'This Is an Xbox' Campaign Offended Many Xbox Employees, Report Claims

Microsoft's divisive 'This is an Xbox' selling run was disliked by galore employees, a caller study has claimed.

The advertizing — which claimed that phones, tablets and astute TVs present each counted arsenic "an Xbox" excessively — efficaciously told consumers that you nary longer needed to bargain an Xbox console to play Xbox games.

While technically existent successful immoderate respects, it was a bold determination from a institution severely struggling to vie successful the console abstraction — and a alternatively singular stance to instrumentality considering Microsoft's established committedness to gathering and selling yet different procreation of Xbox consoles successful the future, perchance arsenic soon arsenic 2027.

Now, a caller study published by The Verge has labelled this run arsenic having "offended galore Xbox employees internally", and tied it to the wider "Xbox everywhere" strategy being pushed by now-former Xbox exec Sarah Bond.

Last week, IGN exclusively broke the quality that Bond had resigned her presumption arsenic CEO of Xbox, contempt erstwhile having been expected to Phil Spencer arsenic Microsoft's eventual gaming brag (a relation that has present gone to gaming newcomer Asha Sharma instead).

The Verge's study links Bond intimately to Xbox's selling efforts past twelvemonth pursuing the departures of different elder employees, and suggests she was invested successful the determination to broaden the Xbox marque distant from the cognition that it was solely console-based. The study besides notes the information that Bond personally announced the Xbox mobile gaming store successful July 2024 — a task that would person helped this multi-device Xbox propulsion to go much realized, had it not been continually delayed.

Finally, citing sources among Xbox employees past and present, the study paints a antagonistic representation of Bond's narration to different Xbox staff.

IGN antecedently noted that Bond's departure was lone officially referenced by Spencer successful his ain leaving statement. Other statements issued astatine the clip by Sharma, Microsoft brag Satya Nadella, and Xbox studios brag Matt Booty, each made nary notation of Bond oregon her departure whatsoever.

IGN has overmuch much connected Sharma's accomplishment and the departure of Phil Spencer including the galore farewells to him from seasoned developers, Spencer's idiosyncratic words to the Xbox assemblage pursuing his departure, and Sharma's ain responses to archetypal concerns astir her caller AI enactment and deficiency of gaming manufacture occupation experience.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social