Microsoft’s New Xbox Series X and Series S Consoles Are on Sale Now (2024)

It's been a fewer years since the Xbox Series X and Series S launch, and portion the console hasn't breached income records, there's a respectable number successful the wild. It's astir clip for a refresh, and Microsoft is delivering caller all-digital versions of its consoles (say goodbye to the optical drive). You tin order them right now.

Whether you should is different question entirely. Microsoft has been beauteous unfastened astir the information that the institution envisions a aboriginal wherever “every surface is an Xbox.” PC gaming connected Windows—whether connected gaming laptops oregon handhelds—is conscionable arsenic important to the institution arsenic the surviving country console. You tin even watercourse Xbox games done a Fire TV instrumentality now. Still, determination are plentifulness of reasons to bargain an Xbox Series X/S. It's the astir convenient mode to acceptable up a Microsoft-centric gaming strategy to play from your couch. So, if you're interested, here's however to bargain one.

Updated October 2024: We've updated the connection for the authoritative motorboat time of the Xbox consoles.

Power up with unlimited entree to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that's excessively important to disregard for conscionable $2.50 $1 per period for 1 year. Includes unlimited integer entree and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.

What’s Different About the New Xbox Consoles?

Similar to the caller PS5 Slim, there's not overmuch of a quality successful this mid-cycle refresh of the Xbox. The Series X and Series S person much oregon little the aforesaid hardware nether the hood. But determination are a mates of tiny changes.

The Xbox Series X loses the disc thrust and gets a achromatic overgarment of paint. As an unapologetic Xbox Series S-owner, I similar the achromatic look more, truthful it's bully to spot it disposable connected the much almighty hardware. This “all-digital” Xbox Series X starts astatine $450, astir $50 little than its predecessor, a decent trade-off if you ne'er bought carnal copies of Xbox games.

The smaller Xbox Series S ne'er had a disc drive, truthful there's nary thrust to eliminate. Instead, for this refresh, Microsoft doubled the retention from 512 GB to 1 terabyte. The terms has besides gone up by $50 to $350. Given however immense AAA games tin get, this seems similar a no-brainer, though it's worthy noting that you tin easy increase the retention of the existent Xbox Series X oregon Series S with an enlargement card.

Finally, Microsoft is releasing a special, limited-edition mentation of the archetypal Xbox Series X (which has a disc drive) with a unsocial “Galaxy Black” overgarment job. This 1 has a space-like signifier of achromatic and greenish dots with a generous 2 TB of storage. This exemplary costs $600 and ships erstwhile the different upgraded consoles driblet successful mid-October.

Microsoft besides precocious replaced the Xbox Game Pass for Console tier of its subscription service with a caller offering called Xbox Game Pass Standard. This includes the aforesaid room of console games arsenic good arsenic online console multiplayer service. The drawback is you won't get entree to day-one releases. You'll person to hold for immoderate clip to play definite games aft release. Microsoft's FAQ says this could beryllium “up to 12 months oregon more,” which technically includes each imaginable lengths of time, but it seems the mean hold for caller releases is apt astir a year. This caller tier costs $15 per month, portion Game Pass Ultimate—which antecedently outgo $17 a month—has been bumped to $20 monthly.