The Xbox Insider Alpha and Alpha Skip-Ahead rings are the hardest ones in the Xbox Preview program to get into, but today, Microsoft announced that it will be expanding the membership of both rings in the near future.
In a blog post, the company stated that it will be sending out more invites for Xbox Insiders to join either the Alpha or Alpha Skip-Ahead rings in the coming week. In fact, Microsoft says it plans to send out more invites to join these rings on a more regular basis in the coming year.
Microsoft didn't say why it was expanding the memberships of these Xbox Insiders rings right now. However, it's possible it has some big plans for updating the Xbox system and needs more people to test these upcoming features.
Just a reminder: Here's what people in the Xbox Insider Alpha ring can expect when they selected and receive updates
- This is a preview version of the next OS that will be released to the public
- Alpha receives a pre-release version of the next build before any other ring
- Alpha may have features different than both Alpha Skip-Ahead and at times other Xbox Update Preview rings
The Alpha Skip-Ahead members get some different updates:
- An invite only ring that receives preview builds of a future Xbox OS release
- “Future” release means these builds may not be released to the public for some time. In other words, this will be a preview of a release after the next public release. As such, Alpha Skip-Ahead may contain different features than other rings
If you are a member of any of the other Xbox Insider rings, or if you are a member of the Windows Gaming preview release, Microsoft says they are looking broadly for testers with these kinds of qualifications:
- High-quality submitted feedback
- Quest/survey participation
- Participation in playtests
- Participation in the Windows Gaming preview
- More than anything, we are looking for users who are enthusiastic about participating
If you do get invited, you will see a notification toast when you sign in to your Xbox game console. Then just launch the Xbox Insider Preview hub, click on Previews > Xbox Update Preview > Manage, and then select either Alpha or Alpha Skip-Ahead. Finally, select Done to start downloading your new Xbox Inside update.
One more thing: Microsoft says that invites to these rings are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. So if you do get an Alpha or Alpha Skip-Ahead invite, you will definitely need to accept it ASAP or you might have to wait until the next invite wave.
