Major Changes Coming to XBLA Next Week

Microsoft is overhauling Xbox Live Arcade and the changes are coming to North America next week.

Do you have a tough time finding what you’re looking for when you go shopping on Xbox Live Arcade? If so, then good news: The service is getting a new way to browse content called “Destination Arcade”, which is designed to help players sort Live Arcade titles quickly and easily.

According to Major Nelson, “you’ll have the ability to sort by price, community rating, and more! Also, stay up to date on the latest arcade releases through a news feed and also find out what games your friends like and recommend.”

While we in North America are going to receive this update on July 14th, fellow gamers on other continents have yet to receive word on when they’ll see any changes. Presumably, Destination Arcade will be made available in other countries soon, but Microsoft hasn’t revealed a definite date.

Of course, the new interface will also have a new visual style, shown in the screenshots attached to this post. While I’m a fan of making it easier to sort and find Live Arcade titles, I’m not exactly thrilled with the new color scheme. It seems far less friendly than the original orange and green layout was.