Microsoft is shutting down Xbox Avatar Editor because of "low engagement with the program"

After the success of the Mii avatars for Wii, both Microsoft and Sony tried their hand at their own alternatives, with the former doing reasonably well with their Xbox Avatars (created by Rare). While Sony discontinued its more realistic creations long ago, Xbox Avatars are still around.

In 2018, an attempt was made to modernise them with the Xbox Avatar Editor, which not only made the avatars more detailed, but also allowed for prosthetics and the like so that everyone could create a more faithful virtual version of themselves. Since then we haven't heard anything more about this and apparently the concept has never become very popular, which is not really surprising given that the new ones lack the charm of the original ones.

Now it's being reported via Pure Xbox that Microsoft is shutting down the new avatars and Xbox Avatar Editor due to "low engagement with the program". If you've purchased anything for your avatars in the past year, you'll get your money back:

"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."

If you want to create an avatar with the new system and keep it for future reference (or maybe as a Gamerpic), make sure to do so by January 9, when the service will be discontinued. Pure Xbox explains how to do this and writes:

"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!"

The original Xbox avatars won't be affected by this change though, so you can still use that system to create a virtual version of yourself.