Achievements getting overhaul for Xbox One

Microsoft has announced a number of changes to the way Achievements will work on Xbox One. Speaking via Major Nelson's blog, Cierra McDonald, the Program Manager of Xbox Live Achievements, confirmed that your Gamerscore and XBL profile will carry over from Xbox 360 to Xbox One.

She also outlined details of a new type of Achievement called Challenges. These appear alongside traditional Achievements, and are implemented by developers for a set period of time. Complete the specific challenge (let’s say 50 Bulltrues in a weekend on Halo 5) and the completed challenge stays on your profile.

Games publishers will be able to set Challenges that span multiple games too, so EA might ask you to win a game in three different sports titles, for example. Challenges will not add to your Gamerscore, though.

McDonald also outlined changes to the rewards you’ll get for completing Achievements. As well as Avatar items, you’ll also unlock digital art, special characters, and ability boosts.

Most interesting, though, is the fact that Achievements live in The Cloud. This means that they can be updated and added quickly. So, if people are behaving in a certain way in a game (playing Cat and Mouse in Forza 5 for example), the developer can add Achievements to reward that. Microsoft says that the community will be able to vote on specific, temporary Challenges, and turn them into full Achievements if the demand is there.

McDonald also says that Achievements may be integrated into other aspects of Xbox One use, like streaming TV and watching Blu-rays.