The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in Microsoft's Xbox series, following the Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, these consoles are part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, which also includes Sony's PlayStation 5, released the same month.
Both consoles use an AMD 64-bit x86-64 CPU and GPU. They include solid-state drives to speed up loading times, support for ray-tracing technology and spatial audio, the ability to convert games to high-dynamic-range visuals using machine learning (Auto HDR), support for HDMI 2.1 features like variable refresh rate and low-latency modes, and updated controllers. The Xbox Series X is designed to render games in 2160p (4K resolution) at 60 frames per second (FPS). The Xbox Series S, which is less powerful and does not include an optical drive, is designed to render games in 1440p at 60 FPS, with support for 4K upscaling and ray tracing.
The Xbox Series X/S can play nearly all games and accessories from the Xbox One, including some Xbox 360 and original Xbox games that were compatible with the Xbox One. The newer hardware improves game performance and visuals. At launch, Microsoft encouraged a "soft" transition between console generations, similar to PC gaming, by offering the "Smart Delivery" framework. This system allows publishers to provide upgraded versions of Xbox One games that are optimized for the Xbox Series X/S.
Critics praised the hardware improvements of the Xbox Series X/S compared to the Xbox One and Microsoft's focus on cross-generation game releases. However, they noted that many games available at launch did not fully use the consoles' capabilities. As of June 2024, Xbox Series consoles are estimated to have sold over 28 million units worldwide.
History
Industry rumors about new Xbox hardware began in June 2018. At that time, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer said the company was “deep into designing the next Xbox consoles.” The hardware was expected to be a group of devices with the code name “Scarlett.” This group included a low-cost version, similar to the Xbox One family of consoles, with a focus on game streaming and backward compatibility. By March 2019, more rumors suggested two consoles in the Scarlett family, with code names “Anaconda” and “Lockhart.”
Microsoft officially announced Project Scarlett during its E3 2019 press conference. The company explained it wanted a smooth transition from the Xbox One to Scarlett, with Scarlett supporting backward compatibility for all Xbox One games and most hardware. At The Game Awards 2019, Microsoft revealed the design of Scarlett and its new brand name, “Xbox Series X,” along with a planned release in late 2020. A Microsoft spokesperson later said the Xbox Series X would be the fourth generation of Xbox hardware, simply called “Xbox” with no subtitle.
Microsoft planned to share details about the hardware and launch games for the Series X at the 2020 Game Developers Conference (GDC) and E3 2020. However, these events were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Microsoft held online presentations in March 2020 and planned to reschedule its E3 event. Detailed specifications were shared by Microsoft, Digital Foundry, and Austin Evans of Overclock Media on March 16, 2020. From May until the launch, Microsoft planned online events as part of an “Xbox 20/20” series, including an Xbox Games Showcase on July 23, 2020, featuring games from Xbox Game Studios.
On July 16, 2020, Microsoft announced it would stop making the Xbox One X and the all-digital version of the Xbox One S to prepare for new products. The existence of the Xbox Series S had been guessed before E3 2019, based on a project called “Lockhart,” which was a lower-cost version of the Scarlett family. The name “Xbox Series S” was confirmed through early accessories for the console. Microsoft officially announced the Series S on September 8, 2020, saying it would launch alongside the Series X in November 2020. The Series S was shown in the background of some Xbox videos from July 2020.
During Gamescom 2023, Phil Spencer said Microsoft probably would not make a mid-generation update to the Series X or Series S, as it might cause problems for game developers. Instead, he said future hardware would likely be for the next generation of consoles.
Hardware
When Microsoft's Xbox development team began working on the next version of the Xbox One consoles around 2016, they planned to create two console models, similar to the Xbox One X and Xbox One S, to meet the needs of different markets. By developing both models together, they ensured that games created for one system could be played on both without any issues. As with past Xbox projects, the consoles were given code names based on cities. The Xbox Series S was named Project Lockhart, inspired by Lockhart, Texas, a city described by Aaron Greenberg as "the little city with the big heart."
