to go back to your Xbox 360 gamerpic. Exploration Time to the rescue!
— Eden Marie (@neonepiphany) September 21, 2021
If you're an Alpha Skip Ahead Insider, you may need to reboot your console, but starting today you'll find a new option in your "change gamerpic" screen. pic.twitter.com/YWijIJR2HE
Once you've done that, you should see the screen shown in Marie's images above, though yours will look a bit different of course based on what gamerpics you have.
There are some caveats with this feature, however. The Xbox 360 gamerpic you see in the selection will be based on "whatever you're currently using on Xbox 360," Marie said in the replies, so if you want to have other Xbox 360 gamerpics as options on the newer consoles, you'll have to change your gamerpic on the 360 itself."
"FYI, this will only show up if you've ever had an Xbox 360 gamerpic, and if your current gamerpic isn't already your Xbox 360 gamerpic," Marie said. "Once it's set, any future changes you make on an Xbox 360 console will automatically carry over."
The fuss over the Xbox 360 gamerpics stems largely from nostalgia experienced by those who've been playing on Xbox consoles for that long and had specific profile pictures they were drawn to. While Xbox of course made gamerpics modeled after its biggest franchises like Halo and Gears of War, others were a hodgepodge of arcade-y pictures to choose from including smiley faces, the kid with a beanie blowing a bubble, a panda, a dog, the pirate, the monkey set to a red background, and more.
This Xbox feature is currently in testing only at the Alpha Skip Ahead stage which means it might be a while longer before it's available for everyone. If you are part of that group, however, you can go ahead and try it out now.