Two of the new Xbox Live social features that Microsoft announced back at E3 are now live for Preview members, and the general public can expect to start playing with LFG (as in "Looking For Group") and clubs soon. Here's how Microsoft hopes the new tools will get more folks playing together.
Every title with a Game Hub (whether it's on Xbox One, PC, or mobile) has an LFG section, and once you're there you can either peruse the current listings or create your own. Listings need a player count and can be given a bunch of tags like "mic required", "no trash talking", and "achievement hunting". Speaking of achievements, you can even tag specific achievements from the game in the listing itself.
Once you express your interest in an LFG listing or find enough players for your own, you can send out a Party Chat invite and get everyone into the game. It basically works like an official version of those third-party group finders that popped up for Destiny and the like, with the benefit of being tied directly into the platform.
For more long-term socializing, you'll want to check out Clubs. These are player-run communities that can be built around just about anything, letting players share their thoughts and highlights on the feed and set up play sessions. Clubs can be public, which means anyone can request to join and see the group's activity; private, which still allows anyone to request admission but only shows activity to members; and hidden, which is invite-only and invisible to non-members.
The Club founder can appoint moderators to keep things running smoothly even in their absence, and you can see what the group is up to whether you're on Xbox One or the Xbox App. If you have the perfect idea for a Club you'll want to claim the name soon, since their monikers all must be unique, just like gamertags.
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