After all the waiting, the reveal events, the hype – we finally have a release date and price for one of the big two upcoming consoles this holiday season. Yes, it’s Xbox coming out the door swinging first, and Microsoft is itching to correct the wrongs that plagued their last-generation console launch with the Xbox One. The Xbox Series X, and the newly leaked (and subsequently revealed) Series S, are set to drop into living rooms before long, and at a price cheaper than perhaps many anticipated.
Let’s get the big info out of the way. The Series X will cost $499 (£449), while the all-digital Series S – which also is the smallest Xbox ever designed according to Microsoft – comes in at a snip at $299 (£249). The two consoles will launch in just over two months, on November 10, but pre-orders start in just under two weeks on September 22.
Microsoft is also offering, similar to what they did with the Xbox One last generation, a monthly finance plan by the name of Xbox All Access. This is returning with the Series X & S (Series XS? Is there a good name for this family?), with the Series X being available for $34.99 (£20.99) per month over 24 months, while the Series S will cost $24.99 (£20.99) a month, for the same 24 month period.
Considering the hardware packed into the Series X – the most powerful console ever made according to Microsoft – the price is really not too shabby, especially when you looked back at this point seven years ago. Microsoft had recently come off the back of a disastrous reveal event, and at E3, they priced the Xbox One at $499 (£429) against PlayStation’s $399 (£349). What a difference seven years makes.
There we go! Felt like forever. All that’s left is to hear what Sony plans to do with its PlayStation 5 details. We had leaks and rumors before, but now the ball is in their court now – after playing chicken with Xbox to see who would crack and reveal their info first, they now know both the date and prices of what Microsoft plans to bring to the console war table this holiday. See you then.