While many will associate the Xbox brand with popular video game mascots like Halo's Master Chief, Microsoft also has a long history of working with celebrities - namely Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The former wrestler helped Bill Gates unveil the original Xbox console in 2001, and would go on to help with other endeavors such as donating Xbox Series X consoles to children's hospitals.
Johnson is now teasing a brand-new collaboration with Xbox and ZOA Energy - the energy drink brand he created that was announced on January 11, 2021. The brand, which Johnson said is "the ultimate healthy and immunity-supporting energy drink that's the first of its kind" in a press release, is distributed by the Molson Coors Beverage Company, and officially went on sale this month.
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The collaboration was announced over Instagram today via a post in which Johnson begins to unpack a box featuring Xbox and ZOA Energy branding. He said the contents will be revealed in about a week or so, but teased that, "This is some cool sh*t getting ready to go down." The shape suggests it may be a custom Xbox Series X similar to what Barcelona's Antoine Griezmann and other celebrities have received, but as of now it remains to be seen.
Though fans of Johnson's acting career, wrestling, or other ventures like ZOA Energy will have to wait to see what's in the box, the leading console developer has other things to keep people occupied in the meantime. Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media officially concluded last week, and soon after that numerous Bethesda Softworks games were added to Xbox Game Pass from series like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Dishonored.
Many first-party Microsoft games are also in the works for its Xbox Series X/S, and fans were given an update on Halo Infinite via a developer Q&A earlier today. For example, it was confirmed by 343 Industries that dual-wielding likely won't return in Halo Infinite, but the developers are putting a larger focus on changing the game's world based on elements like weather or time of day.
Without a major Halo title releasing near the latest console's launch, Microsoft has put an emphasis on advertising the Xbox Series X via deals with companies like Butterfinger or celebrities like Tyler "Ninja" Blevins. Thus the fact that The Rock is hinting at a Xbox brand deal with ZOA Energy is not a huge surprise, but it should be interesting to see what will come of the collaboration.
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Sources: Instagram, Business Wire, ZOA Energy