Update [Thu 29th Aug, 2024 06:00 BST]:
This feature has now launched for everyone in the latest Xbox update. You can find out more in the original story below and Xbox Wire.
"It’s now easier to get updates when one of your Discord friends is playing, chatting, or streaming. Now you can jump into voice chat with them or watch their stream – all on your Xbox console, without having to use the Discord app on PC or mobile."
Original article [Wed 31st Jul, 2024 18:00 BST]:
Microsoft has just announced some pretty big new features for its Discord integration on Xbox, and it all starts rolling out this week for members of the Xbox Insider program. Soon, Alpha Skip-Ahead and Alpha Insider rings will be able to watch friends' Discord streams directly on Xbox, with the feature to then roll out to all players shortly afterwards.
Up above, you can see how this feature will appear within the Xbox guide UI - and it looks nice and sleek to our eye. What's extra cool about this is that because of how seamlessly integrated Discord now is, the livestream will pop up natively on Xbox, without the need for another app running.
Here's how it'd look viewing someone's Minecraft livestream within Discord on Xbox:
There's another new feature tucked into this Discord-focused update as well. If you'd like to (and it's entirely optional), you'll soon be able to have your Discord friends show up right alongside your Xbox friends on the console guide. Once this update is live, you simply have to re-link your Xbox and Discord accounts, and you'll see a new option "to have your Discord friends included in your Friends list". That'll be handy!
As usual, this update is rolling out to the aforementioned Xbox Insider rings this week - and it'll eventually come to all Xbox consoles shortly thereafter, once it's all been tested and put through its paces for Xbox Insiders.