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An Update Past Due

The new r/Xbox

Greetings all,

We'd first like to extend a very sincere thank you to each of you who visit and participate with us. Today we are announcing some important changes to the overall structure of these communities.

Xbox and Reddit have undergone significant changes over the years. Fifteen years ago, the only way to access Reddit was through a desktop computer and the "old" reddit interface (long may it reign). Today, the vast majority of you find your way here via mobile or app. Communities that numbered in the hundreds and thousands, now have millions of users. What was once a niche corner of the internet is now one of its leading social platforms.

Xbox itself has undergone many transformations in that time as well, not only in terms of hardware, but also in terms of its vision and scope. It has expanded beyond the console market to embrace new features such as play anywhere, cross save, cloud play, Game Pass, and with the acquisition of several major studios. These innovations have enabled many of us to enjoy the Xbox platform in ways that go beyond the traditional console experience.

r/XboxOne 2013

In addition to these changes, we've heard time and again about frustrations with how the Xbox communities on Reddit are structured. Via mod mail, comment, and even from Xbox team members directly. Many of the current mod team were users long before joining on, and we shared those frustrations. The current landscape of Xbox communities on Reddit could realistically be described as scattered and redundant. Essentially, several subreddits are serving up the same content and it no longer makes sense to divide the userbase and content in this manner. In a recent community survey shared in all major Xbox themed subreddits - we saw overwhelming and near unanimous support for some form of consolidation. The most popular (and seemingly logical) proposal, being to merge the major console hubs into r/Xbox.

What you said:

It's past the time all of these communities merge into one. It's unnecessary to keep them separate. Have flairs to filter which platform/generation is being discussed, if needed. "

"Ideally, we would all migrate to  as the future proofed permanent sub. Unfortunately, the content on XboxSeriesX is much more engaging currently. "

"Maybe more cross pollination of some type? At least between “Xbox” and the current gen’s subreddit. It’s a bit fragmented at the moment "

"Ideally I think they should all be combined and  should be the main hub. Especially considering Xbox is becoming a platform that spans multiple console generations, PC, cloud, and mobile rather than just console. "

"Unification around the  sub, using the  rules & features (like user/post flairs), with mods from all three subs packed together. If only more web moderators had a shred of humility. "

"A combined place, too much fracturing

"  should become the main community. New generations of consoles will further segregate the community and there needs to be a guaranteed central hub "

"Ideally,  should probably be the hub "

"There seems to be a lot of redundancy between the three, with duplicate posts/subjects in each subreddit, unnecessarily dividing attention and discussion. I believe it'd be better to centralize most Xbox news and discussion within  , making that the general subreddit."

Based on that feedback - we invite you to join us in a new direction for Xbox themed communities on Reddit.

Bringing the community of Xbox gamers on reddit closer together!

"So, what's happening?"

• r/XboxOne  will be sunset and archived.
•  r/XboxSeriesX will be sunset and archived.
•  r/Xbox will serve as the new central hub for these communities and userbases.
•  r/XboxSupport will remain a place to find assistance with technical Xbox platform issues.
•  r/XboxGamePass will continue to serve users interested only in the subscription service.

Bigger & Better

Benefits of Consolidating:

• Bigger and more frequent giveaways - starting with the game showcase next month where we will have FIVE full years of Game Pass Ultimate to help celebrate!
• More industry participation from developers, media, and official Xbox sources!
• Single source with less reposts and redundant content.
• Larger fanbase for more active conversation.
• More in line with the current Xbox platform strategy.

"What about the legacy content?"

A major concern with this change from both users and mod team members was the preservation of the history of the legacy subs. This resulted in the creation of the historical posts archive page in the community Wiki. There you will find a listing of past significant posts, and the conversations held in real time within. Preserving the history of these communities through the historical post archive. In the wiki you will also find archives for all past AMA posts, and community Game of the Year winners dating back to 2014!

Historical Post Archive

More to come...

There is a lot going on behind the scenes to make this a smooth transition for regular users, and we will be active and available to handle questions, concerns, and suggestions. We couldn't be more excited to address an issue that has been raised time and again, and we hope you'll agree and join us in turning the page on a new chapter for both Xbox, and these communities!

Cheers,

Xbox Community Moderators

FAQ

Why is this happening now?

Work actually began on this about a year ago - a great deal of time and care has gone into creating and easy transition for all involved. A universal subreddit is more in step with the current direction of the platform.

What do I as a user need to do?

Almost nothing! If you currently visit via r/XboxSeriesX  or r/xboxone - you will be met with a redirect to r/xbox where you will find the same Xbox news and content you expect today.

What if I don't want to see a particular type of content?

 r/Xbox now has a robust flair system to help sort submissions. Simply click the flair you're interested in ('news' for example), and you will only be shown submissions of that type.

What will the ruleset and culture look like on the 'new' ?

The changes to  are already largely in place. You will find a new rule set more in line with other major console communities with a focus on posts of wide appeal. A new post flair system has been implemented to help users better sort and filter content, backend changes to autmod and other features have been updated, and the largely vacant mod team has been removed in favor of a more active and involved team members.

What about console specific content?

The xbox platform has very clearly evolved beyond any single piece of hardware. Many of us are playing the same game on PC, cloud, and console, and  will be representative of that. Post flairs are required and will help to sort or filter content that is relevant to you!

Will there be a need for new mod team members?

