Xbox Fans Have 24 Hours With Their Avatars Before They Are Gone Forever

Xbox fans on Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X have 24 hours with their Avatars before they are gone forever. Avatars debuted all the way back on November 19, 2008 via the Xbox 360 included in the “New Xbox Experience,” a major update to the Xbox console at the time. And during the Xbox 360 generation, Avatars were extremely popular and a core part of the user experience on Xbox.

This didn’t continue with the Xbox One generation, which is perhaps why Microsoft issued a major update to Avatars on November 12, 2015 with the “New Xbox One Experience” update. Then it updated Avatars again in 2018, and this update introduced the “next-generation” version of Avatars. These two subsequent updates didn’t salvage anything though. By 2018, in just 10 years, Avatars went from a core part of the Xbox experience to an afterthought. And this is why Xbox is shutting down Avatars, or at least somewhat.

In 24 hours — or in other words, starting on January 9 — the Xbox Avatar Editor app will no longer be available on Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, or Windows devices. As a result, Xbox users will no longer be able to access this app, which includes the Avatars within and any purchased Avatar items. Where things get a little confusing though is this is not the case with all Xbox Avatars.

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According to Microsoft, this shutdown will not affect the Xbox Original Avatars, which will continue to work in supported Xbox 360 games. And you will be able to edit these Xbox Original Avatars from the Xbox Original Avatars app on both Xbox consoles and Windows devices. Xbox Original Avatars refer to the Avatars introduced back in 2008 that have been carried through to modern machines via the Xbox Original Avatars app. How long this app will be available, Xbox doesn’t say. There’s currently no plans to shut it down, or at least none that have been disclosed. As long as this app remains up, all Xbox Avatar-themed profile picture changes will need to be made via this app.

Those set to lose access to cosmetics they bought will get a refund, but only for purchases between November 1, 2023 and January 9, 2025. Anything purchased before this date will not get refunded in any capacity.

Microsoft does not dive deeply into explaining this change, which has upset some Xbox fans. According to it though, the closure is simply down to “low engagement.”

“Microsoft is dedicated to delivering great experiences for players, including a variety of options to personalize their gaming experience with Xbox,” says Microsoft. “Due to low engagement and our shift in focus towards delivering other player experiences, the Xbox Avatar Editor app will no longer be available starting on January 9, 2025.”

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