Newly minted Xbox CEO Asha Sharma may have only been on the job for a little over a month, but that hasn't stopped her from making an early impact. Her latest? We're announcing that the popular Xbox FanFest community event will be back and it won't be long before it takes place.
As part of the announcement detailing the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7, which will be immediately followed by the Gears of War E-Day Direct, Sharma revealed that “as part of the return of Xbox,” FanFest is also returning.
“In the first month, I've heard clearly that our community values Xbox FanFest,” Sharma wrote on Twitter. “As part of the return of Xbox, we decided to bring it back to LA to honor the players who have been with us over the years.
“I look forward to celebrating together!”
As Pure Xbox noted in its report, the popular FanFest event did not take place last year, even though Xbox held a general Xbox Games Showcase event. Instead, it was a purely digital event, but that didn't stop Xbox fans from hosting their own version of FanFest.
Together, they hosted a party at the venue, complete with gifts and special guests. It required registration and a raffle system, so it wasn't a completely open-to-everyone event, but it showed how much Xbox fans value in-person meetings and the overall community aspect of gaming.
This year's event, on Xbox Wire, will seemingly take a similar approach, with fans encouraged to attend for a chance to win free tickets. Details on what to expect at the event are slim, but it looks like it will be in line with Microsoft's overarching desire to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Xbox brand.
“This year's experience will include looking back over the past 25 years along with looking ahead to what's next,” the post said.
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Sharma had an early impact on Xbox
Despite her lack of time at the helm, Sharma made her presence felt. Immediately following his brief, Sharma hinted at a potential return of Xbox-only exclusives, something the brand has evidently moved away from as many of its flagship titles moved to PlayStation.
After that, the much-maligned “This is Xbox” ad campaign was scrapped altogether, with a Microsoft spokesperson later confirming that Sharma was behind the decision.
“Asha left with 'This is an Xbox' because it wasn't like an Xbox,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Central. “She is personally leading the reset of how we express ourselves as a brand.”
It's clear that Sharma sees a major part of his role in getting the brand back to where it once was, whether it's ending ad campaigns that don't make sense or reviving the fan festivities that drove community engagement.
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