Absolutely, and it is a goal to find more community representation from those of you who visit and contribute regularly. You are the lifeblood of these communities and are key to the future and overall health of each subreddit. Watch for details on open applications in the coming weeks!

Why a separate sub for tech and support?

This issue has now been polled multiple times in multiple communities, and the results have always been the same - the vast majority of you find tech and support posts of limited interest outside of widespread or urgent issues (for example core services being down). A dedicated subreddit allows for better archiving of past issues and keeps the main community free from the clutter of often repeated technical issues. The goal here isn't to hide issues, but to better focus them. it's a unique approach, and one we hope you will find a beneficial one if you come to reddit for help.

What about PC, Cloud, & Mobile Content?

 r/Xbox will serve as a central hub for all Xbox platform discussion. As more gamers take advantage of features like Gamepass PC and play anywhere, it no longer makes sense to segregate these conversations. A post flair system has been established to help you better sort content.

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First batch of custom flairs!

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• Community members can now select a commemorative user flair celebrating the relaunch of r/Xbox.

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• Both the 'Homecoming', and 'Reclamation Day' flairs will be selectable for the next several weeks.

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• After that time, these flairs will be retired to new users.

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• If you change your flair after the selection period, you will lose it permanently.

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• Legacy users from r/XboxSeriesX - we will restore you Founder flair if you comment "Founder" in reply to this post (we need to verify status, please be patient as we will update in waves).

• For more information, including how to set your flair please see the community wiki user flair page.

Readers, subscribers, and friends of Xbox on Reddit:

Effective immediately, r/Xbox is implementing new subreddit rules. The new sub rules are essentially a revised version of the rules already in place in r/XboxSeriesX and r/XboxOne. The full rules text is shown at the bottom of this post, and can also be viewed at any time in mobile apps under "Learn more about this community / Community Info" and also in the sidebar for desktop web browser users.

The biggest rules changes that will affect everyone here are:

• No Tech Support posts, or 'What to buy?' or 'Help me decide' posts. These posts and questions will be removed and the poster referred to r/XboxSupport or the Microsoft official support channels.

• All posts must be properly flaired.

• Sundays are now open 'Community Days' for posting achievements, fan art, showing off your setups, collections, etc.

To enforce the new r/Xbox rules, we have added a number of experienced Reddit moderators who are also Xbox users themselves. Welcome aboard guys!

If you like helping other Xbox users with their support issues, then please consider joining r/XboxSupport as these types of posts will no longer show up here in r/Xbox.

That's all for now. Hopefully this all goes smoothly :) and leads to a better overall Reddit community.

THE NEW R/XBOX COMMUNITY RULES

1. Keep Discussion Civil

• Discuss the topic, not other users.
  
• Personal attacks of any kind are disallowed.
  
• Be respectful, even in disagreement.
  
• Posting personal info of others, including gamertags, is prohibited.
  
• Racism, bigotry, and other prejudice will result in immediate user removal.

2. No Console Wars/Trolling/Constant Negativity

This community has zero tolerance for obvious trolling or other disruptive behavior. Criticism is an important part of any healthy community, but constant negativity may be actioned based on user history and related context.

3. No Tech/Support/Help Topics

The following topics are disallowed.

• Tech and support - this includes account, setup, hardware, compatibility, and similar topics

• Requests for gameplay help

• 'What to buy?' or 'Help me decide" topics

4. Reposts and Frequently Posted Topics Will Be Removed

Please use the search feature before posting!

5. No Vague or Editorialized Titles

• Do not alter media headlines
  
• Titles must accurately represent content of submission
  
• Titles must contain a game's name when relevant
  
• All spoilers must be properly flaired and formatted
  

6. Prohibited Content List

• Politics/Social-Commentary
  
• LFG/Friend Requests
  
• Xbox Enforcement Issues
  
• Petitions & Surveys
  
• Memes/Low-Effort Posts
  
• Meta-Posts/Open letters to the mods (use Modmail)
  
• Complaining about downvotes/asking for upvotes
  
• "I just switched to Xbox"
  
• Pictures of only a box or console
  
• "Does Anyone Else?"
  
• New User/Angry Rants
  
• Unactionable Requests
  
• Excessive Posting of the Same Topic
  
• "Suggest a Gamertag"
  
• URL shortners
  
• Screenshots of Text (Twitter, Chat, Etc)
  

7. No Selling, Begging, Trading, Self-promotion, or Advertising

• Self-promotion is prohibited without the consent of the mods (examples - sanctioned giveaways or AMA posts)
  
• Selling, trading, begging, and advertising of any kind are prohibited
  
• This is not a platform to promote your YouTube, TikTok, website, blog, or Twitch channel
  
• All user created content should be free from links to and/or mentions of outside channels - and hosted on Reddit natively
  

8. No Piracy or Similar Content

This includes jailbreaking, account sharing, region switching (for price exploitation), homebrew/emulation and all similar not officially supported features.

9. Giveaway Guidelines

• All giveaways must be conducted entirely on-site (no external links)
  
• Promotion guidelines still apply (Rule #7)
  
• Giveaways must conclude within 24 hours
  
• Giveaways must not be overly complicated
  
• Giveaway posts will be removed once claimed
  
• Winner must be posted in submission if conducting a contest
  

10. Sundays are 'Community Days'

On Sundays starting at 12:00 am ET users will be allowed to make posts showcasing achievements, setups, collections, controller mods, fan art, and similar content. Posts must be positively received and non-hostile in nature. This content will otherwise be removed.