Microsoft has confirmed that its new gaming boss Asha Sharma personally killed the company’s controversial “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign — because, ironically, “it didn’t feel like Xbox.”
The promotional slogan was announced with fanfare back in late 2024 when Microsoft tried to convince the world that “Xbox” could actually refer to any object that played Xbox games. This meant your smartphone was an Xbox, your dusty old tablet was an Xbox, and even your Smart TV could be an Xbox — something that also rather suggested you no longer needed to buy an actual Xbox anymore.
For a company that was already having issues shifting Xbox consoles, the marketing campaign felt a little short-sighted — a view reportedly also held by numerous staff at Xbox itself, whose job it had been to try and make the Xbox Series X/S not a flop. In recent weeks, fans have spotted “This is an Xbox” marketing pages disappear from the internet, while a report has stated that team members had been “offended” by it ever existing. And now, Microsoft has officially confirmed the slogan is dead, with Sharma to thank for it being finished off.
“Asha retired ‘This is an Xbox’ because it didn’t feel like Xbox,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Central. “She is personally leading a reset of how we show up as a brand.”
The narrative here certainly seems clear, with previous reporting pinning the promotional slogan’s existance on former Xbox CEO Sarah Bond, who received only the briefest of acknowledgements on her way out the door. Still, it should be remembered that Bond ultimately reported into former Microsoft gaming boss Phil Spencer, who Sharma has now directly replaced.
Regardless, with Bond gone following Sharma’s promotion, the latter seems happy to wipe the slate clean of a marketing campaign disliked by fans, and now at odds with the company’s fresh focus on selling the potential of Project Helix, Microsoft’s nebulous PC/console hybrid that it likely hopes will find a larger audience than Series X/S, whenever it actually arrives.
Microsoft boss Satya Nadella recently backed Xbox by insisting that Microsoft is “long on gaming” and will always invest in it. Days later, Microsoft revealed early features of Project Helix, while confirming plans to send alpha versions of the hardware to developers in 2027. Whether it will also launch publicly in 2027, however, remains to be seen.
Continued external pressures on the games industry, such as component shortages and logistical challenges sparked by global trade issues — including an ever-changing set of tariffs and conflict in the Middle East — have contributed to higher costs across the board. Earlier today, Xbox’s big rival PlayStation confirmed it was raising its console prices yet again, with PS5 Pro set to rise in cost by a staggering $150. The PS5, of course, can already play numerous Xbox-published games — but is it an Xbox? Apparently no, not anymore.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
