Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) May Be Close To Launching Custom Xbox Avatars

Custom avatars for Xbox were teased by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) last year, but there have yet to be any concrete developments on the highly-anticipated addition. An apparent leak from a former designer for the tech giant has now emerged, and that’s ramping up the speculation on when they will actually debut.

Ars Technica has the news surrounding Microsoft’s avatars.

After receiving a splashy reveal at E3 2017, Microsoft’s “Xbox Avatars”—a series of cartoony characters that players can customize and possibly bring into future games—were quietly delayed beyond their original “fall 2017” launch window. The company has remained mum on them ever since, beyond formally announcing a vague “2018” window. But ResetERA forum user Gowans turned up Xbox Avatar’s upcoming Windows 10 app by way of one of its “design integration developers” posting footage of the app on his portfolio site. (That source site has since been shut down.)

There still remains zero clarity on an actual release date, but the leak has led to heightened anticipation among close observers of the Windows and Xbox environments. As for the avatars themselves, the leak hints towards them being fully customizable based on achievements by gamers and whatnot.

To add to the intrigue, there has been a cat and mouse game going on with the leak via YouTube videos.

Microsoft Corporation shares fell $0.06 (-0.06%) in premarket trading Friday. Year-to-date, MSFT has gained 12.88%, versus a 1.16% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

MSFT currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #1 of 65 stocks in the Software – Application category.