A GameStop A tweet promoting a demo day where people can come and play some games on Xbox consoles using “Microsoft Game Pass” has added more chaos and controversy to the ongoing, apocalyptic Xbox drama –triggered by reports of exclusive games like Starfield comes to PS5– currently affects console warriors and loyal fans. And while the tweet and its promotional image probably mean nothing, the reaction shows how nervous some Xbox fans are right now.
For those who might be out there in the real world, living their lives without being aware of it The Church of Xbox Apocalypse is currently taking place online, let me catch up with you. Over the weekend of February 3rd, reports and rumors began circulating that Xbox was planning (or at least talking about) bringing some of its big exclusives to PlayStation. This included star field, halo, And War equipment. The online reaction from some of the more, shall we say, “passionate” Xbox fans was initially to dismiss the reports. But as more people confirmed the information, Xbox insiders heard similar whispers, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer reacted vaguely With the rumors and more information promised next week, the tone changed and some began to scream, cry and mourn the (still unconfirmed, very unlikely) death of Microsoft’s console brand. This has now become a general feeling: “What’s happening on Xbox?” online. That might explain why a fairly innocuous GameStop ad image has angered a whole lot of people.
On February 7th, GameStop’s official Twitter/X/whatever account was opened posted a promotional image for an Xbox demo day. Seems fine. But when it came to Game Pass, the company used the term “Microsoft Game Pass.” That’s funny. Normally I don’t think anyone really cares. However, we are not currently in normal times.
A retweet from Wario64 When he pointed out that the term “Microsoft Game Pass” went viral on the Internet and theories were quickly put forward, many pointed out that this was further evidence that Microsoft was planning to kill the Xbox brand or just keep it for hardware to use. Others suspected that Microsoft rebranded the subscription service – which gives you access to hundreds of games for a monthly fee – so that it can be used on Switch or PlayStation.
There were also people who said, “Hey, this is probably just a weird mistake.” They were largely ignored as console warriors on both sides used this as evidence of… something! Something bad. Windows Central claimed reporter Jez Corden He was told that this was all GameStop and had no connection to Xbox plans. And yes, that is probably the case.
My city has reached out to GameStop for more information.
The story would have ended there, folks, but then GameStop deleted the tweet as I was writing this post. As you might expect, this convinced some that it was a mistake. It also convinced some “passionate” gamers that it was actually proof that GameStop had let the cat out of the bag too soon and that the death of Xbox as a brand was truly imminent. The end is near and so on.
Either way, the reality is that GameStop made a mistake. Or someone realized that using the term “Microsoft Game Pass” now would set off a firestorm of speculation, leading to more coverage and online discussion of an event that, let’s face it, was never covered by most places or venues What gamers would have been talking about online would have been reported if the whole thing hadn’t spiraled out of control.
All I can say is: I’m not sure Xbox devotees and console fans can wait until next week to find out what, if anything, happens.
.
