The Xbox One preview program has proved to be a really awesome initiative this year, allowing gamers to test the new iterations of the console's core software ahead of their official release and ensuring a constant stream of updates that proved relatively bug-free.

Microsoft is currently sending a mail to those that helped including their thanks for all the help:

This week, we kicked off 2015 with the February system update preview, but now we wanted to take a minute to say thanks for an amazing 2014. We've worked hard to make Xbox One the best place to play, and we couldn't have done it without your help!

The mail also includes a few stats and shoutouts to those users that contributed the most:

  • 6,140,355 Preview points earned on the My stats leaderboards.
  • 360,951 quests completed.
  • 22,723 posts in the Xbox.com Preview forums.
  • 1,915 Preview points earned by The Wee Bear - the leader on the global My stats leaderboards!
  • 9 Preview update waves in 2014.

Here are just a few of the many important pieces of feedback you gave us:

  • In the June update preview, eagle-eyed growndhog was there to tell us about some errors that happened after moving games to a new hard drive. Fixed!
  • July brought reports of several users noticing that controllers weren't turning off automatically with the console, led by CyReN CE. Fixed!
  • In August, FnormONE sounded the alarm that the new activity feed wasn't automatically updating, and that sometimes he'd get a black screen when he opened the Friends app. Fixed!
  • September showed us how much you love watching TV on Xbox One, and you filled us in about crackling and popping sounds (first reported by BIGROOT) and motion jitter (noticed first by Ghryphon). Fixed and fixed!
  • While checking out the October preview, GboroPirate let us know that Home was really dim after startup. Fixed!
  • November was where you got creative with backgrounds, but some of you (like djfreek) also noticed that some tiles were missing on Home after changing your background. Fixed!

Thanks again - we're floored by the dedication you've shown to helping make Xbox One a continually-improving platform. You've earned a special place in the history of Xbox One. Here's to a great 2015!

Emily Hanson

Program Manager, Xbox One Preview Program

GT: Miss Portia

It's definitely nice to see Microsoft giving credit where it's due. The preview program has proved its merit through the first year of the console's lifetime, and honestly it's hard to understand why Sony still hasn't announced anything similar for the PS4.