Xbox’s four-hour history documentary is available to watch free now

POWER ON TELLS THE 20-YEAR HISTORY OF XBOX’S UPS AND DOWNS

Microsoft has released its four-hour documentary about the history of Xbox.

Power On: The Story of Xbox was originally announced last month during Xbox’s 20th anniversary stream, and consists of six episodes, each running at around 40 minutes long.

The series covers the entire history of the Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, and doesn’t appear to be afraid to discuss their low points, with episodes named after the Xbox 360’s infamous red ring of death and the ill-judged focus on TV services on Xbox One.

The documentary can be watched on a number of free services, including YouTube, The Roku Channel;, Redbox, Microsoft and IMDbTV.

The list of episodes is below, with YouTube links included:

• CHAPTER 1: THE RENEGADES – A small team of upstarts sets out to convince Microsoft that it’s time to enter the console business.

• CHAPTER 2: THE VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE – The battle to own the living room is on–but not without significant cost and risk.

• CHAPTER 3: AND IT DIDN’T TURN ON – Public doubt intensifies as issues threaten to spoil the 2001 launch for Xbox.

• CHAPTER 4: COOL, NOW WHAT? – A console is only as good as its games, and Xbox needs a gamechanger to survive. Enter Halo.

• CHAPTER 5: THE RED RING OF DEATH – The demand for Xbox 360 is at fever pitch, but a critical malfunction threatens its success.

• CHAPTER 6: TV OR NOT TV – Xbox loses its way. Can a former intern get the team back on track?

“The project began almost three years ago with a simple question: is there a compelling story behind the history of Xbox?” asked head of programming for Xbox, Tina Summerford, during the 20th anniversary stream last month.

“The answer, it turns out, was yes, absolutely. So we partnered with an Emmy award-winning documentary film team to really dig in and help bring the story to life.

“At its core it’s a story about how Xbox started as a passion project from a small group of gamers within Microsoft and grew to become a source of joy for Xbox players around the world.”