A talented Xbox fan created a mock-up promo featuring a redesigned interface and a variety of custom themes, including Xbox 360Blade UI of Longtime Xbox fans will remember Blade as the original dashboard for the Xbox 360 when it launched in November 2005.
Xbox replaced the Blades with a new dashboard in 2008, but many fans still have fond memories of the classic design. It’s still popular today, and many fans have shared their interpretations of what a Blades-inspired Xbox Series X or Game Pass dashboard would look like.
The latest example comes from YouTuber Zenkai Goose, who shared his Xbox dashboard mockup on Reddit. Set to music, the 33-second video resembles an advertisement for the new user interface. The clip showcases the redesigned dashboard, featuring a background image with the user’s five favorite or most recent games displayed below. In addition, three small icons provide easy access to Microsoft Store, search function, options menu and messages.
Pressing left on the dpad opens the quick action menu. It includes Xbox Series X friends list, marketplace, news, achievement progress, and functions like shutdown and restart. Pressing right on the dpad opens Game Pass, while pressing up displays all notifications. Finally, pressing down reveals the user’s games and apps.
Zenkai Goose themed backgrounds included. Fallout, Call of Duty, Red Falland Bethesda’s upcoming RPG Starfield, in addition to the blade-inspired design. Most are just different background images, although the Blade theme appears to include additional interactive elements. This theme retains the basic design of Zenkai Goose but includes a box for the users Xbox profile. It also moves message notifications below the profile box and adds a marketplace button where the 360 UI is used to display achievements and game scores. The Blades theme also features tabs for Quick Actions, Games & Apps, and Game Pass, though the Notifications tab is conspicuously missing.
This is Zenkai Goose’s second attempt at an Xbox dashboard redesign, and he’s not the only Xbox 360 Blades UI enthusiast. However, its current design proved polarizing on the Xbox, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X subreddits. Some criticized the Zenkai Goose’s design, saying it was visually appealing but the small buttons would make it difficult to use in practice. However, others pointed out that the PS5 has similar small buttons without issue.
Xbox gamers on Reddit were also divided on the design’s use of space. Some fans liked seeing the background, while others felt that Zenkai Goose left too much unused space. Ultimately, it appears that the Xbox Series X and Series S each have their own ideas on how to improve the dashboard but can’t seem to agree on the core issues.