How do I delete local game saves on Xbox?

Go to Settings > System > Storage > Manage local game saves. From there you can view and sort every local save on the console and delete the ones you no longer need. Microsoft says the cloud backup on the Xbox network is kept when you remove the local copy, so the save itself is not lost as long as it has synced.

Does deleting a local save delete my cloud save too?

No. Microsoft states that cloud saves on the Xbox network are preserved when you delete a local copy. The one thing to check first is that the game in question has actually synced to the cloud, because a local-only save that has never uploaded has no backup to fall back on.

How do I hide the Xbox Home screen interface?

Press the right thumbstick button in from anywhere on Home. The dashboard interface fades away and leaves your dynamic or custom background on screen by itself. Pressing it again brings the interface back, so it works as a quick toggle rather than a setting you have to change.

What is the Xbox Day One badge?

It is a new commemorative profile badge for players who unlocked the Day One achievement on 22 November 2013, the Xbox One launch date. It appears automatically for qualifying accounts, alongside a new badge viewer that shows high-resolution artwork and details of when and how each badge was earned.

Xbox Insider Update Adds Local Save Deletion and Badges

Q: Is this a public Xbox system update?

Not yet. It is an Xbox Insider release, and Microsoft says most of the features go to Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha ring members first, with select updates available to everyone starting today. No date has been given for the general rollout, and Insider features are sometimes changed or dropped before they ship widely.

What the Xbox Insider update changes on Home

Two things. The Recent Games & Apps row on Home is now editable: highlight anything in it, press the Menu button, and you can remove it. That includes the Play History tile, which previously sat there whether you wanted it or not.

The second change is an immersive background mode. Press the right thumbstick button in from anywhere on Home and the entire interface fades away, leaving just your dynamic or custom background on screen. It is a display toggle rather than a setting buried in a menu, so it works from wherever you happen to be on the dashboard.

How the local game save manager works

Local game saves are the copies stored on the console itself, separate from the cloud saves Microsoft keeps on the Xbox network. Until now there was no straightforward way to see what was taking up that space, or to clear out saves for games you deleted months ago.

The new screen lives at Settings > System > Storage > Manage local game saves. You can sort the list and delete individual entries, and Microsoft says the cloud backup on the Xbox network is preserved when you remove a local copy. That is the important caveat to read before you start clearing things out — it means the saves themselves are not gone, but it also means the feature only helps if your cloud saves are actually syncing.

Storage headroom is a live problem on the smaller console, as anyone who has juggled installs on a Series S knows. It is a recurring theme in patch coverage too, including the ARC Raiders 1.42.0 update and its unfixed Series S crashes.

Profile badges and the Day One badge

Badges on your profile now open into a detail view showing high-resolution artwork plus when and how each one was unlocked. Microsoft has also added a commemorative Day One badge for players who unlocked the Day One achievement on 22 November 2013 — the Xbox One launch date.

If you were there for that launch and the achievement is on your account, the badge should appear without any action on your part.

Wishlists that clear themselves

The smallest change, and the one most people will notice without being told: buying a game now removes it from your wishlist automatically. Previously you had to go back and take it off yourself, which meant most wishlists slowly filled with games their owners already had installed.

Who gets it, and when

This is an Xbox Insider release, not a public system update. Microsoft says most of the features go to Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha ring members first, with select updates available to everyone starting today. The company has not published a breakdown of which features fall into which group, and has not given a date for the general rollout — Insider features typically reach all consoles weeks or months later, and some are changed or dropped along the way.

Microsoft's post also does not break the features down by console model, so treat availability on any specific Xbox as unconfirmed until it appears on your own dashboard.

Worth checking alongside it

If you are clearing storage this week, it is a reasonable moment to look at what is arriving and leaving your library — this month's second Game Pass wave covers both. There is also an open beta running that is worth the download slot: the Gears of War: E-Day open beta on Xbox Series X|S and PC.

And if you are playing on a phone as well as a console, the Xbox controller in the photo above will pair with plenty of mobile titles — our list of Android games with full gamepad support covers what actually works properly rather than what merely claims to.