The Xbox Series S' announcement in early September kicked off a period of price and release date reveals from both Microsoft and Sony for their next-gen consoles.
This machine, which will cost just $299.99 (£249.99), has been heralded for offering gamers an affordable way into the next-gen of gaming, albeit with lower specs than the Xbox Series X.
With the November 10 release date fast approaching, fans are clamouring for the chance to pre-order both the Xbox Series S and Series X. If you don't want to miss out on your console pre-order, here's everything you need to know about how to buy a Series S.
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When do Xbox Series S pre-orders open?
In contrast to a somewhat confused pre-order window for the PS5 console range, Microsoft has provided clarity to when pre-orders for its next-gen consoles will go live.
Pre-orders for all Xbox consoles, including the Xbox Series S, will go live
The Series X and Series S will be available to pre-order from September 22, just under two months before the console launches. Pre-orders will open at 11 AM ET/8 AM PT in the US and Canada, and 8 AM BST in the UK.
Pre-orders will open in Australia and New Zealand at 8 AM AEST and 8 AM NZST, respectively. For the rest of the world, pre-orders will open at 9 AM CEST.
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Where to pre-order the Xbox Series S
In its pre-order blog post, Microsoft gave a full breakdown of which retailers will sell the Xbox Series S console. These are:
- United States: Microsoft Store, Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club, Newegg, and other participating retailers
- Canada: Microsoft Store, Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, EB Games, The Source, and other participating retailers
- United Kingdom: Microsoft Store, GAME, Amazon, Dixons, Currys PC World, Argos, John Lewis, Smyths Toys, VERY, AO, Tesco, Simply Game, Shopto and other participating retailers
- Australia: Microsoft Store, JB Hifi, EB Games, Telstra, Harvey Norman, and other participating retailers
- New Zealand: Microsoft Store, JB HiFi, EB Games, Spark, and other participating retailers
- Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: Microsoft Store, Amazon, MediaMarkt, GameStop, FNAC, Elkjøp/Elgiganten and other participating retailers
As pre-orders go live, we'll update this page with direct links to the pre-order pages. For now, you can check out the official Microsoft Store pages for the Xbox Series S in the US here, or in the UK here.
If you're thinking these retailers may open their pre-orders early, as was the case with the PS5 orders, Microsoft is attempting to prevent this, according to reports from Geoff Keighley, who Tweeted that "Xbox will be penalizing retailers by lowering allocations if they break these embargoes."
This comes after the PS5 Digital Edition, crudely compared to the Xbox Series S for its pricing, sold out quicker than the base PS5, suggesting that the demand for these digital-only consoles is much higher than the stock allocation given.
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Pre-order Xbox Series S via Xbox All Access
If you don't want to splash out $299.99/£249.99 in one go for the Xbox Series S, Xbox All Access financing allows you to pay $24.99/mo. or £20.99/mo for the Xbox Series S and Game Pass Ultimate.
Pre-orders for Xbox All Access will also open on September 22 at the time as the normal Xbox Series S pre-orders. The service will be available from the following retailers:
- United States: Best Buy, GameStop, Microsoft Store, and Walmart
- Australia: Telstra
- New Zealand: Spark
- UK: GAME and Smyths Toys
- Denmark: Elgiganten
- Finland: Gigantti
- Norway: Elkjøp
- Sweden: Elgiganten
The service is also coming to Canada, France, Poland and South Korea ahead of the Xbox Series S's launch, but pre-orders will not open on September 22.
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