For the high-end Xbox Series X, Microsoft aimed to at least double the graphical performance of the Xbox One X, measured by floating-point operations per second (FLOPS), and to increase CPU performance four times compared to the Xbox One X while keeping the same noise level as previous Xbox consoles. As engineers worked on meeting these goals, they found that the components would require a large amount of power (about 315 watts) and produce significant heat. This led to the decision to split the parts onto two separate circuit boards: one for the CPU/GPU, memory, and power regulators, and another for slower input/output (I/O) functions. Mounting the boards on opposite sides of an aluminum chassis helped create air channels for cooling. Other parts, such as the heat sink, electric shielding, power supply, optical drive, and cooling fan, were arranged in a puzzle-like fashion, as described by principal designer Chris Kujawski, to fit into a compact shape, resulting in a tower-like structure. To manage noise, the system includes sensors to control the fan's speed, and the open top design ensures good airflow. While some parts, like the optical drive and heat sink, set fixed dimensions, the team was satisfied with achieving a square footprint for the console.
Xbox head Phil Spencer stated that Microsoft prioritized high frame rates and faster load times over higher resolutions. The Series X achieves this through better coordination between the CPU and GPU. Compared to the Xbox One X, the Series X's CPU is about four times more powerful, and its GPU is twice as powerful.
The Xbox Series X uses a custom 7 nm AMD SoC combining Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU. The Zen 2 CPU has eight cores running at 3.8 GHz, or 3.66 GHz with simultaneous multithreading (SMT). One core is reserved for the operating system. The RDNA 2 GPU has 56 compute units (CUs) with 3,584 cores, of which 52 CUs (3,328 cores) are active, running at 1.825 GHz. This provides 12.155 teraflops of computational power. The console includes 16 GB of GDDR6 SDRAM: 10 GB runs at 560 GB/s for graphics, and 6 GB runs at 336 GB/s for other tasks. After system software is accounted for, about 13.5 GB of memory is available for games and applications. The Series X is designed to render games at 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. While it was advertised to support 8K resolution in the future through a firmware update, Microsoft has not yet fulfilled this promise.
The Xbox Series X has a compact, minimalist design. It measures 15.1 cm × 15.1 cm (5.9 in × 5.9 in) in footprint, is 30.1 cm (11.9 in) tall, and weighs 4.45 kg (9.8 lb). It is intended to be used vertically but can also be placed horizontally. The front includes a power button and an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive. The top has a single powerful fan. Spencer said the console is as quiet as the Xbox One X. The Series X includes an HDMI 2.1 output, a storage expansion slot, three USB 3.2 ports, and an Ethernet port. It does not include an infrared blaster or HDMI pass-through, instead supporting HDMI-CEC. An earlier design included a TOSLINK port for digital audio, but this was removed. The controller pairing button on the front has an IR receiver.
The Xbox Series S has similar hardware to the Series X, like how the Xbox One S relates to the Xbox One X, but with less power. It uses the same CPU but with slightly slower clock speeds and a slower GPU: a custom RDNA2 with 20 CUs at 1.55 GHz, providing 4.006 teraflops of performance, compared to the Series X's 12.155 teraflops. It includes 10 GB of GDDR6 SDRAM: 8 GB runs at 224 GB/s for graphics, and 2 GB runs at 56 GB/s for other tasks. It has a 512 GB SSD with a raw input/output throughput of 2.4 GB/s. It lacks an optical drive, so all games and software must be downloaded from the Microsoft Store. It is designed to render games at 1440p with support for 4K upscaling at 60 frames per second, though it can reach 120 frames per second at 1440p. It starts at $299.99. Some games, like Ori and the Will of the Wisps, support native 4K resolution on the Series S. Otherwise, it has the same features as the Series X, including ports, expansions, and game support.
Microsoft designed the Series S to be portable, fitting easily into a small bag or backpack. It is about 60% smaller in volume than the Series X, measuring 275 mm × 151 mm × 63.5 mm (10.83 in × 5.94 in × 2.50 in) vertically. Its large side surface includes a major exhaust port for cooling, similar to the Series X's top surface. Additional vents are on the top of the Series S. The front has one USB port and a controller pairing button with an integrated IR receiver. The rear includes a power connector, one HDMI port, two USB ports, and an Ethernet port. Like the Series X, the Series S can be placed horizontally with the exhaust port facing upward for airflow. The Series S launched in a matte white case with a matching controller, unlike the Series X's matte black design.
