Gamescom kicks off today in Cologne, Germany, and among the many big game debuts, hands-on demos, and big announcements is a new kind of reveal: Xbox is teaming up with Ikea to sell an exclusive set of Xbox-inspired furniture and accessories that you can buy starting this fall. But, according to Xbox, the new collection goes far beyond the typical chair and desk setup for gamers. Carl Ledbetter, head of Xbox design, has been at Microsoft for more than 30 years (since the days of the IntelliMouse) and is responsible for designing consoles like the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. Ledbetter led the initiative in collaboration with Ikea and says the partnership is not as unusual as one might suspect. I spoke to Ledbetter exclusively at gamescom ahead of the reveal of YXSTABY (get it?), a “nine-piece collection designed for play at home,” and discovered that Xbox’s ties to Ikea go back longer than you might expect. An iconic Ikea bookcase influenced the shape of the Xbox. “The piece of furniture we use as a de facto test for any console design is the Billy bookcase from Ikea,” says Ledbetter. “So whether you believe it or not, it’s a natural thing. I’ve spent all my time [at Xbox] looking at the input, the controllers, the console, how things fit into the home. [That] matters when you design a console, [the] horizontal and vertical position. [So] This goes back years. The philosophy we share for designing products at Xbox and Ikea is almost identical. So it was like a love connection.” Full XBOX YXSTABY Line Revealed – ExclusiveIGN can exclusively reveal a look at the full collection, which includes nine pieces, including chairs with console pockets, joystick-shaped stools, a D-Pad-inspired plate to hold the controller, X-shaped pillows and more. Ledbetter says planning a series of pieces meant to be picked up, sat on, propped on and otherwise interacted with was a challenge “Xbox and Ikea, they both have scale,” says Ledbetter. “We design for millions of gamers around the world. Ikea is already there. What’s different, at least for my team and when designing this line, was keeping the flat pack in mind. Then Ikea, of course. [uses a flat pack] to send these things to everyone. When you buy a console, the most you have to do is plug it in and turn it on. But in this case, some assembly is required. It was simply fascinating to work with them side by side and see how to solve problems. It was a lot of fun.” Ledbetter says that while bringing a furniture collection to life is inherently different than building a new console, his overall design philosophy didn’t change. “First and foremost, the product has to work,” Ledbetter says. “It has to solve real problems. Whether it’s a remote or a piece of furniture, it’s the same. The second thing is, for gamers, especially when playing Xbox games at home, it’s all about immersion. It’s in the game you see on the screen and in the controller you hold in your hand. But if you think about it, it’s everything that surrounds you. The products you sit on, the items that hold your TV, etc. We started talking about those challenges for players and immediately started brainstorming. We try to find balance. “The question the Ikea designers asked me was: ‘Carl, what are the iconic elements of Xbox?’ Number one is the controller. While we’ve improved and changed it over time, it’s very recognizable. And then there are elements that people interact with in the controller that just rose to the top. The D-pad was one. Then you see the D-pad plate, the D-pad pillow. And of course, the thumb was right there. It is something so interactive and attractive. We landed on the thumb stool.” Xbox designer reveals new YXSTABY furniture collection contains many hidden details. Ledbetter says that for hardcore Xbox fans, there will be plenty of Easter eggs when the YXSTABY collection hits stores this fall. “If you look at the TV or monitor stand, if you look at the details that the designers have put into these products, they are super clean,” Ledbetter says. “There is nothing extra. The materials are honest and authentic. Those same [XBOX] The design qualities are used throughout the collection. The YXSTABY chair has pockets to store XBOX controllers. “They may not stand out right away. We call it second-level reading, third-level reading. You start to notice the subtleties of these things. There are some subtle things. If you look at the gaming chair, we used green stitching. It’s super, super subtle, but those who know it, will know it. They will recognize these little qualities.” New line of Xbox furniture will have plenty of accessibility features Ledbetter, who contributed to the design of the revolutionary Xbox adaptive controller, says designing YXSTABY for all gamers was just as important as making subtle nods to hardcore fans. “The more people who can use the product, the better,” says Ledbetter. “The gaming chair is designed for two types of gaming postures. The first is simply sitting. It is the forward leaning posture. [For games like] Gears of War: E-Day, you may be sweating and it’s intense. And then what happens when you beat the boss? [You go back.] Also, what we found in the process of prototyping the pillow is that you can take it and rest your arms when you play. It creates a really cool experience.”[Another] The most accessible design is the monitor stand. You can put the monitor on it and it is more ergonomic, at eye level. This way you will get a better posture. And then underneath you can place the mouse, keyboard, and a laptop. It can fit an Xbox Series S. And then you have all these configurable stands for your headset, for your cell phone. There is a place there to load your drivers. So we really try to adapt to different people and what their needs are.” The YXTABY pillow was inspired by the if I had the opportunity. “The Xbox One X, when it came out, the Scorpio. [edition] “It was the smallest, most powerful console we had ever created,” says Ledbetter. “But if you look at it, it has a layered design. It would be fun to turn that into a home. [It could be] very inspired by [Frank Lloyd Wright’s] Water falling in small layers. [It makes sense because] The purity of our console designs are designed to be as expressive or quiet as people want them to be.” YXSTABY will be unveiled this week at gamescom and will be available in Ikea stores and online this fall. Michael Peyton is the Senior Editorial Director of Events and Entertainment at IGN, leading entertainment content and coverage of major events, including IGN Live, San Diego Comic Con, gamescom and IGN Fan Fest. He has spent 20 years working in the gaming industry. gaming and entertainment, and his adventures have taken him everywhere from the Oscars to Japan to Buenos Aires, Argentina Follow him on Bluesky @MichaelPeyton.
