{"id":1855396,"date":"2026-03-30T11:39:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T08:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1855396"},"modified":"2026-03-30T11:39:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T08:39:30","slug":"it-didnt-feel-like-xbox-microsoft-confirms-new-xbox-boss-scrapped-controversial-this-is-an-xbox-ad-campaign-as-part-of-brand-reset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1855396","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;It didn&#8217;t feel like Xbox&#8221; &#8211; Microsoft confirms new Xbox boss scrapped controversial This is an Xbox ad campaign as part of brand &#8220;reset&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">&#8220;It didn&#8217;t feel like Xbox&#8221; &#8211; Microsoft confirms new Xbox boss scrapped controversial This is an Xbox ad campaign as part of brand &#8220;reset&#8221;<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Following campaign&#8217;s recent disappearance.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/xbox-(1)_PG3QyDU.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Microsoft's This is an Xbox campaign with a sad face with Xbox logos for its eyes overlaid on top.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"xbox-(1)_PG3QyDU.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1521645425.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Matt Wales avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1521645425.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/matt-wales\">Matt Wales<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      News Reporter<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-03-30T11:39:30+00:00\">March 30, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-confirms-new-xbox-boss-scrapped-controversial-ad-campaign?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          17 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>\nWeeks after keen-eyed internet observers began noticing Microsoft&#8217;s controversial This is an Xbox ad campaign had seemingly been yanked, the company has confirmed its demise, attributing the decision to new gaming boss Asha Sharma and a &#8220;reset&#8221; of the Xbox brand.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nMicrosoft&#8217;s This is an Xbox campaign &#8211; reportedly the brainchild of former Xbox president Sarah Bond &#8211; launched back in 2024, effectively decoupling the Xbox brand from its traditional console home and repositioning it as a device-agnostic platform accessible on everything from mobile to laptops.\n<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Xbox Partner Preview | March 2026\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gf6hN1NvIQU?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/gf6hN1NvIQU\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Xbox Partner Preview | March 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Xbox Partner Preview, March 2026.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gf6hN1NvIQU\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\nThe campaign, which appeared to actively discourage customers from purchasing Xbox hardware, immediately proved controversial &#8211; both among the Xbox fanbase and, according to a report by The Verge, internally, with the publication claiming it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-insider-report-paints-different-picture-of-spencer-retirement-and-bond-departure\">also &#8220;offended many Xbox employees&#8221;<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\nFollowing Bond&#8217;s departure from Microsoft earlier this year &#8211; a move coinciding with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/today-marks-an-exciting-new-chapter-xbox-boss-phil-spencer-retiring-amid-major-leadership-shakeup-that-sees-microsofts-coreai-president-taking-over-roll\">former Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer&#8217;s retirement<\/a> &#8211; it wasn&#8217;t long before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/time-to-pay-your-last-respects-to-microsofts-this-is-an-xbox-campaign-as-it-appears-to-have-been-killed-off\">This is an Xbox&#8217;s campaign page quietly disappeared<\/a>. And now, speaking to Windows Central, a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed its new CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Asha Sharma, was behind the move to &#8216;retire&#8217; it.\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Asha retired This is an Xbox because it didn&#8217;t feel like Xbox,&#8221; a Microsoft spokesperson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.windowscentral.com\/gaming\/xbox\/why-did-microsoft-end-this-is-an-xbox-marketing-microsoft-responds-it-didnt-feel-like-xbox\">told the publication<\/a>. &#8220;She is personally leading a reset of how we show up as a brand.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nWhen Sharma (previously the president of Microsoft&#8217;s CoreAI team) was announced as Spencer&#8217;s replacement back in February, one of her first pledges was to &#8220;celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are.&#8221; She also promised &#8220;not to chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nSoon after, Microsoft <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/project-helix-dev-kits-not-going-out-until-2027-and-other-new-details-on-xboxs-next-gen-console\">shared first details of Project Helix<\/a>, the codename for its next generation Xbox console, which it said is &#8220;designed to play your Xbox console and PC games, delivering high performance and providing the ultimate player-first experience.&#8221; Developer kits for the new machine aren&#8217;t expected to go out until next year.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>\nWeeks after keen-eyed internet observers began noticing Microsoft&#8217;s controversial This is an Xbox ad campaign had seemingly been yanked, the company has confirmed its demise, attributing the decision to new gaming boss Asha Sharma and a &#8220;reset&#8221; of the Xbox brand.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nMicrosoft&#8217;s This is an Xbox campaign &#8211; reportedly the brainchild of former Xbox president Sarah Bond &#8211; launched back in 2024, effectively decoupling the Xbox brand from its traditional console home and repositioning it as a device-agnostic platform accessible on everything from mobile to laptops.\n<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Xbox Partner Preview | March 2026\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gf6hN1NvIQU?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/gf6hN1NvIQU\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Xbox Partner Preview | March 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Xbox Partner Preview, March 2026.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gf6hN1NvIQU\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\nThe campaign, which appeared to actively discourage customers from purchasing Xbox hardware, immediately proved controversial &#8211; both among the Xbox fanbase and, according to a report by The Verge, internally, with the publication claiming it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/xbox-insider-report-paints-different-picture-of-spencer-retirement-and-bond-departure\">also &#8220;offended many Xbox employees&#8221;<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\nFollowing Bond&#8217;s departure from Microsoft earlier this year &#8211; a move coinciding with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/today-marks-an-exciting-new-chapter-xbox-boss-phil-spencer-retiring-amid-major-leadership-shakeup-that-sees-microsofts-coreai-president-taking-over-roll\">former Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer&#8217;s retirement<\/a> &#8211; it wasn&#8217;t long before <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/time-to-pay-your-last-respects-to-microsofts-this-is-an-xbox-campaign-as-it-appears-to-have-been-killed-off\">This is an Xbox&#8217;s campaign page quietly disappeared<\/a>. And now, speaking to Windows Central, a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed its new CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Asha Sharma, was behind the move to &#8216;retire&#8217; it.\n<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Asha retired This is an Xbox because it didn&#8217;t feel like Xbox,&#8221; a Microsoft spokesperson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.windowscentral.com\/gaming\/xbox\/why-did-microsoft-end-this-is-an-xbox-marketing-microsoft-responds-it-didnt-feel-like-xbox\">told the publication<\/a>. &#8220;She is personally leading a reset of how we show up as a brand.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nWhen Sharma (previously the president of Microsoft&#8217;s CoreAI team) was announced as Spencer&#8217;s replacement back in February, one of her first pledges was to &#8220;celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are.&#8221; She also promised &#8220;not to chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop.&#8221;\n<\/p>\n<p>\nSoon after, Microsoft <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/project-helix-dev-kits-not-going-out-until-2027-and-other-new-details-on-xboxs-next-gen-console\">shared first details of Project Helix<\/a>, the codename for its next generation Xbox console, which it said is &#8220;designed to play your Xbox console and PC games, delivering high performance and providing the ultimate player-first experience.&#8221; Developer kits for the new machine aren&#8217;t expected to go out until next year.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News &#8220;It didn&#8217;t feel like Xbox&#8221; &#8211; Microsoft confirms new Xbox boss scrapped controversial This is an Xbox ad campaign as part of brand &#8220;reset&#8221; Following campaign&#8217;s recent disappearance. Image credit: Eurogamer News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on March 30, 2026 17 comments Weeks after keen-eyed internet observers began noticing Microsoft&#8217;s controversial [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1855396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1855396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1855396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1855396\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1855396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1855396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1855396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}