Both consoles use the Xbox Velocity Architecture, a new storage system that improves transfer speeds, reduces digital download sizes, and gives developers more flexibility. This includes a custom NVM Express (NVMe) SSD. The Series X has a 1 TB SSD (802 GB available) with a raw input/output throughput of 2.4 GB/s. A compression/decompression block supports industry-standard zlib and a proprietary BCPack algorithm for game textures, achieving up to 4.8 GB/s throughput. A new DirectStorage API in DirectX allows developers to prioritize input/output tasks. The Series S has a 512 GB SSD (364 GB available) with similar hardware and software. All SSDs use a PCI Express 4.0 x2
Software
Both consoles have a user interface (UI) similar to the Xbox One, but they use 40% less memory to increase speed. The UI development team reported that the Home section loads in about half the time it took on the Xbox One. Other updates include rounded UI shapes, an easier-to-read font for text, rearranged features, and improved sharing functions. These changes were added to the Xbox One system software, the Windows Xbox app, and the Xbox mobile app in September 2020. Early tests showed that about 200 GB of internal storage on the Xbox Series X was set aside for system files.
The Xbox Series S and Series X support "Quick Resume," which lets users pause and restart up to three games at the same time. Games can also be restarted after the console is turned off and on again. The March 2022 update allowed users to "pin" up to two games to Quick Resume, keeping them paused unless manually closed or updated.
Like earlier Xbox consoles, the Xbox Series S and Series X use the Xbox network for online services. They support Xbox Game Pass, which lets subscribers download games from a library of available titles. In October 2021, Xbox Cloud Gaming—a part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate that streams games from Microsoft servers to consoles, PCs, and mobile apps—was upgraded to use Xbox Series X-based servers, which improved loading times.
Apps for streaming services are available through the Microsoft Store. The Apple TV app was first released for Xbox platforms with the launch of the Xbox Series S and Series X.
Microsoft allows all retail Xbox Series X and Series S consoles to use a special environment called "Dev mode," which lets developers test games and apps in a controlled setting.
Games
At the launch of the Xbox Series X and S, Microsoft said new games would be available for both the Xbox One and the new consoles. Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, explained that Microsoft wanted to show Xbox One owners that they had made a good choice and that the company would continue to support them with new content. Phil Spencer noted that many Xbox Game Studios teams had experience creating games for personal computers, where games must work on a variety of hardware. This experience helped them make games that work well on Xbox One consoles while also taking advantage of the new hardware’s better graphics, faster frame rates, ray tracing, and support for the new consoles’ storage systems.
For some games, improvements like better graphics or performance can be added when moving from the Xbox One version to the Xbox Series X/S version. These games are marked with an "Optimized for Series X" logo. Microsoft introduced a feature called "Smart Delivery," which automatically downloads the Xbox Series X/S version of backward-compatible games when available. This feature is aimed at publishers who plan to release games for the new consoles after their Xbox One versions and for users who upgrade from Xbox One to the new consoles.
Microsoft does not stop developers from making games that only work on the Xbox Series X/S. However, the company prefers a "soft" transition similar to PC gaming, where games can be played on both high-end and lower-end hardware, with reduced quality on older systems like the Xbox One.
Initially, Phil Spencer said first-party studios would support both Xbox One and Xbox Series X for the next few years. However, some first-party games introduced in July 2020 did not mention Xbox One support, and their websites later removed references to the Xbox One. Aaron Greenberg, general manager of Xbox Games Marketing, clarified that these games were being developed for the Xbox Series X first, with the choice to add Xbox One support left to the development teams. In June 2023, Matt Booty said in-house studios had moved on to "Gen 9" and no longer made new games for the Xbox One.
Microsoft does not require third-party developers to follow the same "soft" transition rules. They can choose to make games exclusive to the Xbox Series X/S or offer other ways to upgrade from the Xbox One version. However, Microsoft encouraged publishers to keep upgrade paths free if they chose to offer them. CD Projekt RED and Ubisoft have committed to using Smart Delivery for their upcoming games. Electronic Arts confirmed that Madden NFL 21 would include a free update patch to move from the Xbox One version to the Xbox Series X version before the next Madden NFL game was released.
The Xbox Game Preview program, which lets players try games early, continued with the Xbox Series X/S, including Spacebase Startopia in January 2021.
Microsoft said the Xbox Series X and S would support all games playable on the Xbox One, except those requiring the Kinect sensor. This includes Xbox 360 and original Xbox games currently supported through backward compatibility on the Xbox One, allowing the new consoles to support four generations of games. To achieve this, Microsoft stopped adding new Xbox 360 or original Xbox games to the Xbox One backward compatibility program in June 2019. Instead, they focused on ensuring older games worked on the Xbox Series X. Backward compatibility was a launch feature, with over 500,000 hours of work to test thousands of games from the Xbox One library. Phil Spencer said he personally helped test backward compatibility games. As launch approached, Microsoft allowed players to suggest additional games for backward compatibility, noting that reviving older games can be technically and legally complex but that the team aimed to preserve gaming history.
