It’s almost the end of 2025, and in the spirit of Spotify Wrapped, several big companies have invited subscribers to review their last year of activity. Sony got the ball rolling with the PlayStation Wrap-Up, Steam offers a similar annual roundup, and the Nintendo Switch Year in Review recap has been announced for early next year–but where is Xbox in the middle of all this?
While it doesn’t offer an Xbox wrap-up every year, it still feels odd for Microsoft’s gaming brand to skip 2025. The year has seen several high-profile releases from the company and the launch of an Xbox-branded handheld gaming PC alongside Asus, but according to Windows Central, Microsoft is allocating its marketing budget toward celebrating several major anniversaries in 2026.
The Xbox brand celebrates its 25th anniversary next year, Blizzard has its 35th anniversary to look forward to, and Bethesda is turning 40. Those are several significant milestones in proximity to each other, and it’s a safe bet that Microsoft wants to accommodate them, possibly explaining the lack of an Xbox Wrapped this year. On top of that, we’ll see the return of BlizzCon in September, and Blizzard has teased its “biggest year yet” for 2026.
Outside of Microsoft, several other gaming franchises will also have plenty of reasons to celebrate. The 30th anniversary of Pokemon is next year, Sonic the Hedgehog turns 35, and both The Legend of Zelda and Castlevania will reach the 40th anniversary milestone in 2026.
We have contacted Xbox to find out if there are any plans for a year-in-review wrap-up, and will update this article as soon as we hear back.
