To Combat Misogyny, Xbox Sent a Subtly Altered Controller to Influencers in 23 Countries

An 'equal' button played audio messages from women in the gaming industry

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Despite making up almost half of the gaming community, women continue to face “discrimination, bullying and sexist insults” from men, according to a new Xbox campaign by agency Serviceplan in Germany.

The brand found a novel way to raise awareness of the issue: It swapped out the Xbox controller’s B button with an equal sign on a limited edition set of controllers sent out to gaming influencers.

Xbox delivered the controllers to influencers in 23 countries to support women in gaming.

When the equal button was pressed, the controller played a one of nine audio files featuring inspirational and supportive messages from prominent women in the industry.

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