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Even something as simple as a new logo can inspire home amongst a group of gamers, and that's exactly what's happened with Xbox fans as the gaming juggernaut unveils a fresh identity with a nostalgic twist.
It's been a rough decade for Xbox as the success of PlayStation and Nintendo has made the glory days of the Xbox 360 feel ever distant, and for a while people wondered whether the company would even stay in the hardware space.
There was even more doom and gloom when gaming industry veteran Phil Spencer announced his retirement earlier this year, with Asha Sharma stepping up to replace him from her previous role as head of Microsoft's CoreAI division — which many took as a sign of bad things to come.
Sharma has achieved a lot in the short two months she's had in charge, however, making a number of potentially game-changing shifts for the direction of Xbox that could place it on the right tracks for the future.
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Chief among these is reducing the monthly cost of Game Pass Ultimate – albeit at the cost of day-one access to new Call of Duty titles – but Sharma has also emphasized a rebranding for Xbox that's already been well received by fans.
As part of a new campaign led by the phase 'We Are Xbox', the company has not only pivoted its identity from Microsoft Gaming back to just Xbox, but reignited excitement with a new logo that might remind you of the company's glory days.
The logo, unveiled on the company's X account, removes the flat white design of the previous branding in favor of a luminous green that shines in the darkness — something that's very reminiscent of the original Xbox console released back in 2001.
"Very 2001 OG vibes, I did it," wrote one commenter on Reddit responding positively to the change, with another declaring that "Xbox is starting to show out and I'm here for it."
There also appears to be another translucent logo revealed by The Verge that might remind you of Apple's Liquid Glass design approach, but the branding as a whole is definitely being led by the green aesthetic.
A new message to Team Xbox employees from Sharma and Chief Content Officer Matt Booty has also outlined the change in direction for Xbox, emphasizing the importance of a unified vision to bring the company forward together.
"Over the last five years, Xbox and the industry have been through an unimaginable amount of change, and this team has continued to deliver through it for our community," the statement reads.
"Thank you for staying focused on what matters. 62 days in, we’re proud of how we’ve honored our commitments of great games, return of Xbox, and future of play. We’re here to do the most creative and courageous work of our lives, and that’s what we’ll do together."
