Xbox and McCann London are bringing learning to gaming with ‘Beyond Xbox: Field Trips’. The partnership has produced seven audio learning journeys, across seven popular games. Through both Spotify and Xbox in-app, young players can listen to the journeys and learn while they game.

Intended to provide young gamers with seamlessly interwoven educational content, the series has visual accompaniments available on Xbox Game Pass. The innovative guides feature in: Minecraft, Sea of Thieves, PowerWash Simulator, Microsoft Flight Simulator, Age of Empires IV, and Grounded and Cities: Skylines. Players are encouraged to listen as they game, with play enhanced by visual guides available on Xbox.com.

To launch the work, McCann London and Xbox released a five-minute mini-documentary. The hero video features three different families in the UK, and demonstrates their experiences with the audio and visual learning journeys while gaming. It includes testimonials from young gamers, as well as expert opinions on the benefits of gaming.

Taking young gamers on a virtual field trip, the project hopes to extend learning beyond the classroom and reach this audience in spaces they enjoy. It comes as part of the “Beyond” campaigns, the third installation in a series from Xbox. “Beyond” seeks to highlight the positive impact that gaming can have on people.

This latest addition to the series is based on the insight that video games can be an effective learning tool. In fact, children who play video games are 1.88x more likely to have “high overall school competence” than those who don’t. Ollie Bray, Co-Author of the European Games in Schools Handbook, contributed to the planning and development of the virtual lessons. He said, “There is increasing evidence to suggest that play is one of the most powerful ways to learn”.

In Xbox’s field trips, young gamers can learn life skills like problem-solving, team building, analytical thinking, and communication. At the same time, they are also taught topics aligned with the curriculum, like the history of piracy or of the solar system.

For the project, Xbox partnered with the trade body for the games and interactive entertainment industry in the UK, Ukie’s Digital Schoolhouse. Together, they rolled out ‘Beyond Xbox: Field Trips’ across 67 schools in the UK, reaching a network of more than 200,000 young people.

Speaking on the project, Michael Flatt, Xbox EMEA Marketing Director, said: “At Xbox, we believe in the power of gaming to inspire and educate. Beyond Xbox: Field Trips is a testament to this belief, showcasing the innovation that comes when we merge entertainment with education”.

He continued, “McCann London’s idea to integrate insightful audio lessons into popular gaming titles gives players a truly unique and enriching learning experience. This initiative not only highlights the positive impact of video games but also underscores our commitment to leveraging technology for educational purposes”.

The campaign uses innovative thinking to make the most out of gaming and showcase the potential for video games to be tools for learning. Backed by research and insights, ‘Beyond Xbox: Field Trips’ reaches young people in a new relevant space, smashing negative stereotypes of gaming to highlight the power, potential and benefits of the medium.