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David Fincher directed Xbox's latest commercial

The trailer follows a rat rekindling his humanity through gaming.

Donovan Erskine

April 10, 2025 9:25 AM

Microsoft

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David Fincher, the filmmaker behind cinematic achievements like Fight Club, Zodiac, and The Social Network, teamed up with Microsoft to direct the latest Xbox commercial. It’s a brief cinematic trailer that aims to associate the joy of gaming and the human spirit.

Titled “Wake Up,” the new commercial follows a rat named Horatio. We see him going through the motions of daily life, commuting to work (through the sewer, of course) and doing monotonous tasks at the office. After clocking out, he goes home and fires up his Xbox. We’re then treated to a sizzle reel of gameplay from titles including South of Midnight, Avowed, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. We then see Horatio’s human form, as his joy for gaming has awakened the human in him.

The commercial isn’t designed to market any specific game, but the partnership between Xbox and Samsung that allows players to enjoy select titles on Samsung displays. It was co-directed by Hollywood legend David Fincher and Romain Chassaing, a French filmmaker.

Several film directors have worked on promotional material for video games, including the likes of James Wan and Michael Bay. As for proper gaming news from Microsoft, the company recently dated its next Xbox Games Showcase for this June.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_