Xbox Original Avatar Store
The Avatar Store was launched as "Avatar Marketplace" on August 11, 2009, allowing users to buy clothes and props using their Xbox Live account.[20] Users are able to buy branded clothing, such as Adidas, for their Avatar, as well as game-related clothing, such as costumes from Monkey Island, BioShock 2, Battleblock Theater, Fable 2, Gears of War 2, Halo, Splinter Cell Conviction and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. A player can also update their Avatar's wardrobe by achieving certain goals and unlocking different clothing. New clothes and items are added to the Avatar Marketplace every Thursday.
As of late June 2009, various themed clothing articles were spotted in use by various members of the Xbox 360 community – namely those who work for Microsoft. These articles in question were based mainly around Halo, various T-shirts, shorts, hats and even full-body suit costumes were seen not only being worn by current Avatars but also in Avatar Store demonstration pictures and videos. The people who had access to these also were spotted to have a mysterious achievement in their profile named 'Xbox 360 Beta' and was orange in color with a Beta symbol and the number 09 – it was concluded that they were actually beta testing the new Avatar Marketplace.[21] Most recently, Xbox users that were a part of the Xbox Preview Program were given a special prop featuring a cat dressed like a ninja and riding a T-Rex for use with their Xbox Avatar.[22]
In addition to clothing, the Avatar Store also has animated props available for purchase. Avatars can interact with these props, which include a remote control vibrating Warthogs from Halo, Lightsabers from Star Wars, footballs, skateboards, pets, and even pom-poms. According to Major Nelson (Director of Programming for the Microsoft gaming network Xbox Live), those who attended the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 2009 were eligible for a special E3 Trophy prop when the Avatar Marketplace actually hits – however to be in with a chance you had to have visited a special stand that was present at the conference. Most recently, Xbox users that participated in the Xbox One Preview Program were given a specially created prop that showcased a cat dressed as a ninja riding a T-Rex that they could equip to their Xbox Avatar.[22]
Starting with the 1511 release of Windows 10 and New Xbox One Experience the Avatar Store has returned to the Xbox Avatars application, allow users to browse new clothing and props in real time.[23] Purchases made from the latest version of the Avatar Store will work on every Xbox experience including Xbox 360.
In August 2023, Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 Marketplace will be shutting down on July 29, 2024, which will also close the Xbox Original Avatar Store.[24] Attempting to access the Xbox Avatar store on the Xbox Original Avatar app on Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, or Windows 10 and 11 after the shutdown will fail and give an error.[25]
