Microsoft’s “This Is An Xbox” advertisement blitz, which began in 2024, prompted a range of reactions from consumers. According to a report, this was part of outgoing Xbox president Sarah Bond’s “Xbox everywhere” strategy, and some Xbox employees felt slighted by the ad campaign.
The core of the “This Is An Xbox” initiative was that the platform was more than the physical console, emphasizing the multiple ways consumers can experience Xbox games. That includes Xbox on PC, along with Xbox Cloud Gaming apps on smart TVs and mobile devices. But The Verge reports that the campaign wasn’t received well internally, having “offended” Xbox employees.
While the report doesn’t go into detail on who in the company was aggrieved or why, the advertising arguably deemphasized the Xbox hardware, and “This Is An Xbox” quickly became a meme online.
As The Verge points out, the campaign kicked off in 2024, shortly after the departure of Xbox executive Kareem Choudhry and chief marketing officer Jerret West, leaving the marketing team to report directly to Bond. The report also claims that some Xbox employees found Bond “tough” to work with.
When Phil Spencer’s retirement was announced last Friday, it was a surprise to many that Bond did not succeed him as Microsoft Gaming CEO–instead, she stepped down as president of Xbox, with Asha Sharma taking Spencer’s position. Microsoft’s announcement of the reshuffling did not include remarks from Bond, though it included letters from Spencer, Sharma, newly promoted Xbox COO Matt Booty, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Writing on her LinkedIn profile, Bond wrote: “With that, I’ve decided this is the right time for me to take my next step, both personally and professionally.” Bond had been with Microsoft since 2017.