Official: Xbox Series X will cost $499 / £449

Xbox has officially priced its premium next-gen console, Xbox Series X, at $499 / €499 / £449.

Like its cheaper Xbox Series S model, Series X will release on Tuesday, November 10, Microsoft announced today, with pre-orders set to begin on September 22.

Microsoft confirmed that its Xbox All Access payment program would be expanded to 12 countries, offering a next generation Xbox and 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate starting at $24.99 / £20.99 a month, with no upfront costs.

In addition, the platform holder announced that it is teaming up with Electronic Arts to provide Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members with an EA Play membership at no additional cost starting this holiday.

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The release date means the console will launch on the same week as key titles such as Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Dirt 5 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

Ubisoft also confirmed on Wednesday that the release of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla would be brought forward a week to November 10 to coincide with the Series X and S launches.

“When Xbox Series X and Series S launches this November, it will herald a new generation of game experiences,” head of Xbox Phil Spencer wrote on Xbox.com. “Optimized games for Xbox Series X and Series S coming this year are built to take full advantage of our fastest consoles ever.

“On day one you will be the first to enjoy next-gen versions of the most anticipated games of the year such as Gears Tactics, Tetris Effect: Connected and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion.”

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The cheaper Xbox Series S will support ray-tracing, 120fps and upscaled 4K

Leaked video details the tech specs of Microsoft’s $300 / £250 next-gen console

He added: “Xbox Series S is designed around the same technology that will make these games and so many others look and feel incredible. In speaking to game developers, we identified the areas that are most difficult to scale effectively, including the CPU and I/O, and made it easy to include Xbox Series S for developers who are targeting their experiences for Xbox Series X.”

“Powered by the Xbox Velocity Architecture, you can expect the same benefits from Xbox Series S such as faster load times and Quick Resume. Xbox Series S also supports all the same next gen features including HDMI 2.1, frame rates up to 120fps, DirectX Raytracing and Variable Rate Shading.”

Spencer continued: “And the new Xbox consoles are also the only next-generation, backward-compatible consoles that allow you to play thousands of games from four generations better than ever before, and empower you to play with friends wherever you want across your console, PC, and mobile device.”

Xbox Series S will release for $300 / £250, support ray-tracing, and run games at upscaled 4K up to 120fps.

Microsoft officially announced Xbox Series S on Tuesday, following an overnight leak from journalist Brad Sams, who revealed an image of the Series S console’s design along with confirmation of the $299 US price point.

Xbox Series S is an “all-digital” console which like Series X will include a custom NVME SSD (though at 512GB, compared to 1TB), powered by Xbox’s Velocity Architecture for “incredibly fast load times,” the video says.

In comparison, Xbox Series X is able to run games at “true” 4K and can also output 8K resolution for some content.

Xbox Series S and X Tech Specs