Xbox 'miss the mark' with latest free birthday gift for console and PC users

It’s not unusual for companies to reward us when our birthday rolls around, if you’ve shared your date of birth, that is.

In some places you might get a free treat, while in others you might get a discount code, encouraging you to ultimately make another purchase.

Well, Xbox is one such place where you can secure a treat, albeit one that, according to users, misses the mark.

When your birthday rolls around, Xbox users - both console and PC - will be met with a screen offering “something special for your special day”.

That “something special” is double reward points on purchases … and that’s it.

“Get 2x Rewards points for every game or add-on you buy in the Story,” reads the pop-up shared by Reddit user StormbringerGT.

“Cannot be combined with other Rewards offers. Point values vary by local market currency. Rewards level and the number of points redeemed. Monthly earning limits apply.”

I’ve often thought that a discount code isn’t the best of birthday treats, requiring you to spend money, as mentioned.

This is arguably worse, though, as while, yes, reward points eventually turn into redeemable credit, you need a decent amount to make that possible. The reward just feels a tad pointless.

“A ‘gift’ for buying stuff for myself hardly feels like a gift,” began the OP. “I know they can't be handing out $50 Xbox gift cards, but I'd take $5 over this. It still keeps that $5 and whatever else I'd spend within their ecosystem.”

They continued, “I typically buy things when I want them and pre-order the rest. I guess I could always cancel my pre-orders and reorder them, but it makes it seem even less like a birthday gift. It just feels like they missed the mark on this one. Especially with the tone and messaging.”

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Plenty of people agree with the post already having received over 1,000 upvotes.

“What's funny is they have no problem randomly giving out $5 and even $10 gifts around the holidays, but the best they can do for your birthday is double rewards points when you give them money lmao,” replied -ImJustSaiyan-.

“I think it’s because some people end up getting Xbox gift cards on their birthday, which leads to them buying stuff. It’s still bulls**t how you don’t get anything if you don’t buy anything though,” added MaxGabe121911.

Life_Extreme2054 said, “Maybe we can put a ticket on that Xbox suggestions site as this is insulting,” perhaps referencing the fact that Xbox CEO Asha Sharma claims to have personally responded to customer service tickets in recent months.

Sharma told The Wall Street Journal that it’s something she spends a few hours doing every month to better understand players.

Whether that’s true or a corporate spiel intended to win players over is completely up to you.

What we do know is that Xbox users simply aren’t happy with this birthday offering.

They do say you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, but plenty of Xbox fans are willing to do precisely that on this occasion.