IKEA and Xbox have put out a joint furniture line. It's called YXSTABY, and it's built around one idea: the Xbox controller is familiar enough to be turned into things you sit on, put snacks on and display things in. The nine-piece collection went on sale in IKEA stores on October 1. Online ordering comes later this year, and availability depends on the market.
Designed by both companies together
This isn't a logo stamped on existing IKEA stock. Microsoft says designers from both companies worked on every piece of YXSTABY together, starting from the shapes of the Xbox Wireless Controller and working out how each one could become a useful object in a living room. Carl Ledbetter, head of design for Xbox Devices, describes the controller as one of the most recognisable objects in gaming. The collection reads like an exercise in taking that shape apart and rebuilding it at furniture scale.
From IKEA's side, product developer Philip Dilé frames it as giving gaming the same place in the home as any other everyday activity. In practice that means a mix of things for a dedicated setup, like a monitor stand and a laptop support, and pieces meant to blend into a shared living room, like a side table and a TV stand that both roll on castors.
The thumbstick stool is the headline piece
The piece most people will remember is the thumbstick stool. Xbox's device designers handed over the original 3D design files for the Wireless Controller's analogue stick, and IKEA scaled that geometry up into a stool. The concave top and the ring of grip texture survive the scale-up. Xbox points out that the texture does the same job either way: on the controller it keeps a thumb from sliding off, and on the stool it helps keep the person sitting on it in place.
Two more pieces come from the D-pad. One is a cushion shaped like the cross. The other is a decorative platter in polished stainless steel, which is about as far from a plastic input as the design could get, and probably the piece most likely to end up on a coffee table rather than in a games room.
The full nine-piece line-up
Besides the stool, the cushion and the platter, YXSTABY includes:
- A gaming lounge chair, the comfortable seat of the collection, aimed at long sessions on the sofa side of the room rather than at the desk.
- A monitor stand for raising a screen on a desk setup.
- A TV stand on castors, so a screen and console can be moved instead of being fixed to one wall.
- A side table on castors, the rolling drum-shaped table seen in the campaign art.
- A laptop support with built-in storage and accessories.
- A mirrored display box that shows a controller from every side, with space for figurines and other collectibles.
The display box is the most obviously fan-facing piece. Limited-edition controllers have become a collectible category of their own, and Microsoft has spent years releasing special designs. A mirrored case that shows off the back and grips as well as the face buttons is a clear nod to people who keep those controllers boxed up or lined up on a shelf.
Where and when to buy it
The two companies say the collection launches worldwide, but the October 1 date applies to physical IKEA stores. Online sales are only promised for later this year, with no firm date, and IKEA warns that the range may vary by market. So not every store will carry all nine pieces. IKEA suggests checking with your local store.
No prices were included in the announcement. IKEA usually lists those per country on its local sites and in store, so expect them to vary by region once the range shows up in each market's online catalogue.
Part of a bigger push into the living room
YXSTABY is the latest in a run of Xbox partnerships that have nothing to do with selling consoles. Recent months have brought the Xbox app to TCL smart TVs and a cozy-themed Designed for Xbox accessory range, both pitched at people who play in shared spaces at home rather than at a dedicated desk. Xbox talks more about how the IKEA collaboration came together in this week's episode of the Official Xbox Podcast.
The campaign art makes the point clearly. Tracer from Overwatch and a jetpack-wearing cat burst through an otherwise ordinary flat, where the furniture just happens to have Xbox shapes built in. Whether a thumbstick stool belongs in your lounge is a matter of taste. What makes this one unusual is that it was built from Microsoft's own controller design files.
