To promote the upcoming Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel and Xbox are doing a superpower team-up of their own to encourage a new generation to consider careers in STEM and gaming industries. Xbox is also holding a giveaway in which some lucky gamers can win custom Black Panther-inspired Xbox Series X consoles.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases on November 11 and features the fictional, technologically advanced country of Wakanda. Wakanda's most prominent political figures, such as Shuri, a brilliant scientist and princess of the nation, focus deeply on STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As a gaming publisher, Xbox hires many STEM professionals to help grow and improve its systems, including the upcoming update for the Xbox app on PC.
In a press release on Xbox Wire, the publisher detailed its collaboration with Marvel with a new website that features giveaways and various activities. The big-ticket item on display is an Xbox Series X, designed in the style of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The grand prize includes a custom-painted core console, two custom-painted controllers with controller holders, and a set of replica Kimoyo beads — which should easily run the upcoming team-up game featuring Captain America.
Outside of giveaways, Xbox has plans for several events to help push the idea of a STEM career to underrepresented people who typically do not pursue careers in these fields. Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri in the film, will appear in a series of inspirational videos releasing soon. On November 7, a live lecture featuring black gaming and STEM innovators will stream from Howard University's social media channels. Finally, Xbox has also teamed up with five content creators to buy out movie theaters across America to provide free screenings of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on premiere day. During these screenings, attendees will also be able to try out Xbox's MakeCode platform, which will also enter them to win one of the Black Panther Xbox consoles.
The Xbox MakeCode platform is another way that Xbox is hoping to increase interest in gaming and STEM industries. As part of this collaboration, organizers are encouraging coders and those interested in learning coding to try their hand at creating a Black Panther-inspired game. As with the other activities, this will also offer a way to win one of the custom-made consoles. In addition to trying out coding, lower on the promotional site are a group of videos from different game developers to help viewers learn more about their journey in the gaming industry. These include videos from the head of production for Halo Infinite, Pierre Hintze, the senior game designer at Minecraft, Art Usher, and lots more.