Some advanced graphics features not originally in older games can now be added when played on the new consoles, such as automated HDR support using machine learning, doubled frame rates, 16x anisotropic filtering, and resolution upscale. Work by the Xbox Advanced Technology Group before launch focused on applying these improvements to older games, including original Xbox titles, by adding features like HDR or improving frame rates. Backward compatible games also work with the Quick Resume feature. Cloud saves can be used to transfer data from the Xbox One, and Microsoft added free cloud saves for Xbox 360 games to allow migration to the Series X/S.
The Xbox Series S can play Xbox One games with improved performance, texture filtering, and auto HDR support but does not support Xbox One X-specific enhancements. Microsoft provides tools for developers to check how Xbox One games perform on the Series X and S, suggesting optimizations that may involve "changing three lines of code" to improve backward compatibility. In February 2021, Microsoft introduced FPS Boost, a feature that can improve the frame rate of select backward-compatible games on the Series X and S by two to four times. This feature requires engineers to prepare it for each game, with five games supported initially and more added over time. FPS Boost was developed after engineers noticed that newer consoles often had unused processing power even after other improvements were applied. As of May 2021, about 97 games supported FPS Boost.
In March 2021, Microsoft began testing the Auto HDR feature with Windows-compatible games and computers that meet minimum requirements supported through DirectX.
Release and promotion
In March 2020, Microsoft said that even though the COVID-19 pandemic was happening, they still expected the Xbox Series X to be delivered by the end of 2020. However, they were keeping an eye on supply chains and the safety of their workers. Later, Spencer said that while the hardware would be delivered on time, some games planned to be released with the Xbox Series X might be delayed because of the pandemic. By August 2020, Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox Series X would be released in November 2020, showing that the console's release was still on schedule.
Both the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles were released on November 10, 2020. The Series X cost US$499, £449, and €499, while the Series S cost US$299, £249, and €299. In China, the systems were released on June 10, 2021. Microsoft said that 31 games would be available at launch, including games from Xbox Game Studios, other companies, and backward compatibility with Xbox One games. Although Halo Infinite was originally planned to be a launch title, Microsoft and 343 Industries decided to delay its release until after the console launched because of production problems caused by the pandemic.
Microsoft will continue its Xbox All-Access financing plans for the Series X. These plans combine the console, Xbox Live Gold, and Xbox Game Pass into a monthly payment. People with current All-Access plans for the Xbox One can upgrade to the Xbox Series X, and Spencer said there will be similar upgrade options for the Xbox Series X in the future. The All-Access plan for the Series X will cost US$35 per month for 24 months, and the Series S will cost US$25 per month for the same period.
When the Xbox Series X was first shown, its vertical shape reminded many people of a small refrigerator. Before the console was released, Microsoft made a limited number of refrigerators that looked like the Xbox Series X, including a disk drive handle, green interior lighting, and the Xbox startup sound. Some of these were given to celebrities like Snoop Dogg and iJustine, and others were offered in contests. In March 2021, Dwayne Johnson, with help from Microsoft, gave out smaller mini-fridges modeled after the Xbox Series X to promote his Zoa Energy drinks. Microsoft’s Greenberg said this was a test to see if selling these mini-fridges could work beyond the promotion. After fans of the official Xbox Twitter account helped Microsoft win a marketing contest in April 2021, Greenberg said Microsoft would produce the mini-fridges for sale. During E3 2021, Microsoft announced that the mini-fridges would be available for purchase by the end of 2021. Pre-orders began in October 2021, with plans to sell them in North America and Europe by December 2021.
In September 2023, Microsoft announced a 1 TB Xbox Series S model in carbon black, which was released on September 1, 2023, at a price of US$349.
