Xbox Just Admitted Its Most Controversial Move of the Generation Was a Mistake

Xbox more or less just admitted that one of its most controversial moves of this console generation was a mistake. At the end of 2024, Xbox pushed out its high-profile “This Is an Xbox” marketing campaign. This series of promotional videos and ads was meant to highlight the fact that Xbox games could be played on platforms other than Xbox consoles, such as mobile devices, laptops, and dedicated gaming handhelds. In the eyes of many, though, this marketing push undercut the need to purchase an Xbox Series X or S console, which has since seen its sales numbers dwindle. Now, Xbox itself seems to have agreed in a roundabout way that this tactic may not have been a wise one.

As of this week, most traces of Xbox’s “This Is an Xbox” campaign have disappeared from the brand’s website. Xbox has notably deleted the original announcement of this marketing strategy from its site, signaling that it will no longer be pushing this slogan in the future. Given how prominent Xbox pushed this term just a little over a year ago (it even sold merch with “This Is an Xbox” slapped on various shirts and accessories), it’s somewhat shocking to see the company now act like it never existed to begin with.

The Timing of This Move Makes Sense

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That being said, the timing of this move makes sense from those at Xbox. As of this month, the company announced its next console, currently only known as Project Helix, is in the works and will look to play both Xbox and PC games. The mere existence of Project Helix shows that Xbox is still putting a major emphasis on its own gaming hardware, which it will continue to sell in the future. As such, by suggesting that Xbox users play games outside of its own console, it would seemingly discourage sales of Project Helix before it ever sees the light of day.

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Moving forward, the ability to play Xbox games across various platforms is undoubtedly going to remain a major part of Microsoft’s gaming strategy. Still, it likely won’t promote this feature at the expense of essentially telling people that they don’t need to buy an Xbox console. Hopefully, with this campaign now in the rearview mirror, Xbox can look to find greater success with Helix once it launches.

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[H/T Game Developer]