Here’s How to Make Your Own Xbox One Background

This past Monday, we announced a slate of new customization options for Xbox One, including the ability to choose a custom color or achievement art as your background. We also promised more customization options coming down the road. For those of you in the Xbox Preview Program, those new options are beginning to roll out today.

Xbox One Backgrounds

The latest Media Player update allows you to create customized Xbox One backgrounds using your own pictures. Here’s how it works:

  1. Connect a USB to console / Connect a source through DLNA
  2. Launch Media Player (either directly or through Settings>My Xbox > My background > Custom image)
  3. Navigate to source of your choosing (USB/DLNA)
  4. Navigate to folder/file of your choosing
  5. Select the jpg/png image – see it full screen.
  6. Once you are viewing the image full screen, hit the menu button.
  7. Select “Set as background”
  8. You will be sent back to the full screen view of the image. Hit nexus, see the image on Home.

To help select or create an image that will work best for the background, the Xbox Design Team created handy Photoshop template so you can see what parts of your pic will be blocked by the tiles. Download it here (Adobe Photoshop required to open): http://mjr.mn/XBOBackgrounds (I had the PSD template updated with green squares instead of transparent. This will help better position your background)

If you make a great background, share it! Drop a link into the comments below for others to download and try.
Note: all links are automatically pulled into moderation, they’ll be approved within 24 hours.

If you are having trouble, remove the media player app and reinstall it. Read the comments below for more troubleshooting tips.

Update: There is a new subreddit now open for Xbox One Backgrounds.