No, Phil Spencer’s Hexen T-shirt isn’t teasing an Xbox reboot — yet

Phil Spencer is the Xbox head and the CEO at Microsoft Gaming. He has yet again made a fashion statement that appeals to video game conspiracy enthusiasts. Spencer donned a black t-shirt featuring a box art print to close the Xbox Games Showcase. Hexen, a long-dormant series that — thanks to the acquisition of Bethesda and with it, id Software — Xbox now owns. Was he teasing the announcement of the company’s next big first-person shooter reboot?

“That wasn’t me trying to pre-announce it,” Spencer told Polygon in an interview following the stream. “But it was me recognizing the importance of some of the games in our portfolio.”

You’re forgiven for expecting something more official. The exec has a long history of using T-shirts as playful marketing, whether it’s supporting an indie, announcing a new release, or yes, even hinting at a reboot of a long-dormant franchise — looking at you Battletoads.

Spencer offered an origin story for his T-shirt tradition: “The first time I wore a T-shirt on stage, in this way, was a game called JumpmanIt was a Commodore 64 that my father and I both played. Epic’s Jumpman. I have worn a JumpmanI bought the shirt, thinking that no one would notice except for my father because he watched. And it was right around Father’s Day, which is when E3 always is.”

Spencer is the Hexen The shirt represents a continuation in this tradition. “To be truthful,” he said, “I didn’t really communicate it much internally. And then I’m on camera recording that and people are like, ‘What is that?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it.’

“So for me, wearing the [Hexen] shirt wasn’t as much about a tease forward as it was just about nostalgia. I recognize that as our portfolio grows, we’ve got important [games] that we have to kind of protect and nurture and maybe bring back at some point.”

Of course, Spencer wouldn’t mind if fans wanted a Hexen revival.

“Hexen was a game that I loved,” said Spencer. “If you know anything about, like, where that game was built, or where it was published… There’s just these games that kind of come together — or that have the potential to come together — that I get excited about. […] If you think about where our future could go, there’s kind of some interesting intersection.”

All of this said, maybe we should take Spencer’s denial with a grain of salt. Spencer told Polygon the following in 2015 when asked if he would wear a shirt for the unannounced Battletoads: “I don’t think I’ve ever worn a T-shirt that’s been a complete head fake. I don’t think I have… have I? I wouldn’t do that.”