‘Tis the season for deliberately ugly (?) corporate merchandising, and Microsoft has options — including a new ugly holiday sweater from the Windows team.
In fact, Microsoft has three ugly sweaters to choose from, including one based on Windows, a Zune sweater (!), and an Xbox holiday sweater — for those who wish to partake of the festive holiday drip, as the kids say. All three are available from Microsoft’s merch store, with prices beginning at $59.99 for a pre-ordered Xbox holiday sweater. Microsoft is charging $79.95 for the two other sweaters, which can be purchased right now.
Microsoft’s Artifact Holiday Sweater certainly nails the “ugly sweater” vibe as the orange, green, and blue motif surrounds famous icons from past and present: a Minecraft creeper, Clippy, an Internet Explorer logo, a Minesweeper flag, and, of course, because it’s in everything else, the Copilot logo.
Microsoft’s Zune sweater features a festive (?) brown color, upon which is the famous and quite dead Zune logo. Again, the sweater uses orange highlights to round out the motif.
If you’re looking for something flashier that you could actually wear to a nerdy social occasion, the Xbox sweater is actually rather attractive. Naturally, the two dominant colors are black and green, with a pattern that suggests snow falling at night.
Obviously, all of the sweaters could sell out quickly, so grab them while you can. Seriously — Microsoft’s Artifact Sweater looks like it may have sold out already! Sizing ranges from extra-small (XS) to 4XL. I’ve purchased a couple of Microsoft’s ugly sweaters before when they’ve benefited from charities like Girls Who Code. (Not this year, apparently.) Based on my own experience, the sizing runs small.
Gamers can also pick up a Master Chief Bathrobe for $69.95, though it appears Microsoft may only have 25 to sell of its Halo-themed merch. Act fast!