Right now the overall sentiment around Xbox as a brand feels mixed at best. A lot of us still love the ecosystem — Game Pass, the controller feel, the “play anywhere” promise — but there’s also a lingering sense that the console side has been deprioritized for years. Hardware sales have been soft compared to PlayStation, the “This is an Xbox” campaign quietly disappeared, and many longtime fans feel the living-room console experience hasn’t been celebrated the way it used to be.
That’s why I was genuinely happy to see Xbox announce their global FanFest tour today.
Starting June 7 in Los Angeles (right alongside the Xbox Games Showcase), the tour will hit Cologne, London, Mexico City, Seattle, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, and more cities to be announced. It’s a big celebration of Xbox’s 25th anniversary — the original console launched on November 15, 2001 — and it brings back the kind of in-person fan events that were paused during the pandemic. Hands-on demos, contests, community activities, and real face-to-face time with the brand. Asha Sharma and Aaron Greenberg both sounded excited, and early reactions from influencers are calling it a welcome return to celebrating the community.
From a consumer angle, this feels refreshing. A lot of us have been craving that direct connection again. I still associate Xbox with the actual console under the TV — even though I’m mostly on PC these days and keep a Series X within arm’s reach. Events like this remind people why they fell in love with the brand in the first place. It builds belonging and excitement heading into the summer, and psychologically that momentum matters. When fans feel seen and celebrated, they’re more likely to stay engaged and even talk positively about the platform.
On the business side, it’s a smart play. Xbox needs to rebuild emotional loyalty and hopefully turn some of that goodwill into actual console sales. It will be really interesting to watch whether this tour gives hardware numbers a bump, especially as we head toward Project Helix. At the same time, the market is only going to get more competitive. Steam Machine is still on track for later this year, PlayStation is pulling big exclusives back into their own ecosystem, and we already know Nintendo is going to keep doing its own thing on its own island. The market always decides in the end.
This FanFest tour is a net positive, no question. It shows Xbox is listening and trying to pivot quickly back toward community and hardware celebration — and they’re going to need that momentum, especially with the Gears of War: E-Day showcase coming up right behind the main Games Showcase.
I’m optimistic. It doesn’t fix every challenge overnight, but it feels like the right move at the right time. Now we watch and see how the fans and the numbers respond.
What do you think?
IGN Gave Marathon a 9/10 — Here’s Why That Score Feels Different in 2026
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Apr 1
I read IGN’s 9/10 review of Marathon, Bungie’s new extraction shooter that launched on March 5 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The review calls it “a ruthless and deeply unapproachable extraction shooter that’s worth every ounce of hell it puts you through.” IGN praised the unforgiving PvPvE tension on Tau Ceti IV, the creepy atmosphere, and the high-…
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