Microsoft begins testing a Night Mode for Xbox consoles

Xbox Series X
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft has begun rolling out a new night mode for its Xbox consoles.

While not currently available to all players – only Xbox Insiders participating in the Alpha Skip-Ahead ring get to try it out right now – the feature will enable players to set a blue light filter – super helpful for those late-night sessions – and dim their screens, as well as modify the brightness of the ambient lights on both the console's button light and the LED in the controller.

"Night Mode has now been added as a new feature in Settings!" Microsoft announced in a post on the Xbox Newswire (thanks, The Verge). "Users can now dim and filter their screen, as well as dim their console & controller LED brightness."

Players will also be able to set the console to disable HDR when dark mode is active, too, and schedule the mode – automatically or manually – to turn on and off according to the sunrise and sunset in your region. 

Right now the feature is only available to testers via the English language, although Microsoft does say that "localization is still pending", which hopefully means alternate languages will hopefully soon follow.

For those who do have the inside track, the new update is available now and should be available when you next update your system.

Still yet to make a decision about whether or not you should commit to an Xbox Series X? 

"You shouldn't think of the Xbox Series X as an evolution of the Xbox One that launched in 2013," we said in the 12DOVE Xbox Series X review, which we awarded four stars out of a possible five. 

"Always listening, frequently watching, and rarely responding as you believed that it should or hoped that it could – Microsoft abandoned it and the battle for input one long ago. It's better to think of the Xbox Series X as an iteration of the Xbox One as it exists today, and as a continuation of the ecosystem that has flourished around it."

As for the best games available on Xbox Series X? Check out our summary of the upcoming Xbox Series X games.

Vikki Blake
Weekend Reporter, 12DOVE

Vikki Blake is 12DOVE's Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.