Reception
At launch, critics praised the new console hardware and noted improvements in graphics, faster loading times, and support for older games. However, they were unsure about the console's true power because there were no exclusive games available at launch. Many people felt these consoles did not fully represent the next generation of home consoles. Some were disappointed that there were no major new games to show off the hardware's capabilities and that the controller and user interface looked similar to older models. The Xbox Series X was generally seen as better than the Series S because the Series S had less powerful hardware, which made it harder to use. Eurogamer's Richard Leadbetter said, "I like the hardware and its advanced features, but a console is defined by its games, and I still don't know the machine well enough." Keza MacDonald of The Guardian noted that while there was no strong reason to buy the consoles at launch, they performed well and did what they promised. Gamasutra's Kris Graft and Chris Kerr said Microsoft created two appealing options that could turn players into long-term customers and reduced the idea of "generations" by offering access to games from the past, present, and future.
In November 2021, Jordan Ramée of GameSpot noted that the Xbox Series X and S had more exclusive games released after launch, such as Forza Horizon 5 and The Artful Escape. He praised "Smart Delivery," a feature that automatically provides the best version of a game for the console, unlike the PlayStation 5, where the user interface made it unclear which version of a game was being downloaded. He also said switching from older Xbox One consoles was easier than switching from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5 because of Smart Delivery, automatic save data syncing, and a similar user interface.
Microsoft announced that the Xbox Series X and S had the largest launch in Xbox history, selling more units in more countries in the first 24 hours than any previous Xbox. The previous record was held by the Xbox One, which sold over one million units at launch. The Xbox Series S attracted more new players than any previous Microsoft console. Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, said in July 2021 that the Series X and S were the fastest-selling Xbox consoles ever. Microsoft has not shared exact sales numbers for the Series X/S, but estimates from analysts and regional sales data are available.
Daniel Ahmed of Niko Partners estimated that worldwide sales of the Xbox Series X and S reached 3.5 million by December 31, 2020, 6.5 million by June 30, 2021, and 8 million by September 30, 2021. Sales were expected to reach 12 million by the end of 2021. By the end of 2022, sales were estimated at 18.5 million. In June 2023, Microsoft revealed that the Series X and S had sold over 21 million units, which was fewer than the PlayStation 5's 40 million units sold by July 2023. During an Activision Blizzard acquisition hearing in June 2023, Microsoft admitted that the Xbox had consistently ranked third in console sales, behind PlayStation and Nintendo. In 2021, Xbox had a 16% market share, and by 2023, it had 21% of the installed base of consoles in use by gamers.
Certified sales data are available in some regions, such as GfK in Europe and Famitsu in Japan. In the UK, 155,000 units were sold on launch day, with two-thirds being Xbox Series X consoles. Sales in the UK reached 310,000 by the end of 2020, over one million by the end of 2021, and 1.8 million by the end of 2022. The Series X made up 43% of all Xbox Series consoles sold in the UK in 2021. In Japan, 20,534 units were sold during the launch week, and sales reached 116,000 by November 2021, surpassing the total lifetime sales of the Xbox One in under a year. By the end of 2022, sales in Japan reached 400,000 units. In Spain, 14,100 units were sold during the launch week, and sales reached 30,850 by the end of 2020 and 96,000 by the end of 2022.
As of June 2024, the Xbox Series X and S had sold 28.3 million units worldwide.
A global chip shortage from 2020 to 2023 limited Microsoft's ability to produce enough consoles to meet demand. Both models sold out quickly across all markets and retailers, leading to scalping on online marketplaces, with consoles selling for as much as $5,000. Microsoft's head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, said the company started manufacturing the console later in 2020 while waiting for key AMD chip technology and reached full production capacity by launch but still struggled to meet demand. In November 2020, Microsoft's CFO, Tim Stuart, said shortages would likely end by the second quarter of 2021. In May 2021, Microsoft allowed Xbox Insiders to join a priority list for purchasing consoles, though only a limited number were available. Despite shortages, console revenue increased due to higher prices.
Microsoft encouraged game developers to create games with similar features for both the Series X and S, even though the Series S had less powerful hardware. In March 2023, Remedy Entertainment, the developer of Control, said that games must be optimized to run on the Series S, making development more complex than just lowering resolution or texture quality. Phil Spencer said that split-screen co-op, a feature used in some games like Forza, was not supported on the Series S, which limited first-party game releases. In January 2025, Spencer said support for the Series S was unlikely to be removed because targeting the Series S allowed games to be ported to other lower-power systems like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally.
Larian Studios, the developers of Baldur's Gate 3, did not officially announce an Xbox Series X/S version due to technical issues related to split-screen co-op on the Series S. This led to rumors that the game was a PlayStation exclusive. Larian Studios denied the exclusivity and said the game might be re-evaluated.