- Microsoft’s ‘This Is an Xbox’ campaign was reportedly disliked by staff
- The Verge reports that it “offended many Xbox employees internally”
- The initiative was tied to the broader “Xbox everywhere” strategy apparently being pushed at the time by former Xbox president Sarah Bond
Microsoft’s ‘This Is an Xbox’ campaign was reportedly disliked by many employees internally.
That’s according to The Verge, which reports that the 2024 ad stunt not only divided consumers at the time, but also “offended many Xbox employees internally.”
Although details were revealed, the initiative was said to be tied to the broader “Xbox everywhere” strategy being pushed at the time by former Xbox president Sarah Bond, who stepped down from her position last week following the retirement of Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
The ‘This Is an Xbox’ campaign centered not only around the console, but also other devices. It claimed that tablets, phones, Samsung Smart TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick and more all count as “an Xbox”. It essentially pushed the idea that gamers didn’t need to buy an Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, or Xbox One to play their favorite games.
While this is true in some cases, it suggests that Microsoft underestimated its most important hardware, especially at a time when the company was pushing the idea of ​​releasing Xbox games on other platforms.
The Verge reports that Bond’s link to the marketing effort last year suggested that the former president was invested in expanding the Xbox brand away from being known as console-only.
It is also noted that Bond personally announced the Xbox mobile game store in July 2024, as a way to promote the Xbox push on more devices, and that Xbox employees, past and present, paint a negative picture of Bond’s relationship with other employees.
After Spencer’s retirement and Bond’s resignation were formally announced last week, it was confirmed that Asha Sharma, a director of Microsoft’s CoreAI division, would take over the role of Xbox Gaming CEO.
In a message shared at the time, Sharma made promises about “the return of Xbox” and about creating games “made by people”.
Despite the CEO’s comments, however, original Xbox co-founder and console designer Seamus Blackley believes that Microsoft will eventually lower its games business as the company shifts its focus to AI.
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