Official Xbox Magazine Issue 000

Official Xbox Magazine Issue 000 Launch Special

The Official Xbox Magazine UK Issue 000 launched in November 2001 as a preview edition before the UK release of Microsoft's Xbox console. The magazine featured early reviews, previews, and exclusive coverage of launch titles. The cover story highlighted the groundbreaking Halo: Combat Evolved. Inside, readers found technical specifications of the Xbox hardware, interviews with game developers, and comparisons to competing consoles. The issue included a free DVD containing game demos and video content. This collector's item established the publication's style and format for future issues, while building anticipation for the console's UK debut.

The Official Xbox Magazine UK (OXM) was the definitive print publication dedicated to Microsoft's original Xbox console, serving as the go-to source for the UK gaming community throughout the console's lifespan. Published under the Future Publishing banner, the magazine established itself as the authoritative voice on all things Xbox, carrying the weight of an official Microsoft licence that granted it privileged access to exclusive content, early builds, and behind the scenes' developer insights that rival publications simply couldn't match.

Each issue was packed with in-depth previews of upcoming titles, offering readers their first look at highly anticipated games months before release. The review section provided thorough, critical assessments of the latest releases, complete with scored ratings that became a trusted benchmark for Xbox gamers deciding where to spend their money. Beyond previews and reviews, OXM delivered features exploring the broader Xbox ecosystem from hardware guides and accessory roundups to developer interviews and retrospectives on the titles shaping the platform.

One of the magazine's standout elements was its cover mounted demo disc, which gave readers hands on access to playable demos, trailers, and bonus content each month, a genuinely valuable addition in an era before widespread broadband made digital downloads the norm. These discs became collectible items in their own right, often featuring exclusive content unavailable anywhere else.

Formatted in the vibrant, visually driven style typical of the gaming magazine era, OXM combined bold graphic design, high quality screenshots, and editorial personality to create a reading experience that felt as energetic as the games it covered. For many UK Xbox fans, it was an essential monthly purchase and a key part of the original Xbox experience.