Xbox celebrates Black History Month with diverse initiatives

Xbox is celebrating Black History Month with a number of initiatives.

Those initiatives are both industry and consumer facing, supporting the Black community and providing visibility.

A blog post on Xbox Wire from Albert Dankwa, Xbox content developer and social lead, details the plans along with his own experience growing up and working in the industry.

"The barriers that I encountered growing up are lifting, and while there is still so much work to do, I'm proud that in the last year, Xbox has doubled the number of games featured from Black creators," said Dankwa.

"Representation is an important step forward in our goals to offer captivating gaming experiences in which everyone is welcome to play and can truly see themselves as the hero."

Microsoft Rewards customers in the US will be able to earn and donate points throughout February to organisations supporting Black communities with Xbox, including Cxmmunity, Black Girls Rock!, and Gameheads.

A number of events will launch in March. Xbox Game Studios Game Camp will be in New Orleans from 9th March to provide people from underrepresented communities with access to experts, tools and industry connections. An Xbox Game Studios panel in partnership with HBCU on 3rd March will offer industry advice. And at GDC, Xbox will host a pre-recorded session featuring a diverse group of game developers (24th March).

Streaming will feature heavily this month, with Xbox Ambassadors from Black communities spotlighting their stories and a takeover of the Xbox Twitch channel by Black streamers.

Xbox is also highlighting a number of specific in-game events. Age of Empires will highlight Black figures from American history, while Minecraft: Education Edition offers interactive lessons on social movements.

The blog post also lists diverse games, as well as in-game content in Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite, plus a new Gamerpic, profile theme and avatar items.

Twitch will also be honouring Black History Month this February with a Black Brilliance recommended section on the front page featuring 1300 creators.

There will also be segments and talk shows, as well as charity events. Read all the details here.

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