Xbox’s New Boot Up Screen is Coming on May 13

New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has revealed that consoles, presumably all Xbox consoles, will receive a new boot-up screen in an update on May 13. This new boot-up screen adds a classic boot-up sound to the otherwise new, green logo for Xbox.

For those unaware, Sharma previously revealed the new Xbox logo back in April. It replaces the black-and-white minimalist Xbox logo that debuted in the early Xbox One era, when “minimalist” designs were seen as chic to everyone but the layperson, and it seems players won’t need to wait for the release of the next Xbox (Project Helix) to see this new logo in action.

New Xbox Boot-Up Screen

On Twitter, Sharma has announced that the new boot-up logo will be released on May 13. Presumably, this will release at a specific time and come with a hardware update, so the first time you boot up an Xbox on May 13 may be the last time you see the old boot-up screen. Accompanying the more boisterous green of the new logo is a more classic animation alongside a pretty nostalgic sound clip playing. The sound arguably seems to be a little too loud, but that’s probably the point. Sharma is saying the glory days of the Xbox are back, and that includes the small things like the loud boot-up screen.

Overall, there’s been a lot of positivity so far around Sharma’s tenure. Following in the footsteps of Phil Spencer is no doubt difficult, but Sharma has no doubt bred some goodwill for the company. This new boot-up screen is a small, yet effective, step toward a new era for Xbox. Furthermore, she’s also lowered the price of Xbox Game Pass, and that’s only good for consumers in a tightening economy, alongside a plethora of other communicative changes to the company. However, it’s worth noting that she is an executive, and she’s simply doing the “on-paper” aspects of her job: making the company look good.

This is the minimalist Xbox logo being replaced, for context.

It remains to be seen how it plays out in the long run, especially as Xbox navigates a new world with more studios than ever, while parent company Microsoft invests in AI. In fact, one could argue that the discontinuation of Copilot AI for Xbox consoles is yet another good marketing/public move by the CEO. On the other hand, the discontinuation of Copilot also came at a time when Sharma had brought on five former colleagues for Xbox, four of whom worked on CoreAI. Sharma believes these new team members can help Xbox “ship impact quickly,” which, for the less corporate-speaking among us, means delivering high-quality games at a good pace/release cadence. They deserve grace as Sharma’s leadership team continues to coalesce, especially since she comes from an AI background too, but so far the concrete wins outpace the possible losses.

All eyes are on Sharma right now as she brings the current Xbox Series X/S generation to an end, with upcoming game releases like Forza Horizon 6 and Fable, and heralds in the Xbox Helix Generation. Only time will tell how her tenure at Xbox is ultimately judged.