Xbox One X Enhanced games have been optimised for Xbox’s most high-spec console. This means they can have technical improvements like 4K resolution, HDR, improved textures, and a lot of other complicated stuff. While these technical benefits appeal to the most dedicated of Xbox fans, they don’t really mean anything to a wider audience.

To justify the purchase of this high-spec console and games, just listing technical specs wouldn’t be enough.

How could Xbox sell more Xbox One X Enhanced? By creating a new way to experience this form of entertainment.

Xbox merged two forms of entertainment – gaming and travel – to become the first tourist board for virtual locations.

Breaking all the conventions of games marketing, Xbox ignored the action and bad guys. Instead, we started promoting the incredible locations available in games.

This changed how customers experience the Xbox brand, across digital and real-world media. Instead of action-filled trailers, we created tourist board-style commercials. We applied for accreditation from the Association of British Travel Agents. Across print, OOH, and social, we invited people to experience amazing virtual locations. We even created live guided tours and the first-ever travel guide book to gaming worlds, published by Rough Guides.

By asking people not to ‘Buy’ but to ‘Visit’, this campaign reimagined the customer journey, with a transformed e-commerce experience that let you find and purchase games based on the locations available in that world.

Xbox One X Enhanced games had technical advantages, such as 4K, HDR, and 60 FPS. But technical specs alone would not justify the purchase of this high-spec console and games.

To get people to buy these games, we had to change our industry – and start behaving like a travel brand. By taking inspiration from the travel sector, Xbox positioned itself as the ultimate platform for virtual destinations.

This completely reimagined how Xbox engaged its audience. Now, it was not about achieving missions or killing bosses – it was about travelling to the most immersive gaming locations.

At the heart of this transformation was a new way of selling games online. We became an e-commerce platform for virtual destinations.

But ‘Visit Xbox’ was about more than just driving sales. It inspired a whole new way of experiencing games.

With ‘Visit Xbox’ a gaming brand’s media plan emulated the travel sector.

It is a global platform that has gone live in 29 markets across the world. So far, it has come to life in a 70” tourist board-style commercial, a series of DOOH executions, press ads, contextual ads on flight search sites, interactive social formats such as Instagram carousels, ABTA application, and livestreamed guided tours. Renowned travel guide publisher Rough Guide have also researched and written a travel guide to gaming worlds – The Rough Guides to Xbox.

All executions lead to a .com site that lets people discover and buy games in a new way. Instead of searching by title or genre, customers browse locations sorted by different themes (like cities, beaches, and more). To further drive sales of consoles and games, Xbox also promoted package holidays – bundles based on themes like city break and tropical holiday.

- Live in 29 markets

- 55% increase in traffic to Xbox One X Enhanced