Xbox is Microsoft's gaming division. Launched in 2001 with the original Xbox console (presented by Bill Gates and The Rock, no less), the division has gone through multiple permutations on its journey to its current form. Originally envisioned as a device that could bring Windows to the living room, Xbox eventually competed more directly with PlayStation targeting core gamers.
Xbox had solid success in the United States and other English-speaking markets, buoyed by heavy hitters like Halo and Forza, alongside various heavy hitting third-party exclusive titles. Microsoft's Xbox is responsible for various gaming innovations that are now commonplace. Online live infrastructure, "games as a service" titles, subscription services, and cloud-first business models owe at least something to initiatives spearheaded by Microsoft (for better or worse).
In 2013, Microsoft's push to turn Xbox into a digital-first entertainment center saw widespread pushback from the gaming community. Despite predicting trends that are now commonplace, the way Microsoft positioned Xbox back then has seen it struggle to regain the relevance it once enjoyed as a brand in a universe of increased competition from other platforms, in addition to always-on forms of entertainment and smartphone-delivered social media algorithms.
As Xbox enters its 25th year, Microsoft is once again reinventing what Xbox is with its new approach, doubling down on Windows' openness, and returning to the original vision of Windows gaming in the living room. It'll be fun to see how it pans out.
Essential Xbox reading
Latest about Xbox
After two years, Once Human is finally coming to Xbox Series X|S
Gaming Once Human launched back in 2024, initially as a PC exclusive, before being joined in 2025 by a mobile version. Now, at long last, it's finally coming to console.
Xbox's cuts and layoffs don't solve its biggest problem — What will be Asha's X factor?
Xbox In order to find the next genuine article of growth, Xbox will need to innovate in ways it hasn't seen in decades. Will Xbox CEO Asha Sharma be given the runway to do it?
Best Xbox Series X|S deals before the August 1st price rise
FOMO A live tracker for every Xbox Series X|S deal before prices rise sharply on August 1 — and potentially again in 2027 as hardware costs continue climbing.
Xbox fan sues Microsoft for banning their account and full games library
Xbox Brazilian Xbox player, Ordo_Liberal, recently won a court case against Microsoft, proving you can fight for the right to preserve digital ownership of your games and win.
Microsoft just released a PlayStation "exclusive" ... and it's topping the charts without Xbox
Xbox Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 are already available on Xbox via Xbox 360 back compat ... but there's a problem. Well, several problems.
DOOM dev id Software was "toying around" with game ideas before Xbox layoffs gutted it
Xbox Before this week's Xbox layoffs that gutted the studio, DOOM dev id Software was "toying around" with several experimental, non-DOOM game concepts.
Report: The layoffs at Xbox's DOOM studio id Software are even worse than we thought
Xbox A new report reveals that Microsoft's Xbox layoffs have hit DOOM dev id Software even harder than we first thought, with 136 workers cut from the studio.
Xbox's RPG studio Obsidian is making a new Fallout game with Bethesda
Xbox Xbox's Obsidian is canceling an Avowed sequel and pivoting to make a new Fallout game in the wake of Microsoft's mass gaming layoffs this week.
