Weeks after keen-eyed internet observers began noticing Microsoft’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 “reset” of the Xbox brand.
Microsoft’s This is an Xbox campaign – reportedly the brainchild of former Xbox president Sarah Bond – 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.
The campaign, which appeared to actively discourage customers from purchasing Xbox hardware, immediately proved controversial – both among the Xbox fanbase and, according to a report by The Verge, internally, with the publication claiming it also “offended many Xbox employees”.
Following Bond’s departure from Microsoft earlier this year – a move coinciding with former Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer’s retirement – it wasn’t long before This is an Xbox’s campaign page quietly disappeared. And now, speaking to Windows Central, a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed its new CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Asha Sharma, was behind the move to ‘retire’ it.
“Asha retired This is an Xbox because it didn’t feel like Xbox,” a Microsoft spokesperson told the publication. “She is personally leading a reset of how we show up as a brand.”
When Sharma (previously the president of Microsoft’s CoreAI team) was announced as Spencer’s replacement back in February, one of her first pledges was to “celebrate our roots with a renewed commitment to Xbox starting with console which has shaped who we are.” She also promised “not to chase short-term efficiency or flood our ecosystem with soulless AI slop.”
Soon after, Microsoft shared first details of Project Helix, the codename for its next generation Xbox console, which it said is “designed to play your Xbox console and PC games, delivering high performance and providing the ultimate player-first experience.” Developer kits for the new machine aren’t expected to go out until next year.
