After a fan poll, Microsoft’s new games boss is rebranding Xbox, to ‘XBOX’

May 17, 2026 - 13:29

In a move that feels both nostalgic and oddly corporate, Microsoft's new games boss has decided to rebrand the entire Xbox console and service line. The new official name? Just "XBOX" - all caps, no stylized lowercase letters, no frills. The change comes after a fan poll that apparently asked players what they wanted to see from the brand's future identity. The result was a clear preference for the blocky, all-caps treatment that dominated the original Xbox era.

The shift is part of a broader series of changes led by Asha Sharma, who recently took over as head of Microsoft's gaming division. Sharma previously oversaw the transition from the "Microsoft Gaming" label to something more streamlined. Now, the company is going even further by stripping away the softer, modern typography that had become standard across Xbox Series X and Series S marketing. Instead, the logo will revert to the bold, capital-letter look that defined the early 2000s.

Fans have mixed reactions. Some see it as a return to form, a nod to the brand's roots when it first challenged Sony and Nintendo. Others worry it signals a lack of new ideas. Either way, the rebrand is effective immediately across all official channels, storefronts, and hardware packaging. The company insists the change is cosmetic only and that no console features or services are being altered. But for a brand that spent years trying to sound modern and approachable, going back to all caps feels like a deliberate step into the past.