Next Xbox may have a new spin on Achievements and social networking

Polygon has the latest grist for the Xbox rumor mill today, but along with the normal (and tired) hullabaloo of whether or not the console requires an always-online connection, or allows used games at all, the story pops up a little information that we haven’t seen before. Up until now, no one has talked about the social infrastructure of the next-gen Xbox and what kinds of upgrades or changes we might see.

Video capture of gameplay with sharing and uploading to Youtube, similar to the Playstation 4 feature, is mentioned as well as an unlimited Friends list that functions more like Twitter with users following one another instead of needing two-way approval. The rumored upgrades to Achievements may have Gamerscore addicts going crazy.

With the next Xbox, developers and publishers will be able to add more achievements to a game after launch, without the need to add DLC. This is designed specifically to allow developers to tweak player behavior, perhaps urging players to check out specific areas of a game or get past a difficult spot. Next-gen achievements can also be tied to broader events, like a weekend challenge or a communal goal, like contributing a set number of kills to the bigger goal of 10,000 kills over one weekend. Companies can also create cross-title achievements, like awarding points for finishing the first chapter in two different and unrelated games published by the same company. Some of these bigger, cross-title, communal achievements will be a requirement for all titles.

Microsoft is playing around with cross-platform achievements as well. Ideally, these achievements could be earned by playing a game on the next-gen system and then using a companion app, a website or maybe even by playing a specific game, like a prequel to a next-gen title, on the Xbox 360.

Imagine the possibilities! “Used the Pizza Hut app to order a pizza while playing Halo 5 – 100G” or “Attained Prestige level in 3 consecutive Call of Duty games – 200G.”

It remains to be seen which, if any, of these rumors will prove true on May 21st during the Xbox press event.