Microsoft Quietly Deletes Posts With “This Is an Xbox” Tagline as Focus Shifts to Project Helix

Yesterday, at GDC 2026, Microsoft officially shared a few details about the next-generation Xbox console, Project Helix. With that, the company appears to be shuttering another chapter of its gaming strategy that it launched back in 2024. Here, we are talking about the “This Is an Xbox” marketing campaign, which, according to Game Developer, is being taken down from official posts on the Xbox Wire blog [link1, link2 (tag)] (via Wccftech).

The rise and fall of the “This Is an Xbox” marketing campaign

When the company first launched the campaign under the leadership of recently retired Phil Spencer and the then Xbox CEO, Sarah Bond, it said that almost any device could be an Xbox, and not just consoles. Smart TVs, handheld devices, VR headsets, and smartphones were all presented as gateways to the Xbox ecosystem. That messaging may have given a hint to players that Xbox consoles weren’t the priority for the company anymore.

Despite the goal of putting the Xbox front and center in players’ living rooms, the campaign was mocked heavily online, which reportedly caused internal conflict. A report by The Verge from last month hinted that the ad campaign had offended Xbox employees, as they felt the message diminished the importance of Xbox consoles at a time when its sales were under pressure.

Xbox consoles back in focus under new CEO, Asha Sharma

Now that the next-gen Xbox console, codenamed Project Helix, has officially entered the scene under the leadership of new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Microsoft appears to be hinting at a renewed focus on Xbox consoles. A few days back, Satya Nadella also reaffirmed to Xbox developers that the gaming platform will continue to get support from Microsoft, as it remains one of the fundamental pillars of the company.

The next-generation console, expected to arrive later next year, will use AMD’s custom chip and feature next-generation DirectX and FSR Diamond, hinting at strong performance, which has been hinted by a prominent industry leaker.

Not to forget, the company has also confirmed that Xbox Mode will release on Windows 11 PCs in select markets next month, which is Microsoft’s effort to unify the Xbox and Windows experience. As Sharma noted in the teaser post of Project Helix, the next-gen Xbox console will allow players to play both Xbox and PC games. Last but not least, Microsoft, at GDC 2026, also hinted that backward compatibility will make a return this year. You can read more about it in our separate coverage.

Article feature image source: Microsoft | via: IGN