Microsoft released the first Xbox on Nov. 15, 2001, and the company is celebrating the brand entering its second decade by partnering with Adidas to design custom footwear.
The first shoe born from this partnership will be the Xbox 20th Forum Tech sneaker that features “translucent green details inspired by the special edition release of the original Xbox console for the launch of Halo: Combat Evolved in 2001.” (And not, as some might have guessed, the inhuman amounts of Mountain Dew seemingly everyone drank in the early aughts.)
Microsoft says the Xbox 20th Forum Tech “balances nostalgia while embracing modern technology and is symbolic of how we look at our own Xbox history—celebrating the last 20 years and looking ahead to the limitless future of gaming.” It also says it will reveal “additional sneakers inspired by past and present Xbox console generations” in the coming months.
Here’s the bad news: It doesn’t seem like most of these sneakers will be publicly released. Microsoft says it will announce “the first-ever sneaker available for purchase by our fans later this year” and that folks should follow the official Xbox account on Twitter “to stay tuned for the latest drops and ways to win your very own pair of limited-edition sneakers.”
As a consolation prize, Microsoft decided to kick it old school with the “Always Played In. Never Played Out” program that “celebrates popular eras of play over the last two decades, across sport, gaming, and lifestyle and the magic that happens when we all take time to play.” You can watch the series launch trailer, which is supposed to evoke early-’00s skate videos, below.
Oh, and in case anyone wondered about Microsoft’s decision to partner with Adidas instead of, say, Nike, odds are good that it’s because Sony and Nike have collaborated on PlayStation-themed sneakers in the past. Nintendo, meanwhile, partnered up with… Vans. It seems the console wars have extended to footwear—may the sneakers with the most heat win.
