Along with a host of other announcements celebrating 20 years of Xbox, Microsoft has revealed a new upcoming six-part documentary called Power On: The Story of Xbox. The upcoming series will chronicle how the famed console "almost didn’t happen" and the unlikely rise of the Xbox console and will be arriving on December 13.
Announced during the Xbox 20th Anniversary Event, this new series will be taking a behind-the-scenes look at the tumultuous and "scrappy beginnings" of the console that we all know today.
Power On will explore Microsoft's success before the console, spotlighting the DirectX team of Otto Berkes, Ted Hase, Seamus Blackley, and Kevin Bachus that spearheaded the Xbox creation and going in-depth on how this "renegade" group of designers had to fight tooth and nail not just to get the system working but to get support to enter the space as direct competition to Sony's PlayStation 2.
The series will also be taking a look at the struggles and tribulations of the Microsoft consoles' creation and the obstacles that came after their releases. This story will look at the struggle of creating the original Xbox, "glitches and all," and the less than ideal design of the Duke controller to the legendary and infamous "Red Ring of Death" that affected the Xbox 360. Along with the story of the consoles themselves, the series will also talk about the impact of many of Xbox's most popular games and series such as Halo, Forza, and Gears of War. The series will be premiering on December 13 on YouTube, Redbox, iMBD TV, Roku, and other streaming services.
Power On: The Story of Xbox will be arriving on December 13. You can watch the announcement trailer and read the official description of the upcoming series down below:
Xbox almost didn’t happen. Find out why in this behind-the-scenes, six-part series that takes you back to the scrappy beginnings of Microsoft's video game console. It’s the untold story of the people behind the box, glitches and all.