Ted Cruz VS Xbox: The Senator Criticized The Console For Being 'Woke'

Ted Cruz (R-TX), U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate, targeted Microsoft MSFT’s Xbox after the company announced it would include a new update to reduce the console’s carbon footprint.

The 52-year-old politician born in Canada took to Twitter to express his disagreement with the console’s new feature.

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“First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they're gunning for your Xbox,” he wrote on Monday.

He then proceeded to share an alarmist article from the website “The Blaze,” which assured that Microsoft would “force” gamers into powering down their Xbox consoles in order to fight climate change.

First gas stoves, then your coffee, now they're gunning for your Xbox. https://t.co/MpaH2ntWAz

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 23, 2023

However, Microsoft won’t force the new feature on anyone: the update is optional and it can be switched back to normal at any time.

Xbox: The First Carbon-Aware Console

But, what does this new “green” update do? It reduces power use by up to 20x while the console is turned off without harming performance.

On its official webpage, Microsoft explained: “When your console is plugged in, connected to the Internet and regional carbon intensity data is available, Xbox will schedule game, app, and OS updates for your console at specific times during the nightly maintenance window that may result in lower carbon emissions because a higher proportion of electricity is coming from lower-carbon sources on the electric grid.”

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“For example, instead of your Xbox waking up during the nightly maintenance window at a random time between 2:00 AM – 6:00 AM, your console will wake up at a time when it can use the most renewable energy in your local energy grid. This decreases fossil fuel dependency and CO2 emissions, and could potentially save you money,” Microsoft added.

The company estimated that, for every two consoles that switch to “Shutdown” for one year, the equivalent amount of carbon removed by one tree for a decade can be saved.

So, What’s The Big Deal?

Probably, one of the reasons Cruz is so worried about this topic is that, besides being a Senator, he’s also a gamer.

“Now I'm something of a gamer. I'm not a gamer like hardcore Twitch streamers and I don't do the massive multiplayer games,” Cruz said on his podcast. “I'll tell you, I don't like it when you can buy in-game items and sort of make your character stronger or get advantages. Now I'll confess when I play some games, I'll sometimes buy it because it is more fun in some way. Your character has a lot more great stuff that would take you six months or a year to build up.”

Moreover, Cruz’s tweet on Xbox highlights the narrative that claims progressive forces want to limit personal conveniences in response to the climate crisis.

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In fact, quickly after the U.S. Senator’s Tweet, Fox News ran an article with a headline suggesting the "woke brigade" is targeting video games, and a Fox & Friends host even exclaimed, "They're going after the children!"

Image by Javier Hasse. Picture of Ted Cruz by Michael Vadon via Wikimedia Commons.