It's been a long time since Xbox Avatars felt like a big deal, and to be honest, we rarely see anyone talking about them these days. That's ultimately why Microsoft is announcing today that the Xbox Avatar Editor is getting discontinued.
On January 9th, 2025, that app (featuring the Avatar style you see in the image above) will no longer be available. If you've created an avatar using the app, it'll also no longer exist, along with any items that you may have purchased.
Microsoft says the reasoning is due to "low engagement with the program", which allows Team Xbox to focus on "delivering other player experiences" instead. If you happen to have bought any items for your avatar since November 1st of 2023, you should be getting an automatic refund for them after the Xbox Avatar Editor app has been removed.
"All Xbox Avatar purchases from November 1, 2023, through January 9, 2025, will be refunded to your valid payment instrument after the Xbox Avatar Editor app is no longer available. You can check your purchase and refund history here."
Avatars aren't going away entirely, however. This is where it gets confusing - the Xbox Original Avatars app will still remain after January 9th, which concerns the OG version of Avatars that were introduced back in 2008. These are still usable on Xbox 360 and in certain games (like Doritos Crash Course), and that will continue for the foreseeable future.
So, basically, it's the modern version of Xbox Avatars that are disappearing early next year. There's not really much to be done before then, but if you're a fan of using your Xbox Avatar as your gamerpic, now's the time to change it if necessary. To do this, go to your profile, hit the "change gamerpic" button, create a new one, and select "take a picture of my Avatar". It'll be going away forever soon, so it might be worth grabbing a photo for the history books!
We'll throw a comparison of the Xbox Avatar Editor app and Xbox Original Avatars app down below:
Microsoft: "We’re dedicated to delivering great experiences for players, offering a variety of options to personalize their experience with Xbox. Players can choose from dynamic backgrounds and profile colors on Xbox consoles, and customize their Xbox Original Avatar, profile themes, and gamerpics on both Xbox consoles and PC. Earlier this month, we also introduced a new feature that allows players to more easily create gamerpics from their achievement art or screenshots and zoom and crop images when setting a home background on their console."