Earlier this week, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma made a post on X asking gamers: “Xbox” or “XBOX”? Out of just over 19,000 votes, the choice was obvious: fans wanted XBOX, with a 64.8% win percentage over the other option. Microsoft has since taken this to heart by rebranding the Xbox account on X with all-caps XBOX, as well as new graphics & a logo.
The Verge was one of the first outlets to notice the change, and it notes that Bluesky and Threads accounts have yet to reflect the slight renaming.
The original Xbox console released in 2001, its name was all capital letters. The subsequent logos for its successors were also in caps, but the brand was spelled normally by Microsoft. Earlier this year, Sharma reverted Microsoft Gaming’s name back to Xbox, so it’s entirely possible that the XBOX spelling is back as well. This could very well be an exercise in branding and nostalgia for a time when Xbox was at its peak before the significant declines that the company has recently suffered in hardware and game sales.
Shortly after Sharma took over from her predecessor, Phil Spencer, diehard Xbox fans urged her to rethink Microsoft’s multiplatform strategy that brought several formerly exclusive games to PlayStation 5 and Switch consoles. That may not be feasible anymore after the big numbers that some of the games made on PS5. Sharma also killed off the unpopular “This is an Xbox” publicity campaign.
The real make-or-break moment of Sharma’s stint at the top may come with the release of the next-gen Xbox, Project Helix. That console may still be years away at the earliest. In the meantime, Xbox is lowering the price for Game Pass Ultimate. Additionally, the Call of Duty games will be removed from day-one Game Pass access. It’s possible that more AAA titles could get dropped from Game Pass as well.
Author: HLX Typhon 7