Celebrating 15 Years of Xbox

15 years ago today, the name Xbox became part of popular culture. As the first gaming console produced by Microsoft, the November 15, 2001 release of the Xbox in North America was a major moment for both the company and the entire games industry. The original Xbox console gave rise to beloved game franchises like Halo and Forza Motorsport, and helped usher in the online console gaming era with the release of Xbox Live. While it would be easy to go on and on about everything we love about Xbox, it’s easier to simply share some data that will help show just how much Xbox has grown in the last 15 years.

• Number of players:  222,468,423
• Number of total gaming hours: 100,539,390,670
• Number of total multiplayer hours: 29,000,304,183
• Number of Achievements unlocked:  32,667,582,157
• Gamerscore racked up:  572,605,554,587
• Highest Gamerscore: 1,416,465
• Number of Xbox Live friendships made:  4,233,891,482

Want to join in on the celebratory fun? We’ve got a bunch of different ways for you to show your Xbox love over the next few days and weeks, including: #15YearsOfXbox The best way to participate in our celebration of 15 years of Xbox is to use our #15YearsOfXbox hashtag to share your favorite Xbox gaming memories with us. We’ll be posting throughout the day on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social channels, so tune in and help us celebrate! Team Xbox Gaming with the Community The team here at Xbox is full of gamers, so most of us will be spending the day on Xbox Live, playing games with and against our awesome community. In fact, we’ll have kiosks set up around the Xbox offices that will allow any employee to hop on Xbox Live for a quick multiplayer match. All you need to do is follow us at the Club named “Celebrate 15 Years of Xbox” and get to playing! Or, if you want to focus your gaming energy solely on Halo, join the “Halo” Club to take on the developers. Livestreams If you’re not able to join us on Xbox Live for some gaming, why not watch some of the talented folks on our teams play instead? You can take a look at the Forza livestream on Beam starting at 1PM PT at www.beam.pro/ForzaMotorsport. Then, beginning at 3:43PM PT, check out our Halo live stream at www.beam.pro/Halo or www.twitch.tv/halo, featuring videos from various members of the 343 team and Bungie sharing memories of Halo, live gameplay with community influencers, and more. We also have special Game With sessions planned throughout the day starting 11:00AM PT. Major Nelson will kick off the day followed by special appearances from the Killer Instinct Team, Back Compat Team, Beam Team, Ambassadors Team, and a surprise executive Game With! Tune in to www.beam.pro/Xbox or www.twitch.tv/Xbox for an exciting day of Game With Xbox. In-Game Events and Giveaways A few of our teams are working on special giveaways and in-game events in honor of our 15 year celebration. First up, the Forza team is gifting a 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor complete with a custom livery celebrating Xbox’s 15th anniversary. All players will receive this livery for free and Forza Horizon 3 VIPs will receive a bonus truck with an alternative Xbox 15th anniversary livery as well. There will be two Rivals events created as well, with one in Forza Motorsport 6 and the other in Forza Horizon 3. In addition, there will be a special Bucket List Challenge in Forza Horizon 3 (TITLE: Celebrate #15YearsofXbox), which players can find by traveling to the Pink Lakes Bucket List point in the game. If you’re a Halo fan, if you simply log in to Halo 5: Guardians between November 15 at 10AM PT and November 22 at 10AM PT, you will receive a free “15^th Anniversary REQ Pack”, which contains consumable items for use in Warzone game modes and the legendary Mark IV Gen 1 armor set, worn by Spartan IIs in the darkest hours of the Covenant War! Everyone at Xbox knows that we would not be where we are today without the support of our fans and the passion of our community. We have many wonderful memories of the past 15 years of Xbox, and we know you do as well. We invite you to share those memories with us using the #15YearsOfXbox hashtag on your social media of choice, and we look forward to many more years to come!