The Xbox One's screenshot feature is still months away

Xbox One
The Xbox One can take videos, but not screenshots

It was just a couple of weeks ago when Microsoft Game Studios Corporate Vice President Phil Spencer got our hopes up regarding the Xbox One's inability take screenshots, and already he's dashing those hopes just a little bit.

When Spencer said in early October that Microsoft is indeed working on letting users take screenshots - strangely, the system can easily record video footage, but not still images - we had hoped that update might come soon.

He mentioned it in the same breath as custom themes and personalization, after all, and Microsoft this week confirmed that's coming in the November Xbox One update.

But Spencer has now confirmed to IGN that the Xbox One won't be able to take screenshots until 2015 at the earliest.

Happy new year

"In December, it's probably a time for us to pause for a little bit and settle just as all the new consoles are coming online," Spencer said. "As we come back into the new year, we'll see new stuff, and screenshots is on the list."

He said "it's a little more technically challenging" than he thought, especially since no one wants the feature to just clip potentially low-res or motion-blurred images from the videos the console takes.

"They're working on it," Spender continued. "They know people want it. The team has a path to getting it done, and now it's just prioritizing."

He added that improving install times is another priority for the team.

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.