The original Xbox was released in 2001(Image credit: Microsoft/Future owns)
From Google's various logo gimmicks to Sony's hidden symbols on the PS5 DualSense controller, tech companies are known to hide fun Easter eggs for fans. But while they're usually spotted pretty quickly, here's one that's only just been revealed after 20 years.
A developer who worked on the original Xbox, released in 2001, has lifted the lid on a secret credit screen hiding in the console's dashboard – and it seems this one had completely passed the usually vigilant Xbox community by. If you fancy your chances of getting hold of the latest Xbox, here's where to buy an Xbox Series X.
The anonymous leaker tipped off Kotaku about the hidden screen, which reveals the names of four developers who worked on the Xbox dashboard (thus narrowing the leaker down to four suspects, for our money). It's hardly a thrilling aspect of the UI, but hey – gamers love a hidden secret.
So, how do you find it? Easy – all you have to do is rip a CD as a soundtrack, and name it “Timmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” – with exactly 26 'y's and an exclamation mark. Once the CD is ripped, head to the Xbox's Settings menu and select System Info. Instead of said info, you'll see the names of the four members of the Xbox Dashboard Team. Why the Easter Egg had gone undiscovered until now, we can't possibly imagine.
It's hardly the most exciting Easter Egg around (Image credit: Kotaku)
But fascinatingly (and for some users, infuriatingly), it seems there's still another Easter egg to be found. Back in 2017, Seamus Blackley, the designer of the original Xbox tweeted (below) that there's one that nobody has noticed. And Blackley told Kotaku that it isn't this Dashboard Team screen – in fact, Blackley didn't even know about it.
Yes. An there's an Easter egg than nobody has noticed as far as I can tell.September 26, 2017
Perhaps the most amusing thing about the Dashboard Team screen is that, after twenty years of waiting for users to spot it, the developer was forced to leak it themselves. Now that's what we call a hidden Easter egg. For another nostalgic surprise, check out Google's new DVD player-themed logo.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
