Xbox Turns 20 in November, But They’ve Started Celebrating Now

So, I’ve talked a bit in this space lately about how my wedding anniversary corresponds with some key Sonic the Hedgehog and SEGA moments, but what didn’t strike me until just recently is that while not quite as close, it also corresponds with Xbox.

I blame anniversary fatigue, personally. Seems like something is being celebrated or remarked upon every single day of every single year. “Hey, did you know that Green Dog came out 29 years ago this day?” Yeah, it starts to become a blur, and sometimes you end up not noticing some neat ones that line up as a result.

But, I digress.

This is neat. My wife and I have been married for 20 years, and Xbox turns 20 this year — November, specifically. And they managed to tie it back around for us by starting the celebration early!

Time travel back to 2001 with us for a moment: Mary J. Blige had the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100, Monsters, Inc. and Britney Spears set a new trend in fashion wearing a dress made entirely of denim. And best of all, fans met Master Chief and Cortana for the first time. However, playing on Xbox meant hooking up your console with three (or more!) cables to a standard TV, pre-ordering games and standing in line at your favorite retail store to pick them up and playing games by yourself or at a friend’s house sitting next to them on the couch.

Fast forward to present day, and gaming looks wildly different! You can play a variety of games with more diverse heroes than ever before, with friends all over the planet on a console, your laptop PC or mobile.

Today, and on up through November, they’re celebrating in a variety of fun ways.

For starters, the Xbox Gear Shop has some cool merchandise like you see above that not only celebrates the 20th anniversary of Xbox, but the game that launched alongside it, Halo.

As someone who is constantly feeding new images into my randomized wallpaper rotation, this one is a personal favorite: Xbox wallpapers.

You’ve got wallpapers for your desktop PC (wide and standard), for your mobile devices (tablets and phones), and even for your Xbox One (and presumably Series X|S)!

What’s more, there are 327 of them currently, and the number has only gone up since they’ve started! Multiply that times the five versions of each, and that’s 1,635 different wallpapers there! I’ve been grabbing a bunch, but man, would a zip file downloader ever come in handy here!

Oh, and if you’re interested in some backgrounds for video calls? They’ve got you covered.

There’s also a new “The Original” dynamic background available in the Personalization menu on the Xbox Series X|S that mimics the background of the original Xbox. There’s also a new 20-Year gamerpic and “The Original” profile theme in the Customization Profile menu.

Xbox wouldn’t have stuck around for 20 years if there wasn’t any games, and so they’ve put together a collection of 96 titles currently available which have helped shape the brand over the last two decades. If you’re using your console to browse and purchase, you can find them by entering “Xbox Anniversary” in the search bar.

More happenings will involve being a part of Xbox FanFest, which you can sign up for here. You can participate in special events and chats with the creators of Xbox that aren’t available on other platforms, i.e. Twitch or YouTube. There’s also exclusive gear to be had from the Xbox Gear Shop and sweepstakes to participate in.

You can keep up with further Xbox 20th anniversary announcements by checking in on the official Xbox 20th anniversary website throughout the year.

And if you’re active on social media?

#Xbox20: This celebration is all about you, and we want to hear what Xbox means to you. Use #Xbox20 on social media to share your favorite Xbox moments, stories, friendships, prized possessions, achievements… anything! We’ll be asking loads of questions on Xbox social channels and spotlighting your answers through November 15, so keep an eye out.

Finally, it may go without saying, but the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase is this Sunday, June 13th at 10am Pacific Time/1pm EST. It will be available on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, and will run for about 90 minutes. (More details can be found here.)

However, if you join Xbox FanFest, you can participate in a special Q&A session at 9PT/Noon EST that will have special guests Phil Spencer (Head of Xbox), Sarah Bond (Head of Game Creator Experience & Ecosystem), Aaron Greenberg (Head of Xbox Games Marketing), and Pete Hines (Head of Bethesda Marketing and Communications). But you’ve got to secure your place sooner than later, as slots are limited to 50,000 on a first come, first serve basis.

And that’s pretty much it, for now.

Thanks for reading!

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David Oxford is a freelance writer of many varied interests. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

For a full list of places to find him online, click here.