Late last year, Microsoft launched a marketing campaign that challenged what it takes to be an Xbox. It broadened the definition to where phones, TVs, and even Fire TV sticks could be considered an Xbox. The promotion quickly became a joke among gamers, with some seeing it as the end of Xbox’s brand identity. However, things have changed, so much so that the idea of various household gadgets being Xboxes is less humorous and more so a reality.
This “immersive takeover”, as Microsoft called it, arguably began with Game Pass; the service which helped expand the Xbox brand to PCs, then to mobile devices, smart TVs, and more. Even as developers and players questioned how Game Pass would sustain itself at the start, the service is still going strong to this day. It remains one of the greatest deals out there for gamers, and turns a high profit for Microsoft. With Game Pass and the Xbox app, other brands and devices want a piece of the action, and when they join in they willingly become Xboxes too.
Related
New Xbox Controller Has a Ton of Potential
A new officially-licensed Xbox controller is launching soon, and brings a slew of nifty features at an attractive price point.
Why Everything Feels Like it Became an Xbox Overnight
It’s been six years since PC Game Pass turned computers into Xboxes, and now Xbox fans have a plethora of options at their disposal. Alongside phones and smart TVs, the recent Xbox Games Showcase announced the upcoming ROG Xbox Ally handheld. It will bring Xbox to the handheld market to compete with the Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck this holiday season. A new Xbox-branded Meta Quest 3S has also been leaked, and Nintendo and Microsoft still seem determined to make Call of Duty a staple on Switch. Clearly, there are a lot of ways to get a taste of the Xbox experience, and that even includes competing platforms like the PlayStation 5.
Players have questioned Microsoft’s rather friendly strategy of giving exclusives like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle away to its competitors, but now, there’s an interesting picture being painted looking back. Indiana Jones may have sold considerably faster on the PS5, but Microsoft still sees a fair bit of profit from it through publisher Bethesda. It gives new weight to the use of the word “takeover” with the original ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign, as allowing exclusive titles to prosper on rival platforms kills two birds with one stone. Specifically, Microsoft gets some profit from its rivals while incidentally making an argument that PlayStations and Nintendo Switches are also Xboxes. They might not be tied to Game Pass or Xbox Anywhere yet, but they’re still devices that players can use to get part of the Xbox experience.
As laughable as fans found the ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign was when it was first revealed, its gaming and services revenue is still on the up compared to Microsoft’s consistent console sales losses. While the gain reported for Q3 2025 was only 5% in general gaming and 8% in Xbox’s service offerings, it still shows that turning other devices into Xboxes was a beneficial decision. With the ROG Xbox Ally and the Xbox Meta Quest coming soon, it’s very clear that the takeover is only just getting started. Xbox isn’t leaving the console market to pursue this approach, either.
Fans may have been far too quick to pass their regards to the “dying” Xbox brand, as it’s arguably just getting stronger through Game Pass, Xbox Anywhere, and now the surprising strength of the ‘This is an Xbox’ campaign. Some might be overjoyed that Xbox has such a strong presence on competitive platforms while also making sure its own experiences on PC and Xbox consoles are still worth investing in. Others may see the way the Xbox brand is slowly engulfing everything and find it a bit terrifying. No matter how gamers feel about it, though, one way or another, they likely already own an Xbox. However, whether they play it like an Xbox is still their choice at the end of the day.
- Brand
-
Microsoft
- Original Release Date
-
November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
-
$499
- Operating System
-
Proprietary (Windows-based)
- Processor
-
Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 3.8 GHz
- Resolution
-
720p – 4K UHD