Microsoft drops 'This is an Xbox' campaign

Microsoft appears to have removed all references to the “This is an Xbox” campaign from its Xbox Wire site. Game Developer noted the original announcement now leads to a 404 page and a tied quiz has disappeared. The timing follows weeks after Xbox head Phil Spencer announced his retirement and Sarah Bond resigned.

Launched in November 2024, the campaign aimed to reposition Xbox as a software ecosystem rather than a piece of dedicated hardware, encouraging play on laptops, handheld gaming PCs, smart TVs and mobile phones. Its all-caps font and vivid green-and-black palette were ubiquitous on billboards and online, and the company sold phone cases, T-shirts and hoodies; some critics mocked the merch, with one calling it “This is easily their worst Xbox marketing campaign ever, and that's saying a lot.” The effort had been tied to a planned Xbox digital storefront intended to rival other app platforms, but that launch was delayed and the mobile game store has not appeared.

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