Official word on Xbox One Achievements

Last Updated: June 17, 2013

xbox-one-dashboard

Major Nelson recently posted a piece on his blog from Cierra McDonald, who is the Program Manager for the Xbox Live Achievements service. She detailed exactly what changes are coming in respect of Achievements on the Xbox One and how the new system will work. So without further ado, here’s everything you need to know:

  • Current gamerscore: Your current Xbox 360 gamerscore will carry over to the Xbox One.
  • Unlock bonus items: You will be able to unlock digital artwork, new maps, unlockable characters and temporary stat boosts via Achievements.
  • Two types of Achievements: There will be two types of Achievements: Achievements and Challenges – yes both are technically called “Achievements”.
  • Status of Achievements: “Achievements Achievements” will exist as they do currently – a goal or task to complete and a corresponding reward in the form of gamerscore points or a new unlock, as detailed above.
  • What are Challenges: Challenges are like temporary opportunities, or chances, to gain a new unlock (Challenges do not give you gamerscore). All Challenges will be time-limited – you can only unlock them during a specific time window.
  • DVR capture: When you successfully complete an Achievement or Challenge it will often be accompanied by a DVR capture, so you can show your friends exactly what you did (and why you’re better than them!).
  • Continuous additions: Developers can add more Achievements and Challenges after a game has been released.
  • Gamerscore: As noted above, only Achievements (which can be earned at any time and are NOT limited by time windows/do not expire) will give you gamerscore points.
  • Multiple game relations: Challenges can span across titles (for example, get a headshot in every single Call of Duty game within one weekend). Achievements are limited to individual games.
  • Community Challenges: Some Challenges require an entire community to unlock. For example, gamers must get 1 million headshots in Battlefield 4 over a weekend. If this is done, then every player who got a headshot in that period will get the Challenge reward.

So, having read our neat summary above, what’s your view on the Achievements system for the Xbox One?