Despite it putting an end to the “everything is an Xbox” era, Microsoft keeps implying that even a stool can be an Xbox. Microsoft’s gaming brand teamed up with the famed Swedish home goods company Ikea to produce a swath of new furniture, some of which actually seems useful to a gamer who isn’t afraid of excessively green decor.
To start, the “YXSTABY” collection (which in my mind reads as “Y” multiplied by “Staby”) includes big green thumbstick stools, a lounge chair with a mesh controller sling underneath, a D-pad-shaped cushion, controller cupboards, monitor stands, and a massive A-frame where you’re supposed to prop up your TV for play. There’s even a large platter that’s shaped like the optional dish-shaped D-pad on an Xbox Elite controller.
Let’s start with the TV stand. It’s shaped like an easel that props a TV up in the center and sits on four wheels that make it easier to tuck out of the way. There’s a cubby behind the TV where you can place extra controllers or headsets. The bottom shelf is where you’re meant to lay your Xbox Series console (or—let’s be frank—whatever other console, PC, or Steam Machine-like device you chose). There’s an additional lounge chair that looks like most other examples of creamy white Ikea furniture, though it carries a bottom sling with a green accent in case you want another spot to lay a gamepad.
The stool is certainly going to make folk with sensitive tushies wince. The big green dongle is one of those rocking stools that lets you lean forward, though those textured grips that resemble the Xbox thumbstick seem like they may keep you from sliding off.
In a press release, Ikea product design developer Philip Dilé says playing games at home “is as much about relaxing and connecting with others as it is about performing, which changes what the space has to do.” Xbox and Ikea collaborated on the design for each item to make “furniture people really want in their home, not furniture they accept because it is what you need to game.”
That’s why there’s a rolling side table you can drag along the floor to whatever spot you need to place a drink or a controller. There’s an additional bundle of hangable display frames, which you can use to debut your favorite custom controllers, figurines, or—dare I say it—your physical game collection. Despite all that, perhaps my favorite item of the bunch is a laptop stand with an included cubby, something that may finally rid my desk of its growing mountain of cameras, cables, and tech periphenalia.
I’ll be honest, I can see myself using many of these, even the obnoxious nuclear green ones that are meant to remind you of old-school Xbox. Just as well, this room setup may look even better with that limited edition Xbox Series X25 console that’s set to launch in November. Hell, even if you’re not an Xbox gamer, the look of the furniture remains vague enough you can argue it will look swell for a PlayStation gamer as well.
Plus, when somebody inevitably asks about that gaudy stool, you can play the game “try to pronounce ‘YXSTABY.’”
