- 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 wider “Xbox everywhere” strategy that was seemingly 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 advertising stunt not only divided consumers at the time, but also “offended many Xbox employees internally”.
Though the details were divulged, it’s said that the initiative was tied to the wider “Xbox everywhere” strategy that was being pushed at the time by former Xbox president Sarah Bond, who resigned from her position last week following the retirement of Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spencer.
The ‘This Is an Xbox’ campaign centered around not just the console, but also other devices. It claimed that tablets, phones, the Samsung Smart TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and more, all count as “an Xbox”. It essentially pushed the idea that players wouldn’t need to buy an Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, or Xbox One to play their favorite games.
Although this is true in some cases, it’s suggested that Microsoft was undervaluing its main 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 efforts last year suggested the former president was invested in broadening the Xbox brand away from being known as only console-based.
It’s also noted that Bond personally announced the Xbox mobile gaming store in July 2024, as a way to further the multi-device Xbox push, and that Xbox employees, past and present, paint a negative picture of Bond’s relationship to other staff.
After Spencer’s retirement and Bond’s resignation were formally announced last week, it was confirmed that Asha Sharma, an executive of Microsoft’s CoreAI division, would be taking over the role of Xbox Gaming CEO.
In a message shared at the time, Sharma made promises about “the return of Xbox” and creating games “crafted by humans”.
Despite the CEO’s comments, however, original Xbox co-founder and console designer, Seamus Blackley, believes that Microsoft will eventually sunset its gaming business as the company shifts its focus to AI.
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