Over the weekend, Microsoft released the first wave of updates for the Xbox One. According to many, the update was welcomed by gamers since the system needed some major changes to help with the flow of the console's features.

For those that may not know, this update is part of the Xbox One preview program. According to Gotta Be Mobile, the Preview Program is how Microsoft tests new Xbox One software ideas and services before they're available to everyone else. It used to run through forums but last year an app and dashboard for the console was launched so that members didn't have to go to their smartphones or PCs in order to provide feedback.

Xbox's Major Nelson reported the three new features: party chat improvements, game hub links and achievement notifications. The Party App will help with microphone set-up and shows when privacy settings or networking issues are blocking communication with party members.

Major Nelson continued to bring up the game hub, saying, "Members can more easily discover game hub content from activity feed items. You'll see activity feed items when any of your friends follow a game, and you'll also be able to get back to a game's hub from activity feed posts related to the game - including feed items about the game's achievements, game clips and screenshots. Finally, we've added a link to game hubs from the game's page in the achievements app."

Now players won't have to open the achievements app in order to look at their achievements notifications. The speed of seeing these notifications are also faster.

The second wave of update for the Preview Program is set to release later this week or early next week.