The Xbox 25th Anniversary Collection is starting to show where Microsoft wants the Xbox brand to go next. Instead of celebrating 25 years with only a special console and controller, Xbox is adding accessories for PC, mobile gaming and handheld devices while Game Pass keeps bringing new games across the same platforms.
The timing is interesting because ASUS has also revealed the $1,299 ROG Xbox Ally X20. Put all of these announcements together, and Xbox looks much less focused on one console and much more interested in giving players different ways to enter the same gaming ecosystem.
Xbox’s Anniversary Gear Goes Far Beyond the Console
Microsoft has now revealed a new Designed for Xbox 25th Anniversary Collection. Many of the products use the translucent green look that longtime Xbox fans will remember from older hardware.
The collection includes several Razer products, including a special Basilisk V3 Pro mouse, BlackWidow V4 keyboard and Hammerhead wireless earbuds. These products clearly target PC players rather than people who only use an Xbox Series X or Series S.
Xbox has also included an 8BitDo charging dock for Xbox controllers. The dock uses the same transparent green design and works with Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One controllers.
Mobile gaming also gets plenty of attention. The Backbone Pro Xbox 25th Anniversary Edition comes in three colors inspired by older Xbox hardware, while the GameSir X5 Lite brings the green anniversary design to phones.
The Backbone takes a more unusual approach because buyers do not know which of the three colors they will receive until they open the box. That makes it feel more like a collector item than a normal mobile controller. PowerA has also made an Xbox anniversary sling bag aimed at handheld players. It has room for a ROG Xbox Ally device, headset, controller, phone and other accessories.
That detail connects nicely with the wider ROG Xbox Ally push. Xbox is no longer only selling accessories for a living-room console. The brand now stretches across Windows PCs, phones and handheld gaming systems.
The new ROG Xbox Ally X20 fits into that bigger picture, even though ASUS created it as its own premium ROG anniversary model. The handheld costs $1,299.99 and gives players another high-end way to use Xbox services and PC game stores away from a TV.
For some players, that price will still feel very high. But the wider accessory lineup shows that Microsoft does not expect every Xbox player to buy the same type of device.
Game Pass Gives All This Hardware Something to Play
New hardware only matters if players have games to use with it, and Xbox Game Pass remains a big part of Microsoft’s wider strategy.
One of the newest additions is Blood Dungeon, which launched on August 25 and joined Game Pass on day one. Messhof, the studio behind Nidhogg, created the game as a fast 2D platforming survival game where players move through dangerous rooms, avoid monsters and collect upgrades.
Blood Dungeon supports Xbox Series X|S and PC, and Xbox also lists handheld support. That makes it the kind of smaller game that fits naturally across the different devices Microsoft now wants people to use.
Game Pass has more day-one releases arriving around the same time. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy joins the service on August 27, while Xbox has already added several other games during the second half of August.
That gives the anniversary hardware push more meaning. Microsoft is not only putting Xbox logos on new products. It is also building a library that players can access across console, PC, cloud and supported handheld devices.
Xbox is even using Game Pass itself to celebrate the anniversary. Microsoft has created special collections that bring together games from different Xbox generations, from the original Xbox through Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. That makes the 25th anniversary feel very different from a normal hardware celebration.
Microsoft could have focused almost completely on nostalgia by selling a green console, a matching controller and some old-school merchandise. Instead, it is mixing that nostalgia with the way it wants people to play Xbox today.
A mouse and keyboard target PC players. Backbone and GameSir controllers target phones. The PowerA bag targets handheld users, while Game Pass connects all of those devices with games. The ROG Xbox Ally X20 sits at the expensive end of that idea. At $1,299.99, it will not appeal to everyone, but Xbox does not seem to need everyone to buy one.
Players can use the same wider Xbox ecosystem through a Series console, Windows PC, phone, cloud gaming or another supported handheld. That may be the real message behind the Xbox 25th Anniversary Collection.
Xbox started 25 years ago as one large black console under a television. Its anniversary lineup now shows a brand that wants to follow players almost everywhere they choose to play.
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