Microsoft reminds us that what the world needs now is dogs living in Halo/Minecraft landscapes

With all the time our dogs spend watching us while away the hours on our various devices, they must do a lot of wondering as to what’s so special about these seemingly mundane screens of ours. Perhaps, as Microsoft imagines in the guaranteed-to-put-a-smile-on-your-face ad spot below, they actually dream about such matters.

Go ahead and behold Microsoft’s 2020 holiday commercial “Find Your Joy (A Dog’s Dream)” below and try not to smile; we reckon it’d be hard for anyone who loves dogs, Halo, Minecraft, or Microsoft Flight Simulator, considering all the glorious gameplay that canine stars Rufus and Sam get into. 

Rufus, you see, is Sam’s neighbor and best friend. But with 2020 being what it is, they’re forced to socially distance, just like their humans. Fortunately, they can still dream of playing together, and within their dreams (is there anything more heartwarming than a dog dreaming?) we get to see just how well dogs fit into the worlds of Microsoft games. 

Enjoy the ad in all its caninery finery.

As you can see above, the fun starts out with Rufus, the family dog going to check what his human housemates have gotten up to around the home. He sees the son zoning out playing Halo on his Xbox, the mom in a Microsoft Teams meeting, the daughter Minecrafting away, and the dad very focused on keeping his Flight Simmulator biplane steady as she goes.

Alas, no one seems to have time for Rufus, so after some forlorn looks in Sam's direction,  he gets to dreaming about all the neat things he’s just seen. And that’s when Supergrass’ “Alright” kicks in and the dogs begin to bark it down in digital world.

When Master Chief throws a Fragmentation Grenade during a battle, Rufus tracks it down and drops it at his master’s feet like a good boy. Impressively, Master Chief is somehow able to convey a look of shock, even through his face shield.  

We would certainly take more meetings if the attendees looked like this, as for sure there’d be treats involved!

Rufus and Sam obviously visited Minecraft Dogtopia in the Minecraft marketplace, where they found such niceties as a dog bone shaped pool and a very inviting fire hydrant fountain. 

Of course Rufus and Sam aren’t dogfighting, but they are flying some sweet Red Baron-esque biplanes that would make Snoopy himself proud.

You can learn more about Microsoft’s various offerings here, just in time for the holidays, of course.