Xbox CEO Asha Sharma wants everyone to know: “We are Xbox.” Just last week, she scrapped Microsoft Gaming as the name of Microsoft’s gaming division in favor of simply Xbox. Now, to reinforce that message, sources at Xbox tell me that all Xbox employees are getting an @xbox.com email address next month.
The new Xbox email address will replace an existing @microsoft.com address as the default way to send new emails, and employees will be able to opt-out and keep their Microsoft email address as the default send-from address instead. Mojang employees will also be given an @mojang.com email address, and both Xbox and Mojang employees will still retain their @microsoft.com email aliases.
The change is being made as part of “strengthening the Xbox identity inside and outside of Microsoft,” according to an internal Xbox memo, seen by The Verge. It’s a small change, but Activision and Bethesda employees still use their own domain names for emails so this will help the broader Xbox team have a similar email appearance to third-party partners and developers.
Some Xbox employees have been able to get @xbox.com email addresses in the past, by requesting one from Microsoft’s IT department. But this is the first time Microsoft has actively pushed these Xbox email aliases to all of its gaming employees.
The email changes are all part of the renewed “We are Xbox” effort. In a joint memo with Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty, Sharma and Booty laid out their vision for the future of Xbox last week. The memo mentioned the end of the Microsoft Gaming name, and how Xbox will judge its success on daily active players and the priorities of hardware, content, experience, and services.