The ultimate gift for gamers? Microsoft launches a £58 Minesweeper-themed ‘ugly Christmas jumper’

The ultimate festive gift for gamers? Microsoft launches a £58 Minesweeper-themed ‘ugly Christmas jumper’

  • The ‘ugly Christmas jumper’ is themed around the Windows game Minesweeper 
  • It has a Christmas-tree shaped version of the game against a sky of snowflakes 
  • Priced at £57.95, it’s certainly not cheap, although £75,000 ($100,000) of the proceeds will be donated to the AbleGamers charity 


With Christmas just over three weeks away now, you may be frantically racking your brain for gift ideas for your loved ones.

If you have a keen gamer in your life, Microsoft may have just the thing for them, having launched a new ‘ugly Christmas sweater.’

The jumper is themed around the famous Windows game Minesweeper, and features a Christmas-tree shaped version of the game.

Priced at £57.95, it’s certainly not cheap, although £75,000 ($100,000) of the proceeds will be donated to the AbleGamers charity.

If you have a keen gamer in your life, Microsoft may have just the thing for them, having launched a new ‘ugly Christmas sweater’

What is Minesweeper? 

Minesweeper is a computer game that first launched in 1990. 

It features a grid of squares, with the goal of uncovering all the squares that do not contain mines. 

Clicking on the squares reveals what is hidden underneath, with some containing a mine, others certains numbers (1 to 8), and others blank. 

The game is won once all blank squares are uncovered without hitting a mine.

The Microsoft Minesweeper Ugly Sweater is being sold on the Xbox Gear Shop.

A description reads: ‘When it comes to holiday sweater parties, there’s only one strategically sound move: this old-school Minesweeper sweater.

‘Flash back to one of the first games available to play with Windows, and help AbleGamers create new, happy memories for people with disabilities.’

Minesweeper is a computer game that first launched in 1990. 

It features a grid of squares, with the goal of uncovering all the squares that do not contain mines. 

Clicking on the squares reveals what is hidden underneath, with some containing a mine, others certains numbers (1 to 8), and others blank. 

The game is won once all blank squares are uncovered without hitting a mine.

The front of the jumper features a Christmas tree-shaped version of the game, set against a blue background full of floating snowflakes. 

A score of 1990 is also displayed at the top of the jumper, which is no coincidence – 1990 is the year that Minesweeper first came out!

Meanwhile, the back of the jumper features the iconic four-square Windows logo, as well as an array of festive snowflakes.

The jumper is priced at £57.95, with £75,000 ($100,000) of the proceeds going to AbleGamers.

‘This year we’re supporting AbleGamers on their quest to create opportunities that enable play in order to combat social isolation, foster inclusive communities, and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities,’ Microsoft explained.

The front of the jumper features a Christmas tree-shaped version of the game, set against a blue background full of floating snowflakes

The front of the jumper features a Christmas tree-shaped version of the game, set against a blue background full of floating snowflakes

A score of 1990 is also displayed at the top of the jumper, which is no coincidence – 1990 is the year that Minesweeper first came out

The back of the jumper features the iconic four-square Windows logo, as well as an array of festive snowflakes

The jumper is priced at £57.95, with £75,000 ($100,000) of the proceeds going to AbleGamers

This isn’t the first time that Microsoft has launched an ugly Christmas jumper – last year the firm unveiled three designs, including one jumper based on Microsoft Paint. 

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, it appears that Microsoft has sold out of this year’s Minesweeper-themed jumper. 

However, you can sign up to the wishlist now to be notified if the jumper comes back in stock here.  

THE TRILLION DOLLAR RISE OF MICROSOFT  

April 4, 1975 Microsoft founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen 

June 25, 1981 Microsoft incorporates

November, 1983 Microsoft Windows announced

Novenber, 1985 Microsoft Windows version 1.0 released

February 26, 1986 Microsoft moves to corporate campus in Redmond, Washington where it is today 

March 13, 1986 Microsoft stock goes public

August 1, 1989 Microsoft introduces earliest version of Office suite of productivity applications

August 24, 1995 Microsoft launches Windows 95

1995 – Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, becomes the richest man in the world aged 39 with a fortune of $12.9 billion at the time 

October 25, 2001 Microsoft launches Windows XP

November 15, 2001 Microsoft launches Xbox

October 21, 2003 Microsoft launches Microsoft Office System

November 22, 2005 Microsoft launches Xbox 360

January 30, 2007 Microsoft launches Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office System to consumers worldwide

June 28, 2011 Microsoft launches Office 365 

April 24, 2019 Microsoft becomes the third company in the world to peak at more than $1 trillion in market capitalisation value  



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk