Xbox Night Mode Lets You Dim Your Screen And Controllers

Microsoft is currently testing a system-level night mode for Xbox consoles, with users in the Xbox Insiders Alpha Skip-Ahead ring having access to the options right now.

The new update will give you the ability to set schedules for when your console goes into night, including manually scheduling and automatic scheduling according to your time zone's sunrise and sunset times. In night mode you can set several parameters to make gaming in the dark more comfortable, such as an adjustable blue light filter (which can affect your ability to fall asleep) and the overall brightness of the image sent to your display.

In line with brightness controls, night mode also allows you to toggle HDR on and off based on the time of day, which will prevent games from booting up with eye-searing brightness levels. The update will also finally let you toggle the brightness of the Xbox logo on both your controllers and the console itself. Sony has allowed a similar brightness adjustment on controller since the PS4.

The update is still in testing and might change as Microsoft gathers more feedback but features like this in the alpha ring usually don't take too long to eventually find their way to all users. Speaking of updates, Microsoft is planning another livestream during Gamescom this month, with several updates on already-announced titles planned for the show.