- Staff Reportedly Disliked Microsoft’s ‘This is an Xbox’ Campaign
- The Verge reports that it “offended many Xbox employees internally”
- The initiative was tied to the broader “Xbox everywhere” strategy that was apparently being driven at the time by former Xbox president Sarah Bond.
Many internal employees reportedly did not like Microsoft’s ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign.
This is according to The Verge, which reports that the 2024 publicity stunt not only divided consumers at the time, but also “offended many Xbox employees internally.”
Although details were released, the initiative was said to be linked to the broader “Xbox everywhere” strategy being pushed at the time by former Xbox president Sarah Bond, who stepped down from her role last week following the retirement of Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer.
The ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign focused not only on the console, but also on other devices. He claimed that tablets, phones, the Samsung Smart TV, the Amazon Fire TV Stick and more count as “one Xbox.” Basically, it pushed the idea that gamers wouldn’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 was undervaluing its core 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 last year’s marketing efforts suggested the former president was invested in expanding the Xbox brand from being known as solely console-based.
It is also noted that Bond personally announced the Xbox mobile game store in July 2024, as a way to promote the multi-device Xbox push, and that Xbox employees, past and present, paint a negative picture of Bond’s relationship with the rest of the staff.
After Spencer’s retirement and Bond’s resignation were formally announced last week, Asha Sharma, an executive at Microsoft’s CoreAI division, was confirmed to take over as CEO of Xbox Gaming.
In a message shared at the time, Sharma made promises about “the return of Xbox” and the creation of “human-made” games.
However, despite the CEO’s comments, original Xbox co-founder and console designer Seamus Blackley believes Microsoft will eventually shutter its gaming business as the company shifts its focus toward AI.
The best Xbox controllers
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
