While Microsoft had confirmed back in June that it would be releasing a special edition Xbox Series X console to celebrate Xbox’s 25th anniversary, the company hadn’t revealed any details like launch date or price. According to Billbil-kun of Dealabs, however, it looks like the launch is being lined up with Black Friday on November 27th.
In their report, Billbil-kun has also indicated that it will be priced at around $899.99 in the US, and €899.99 in Europe. It is believed to be equivalent to the price of a PS5 Pro, and will be €100 more expensive than a regular Xbox Series X 1 TB.
Microsoft hasn’t made any official statement regarding the matter. However, if the console – dubbed Xbox Series X25 – were to come out during Black Friday, it would likely lead to higher console sales for the company. The day is often marked by the presence of several deep discounts across various retailers, and as such, tends to be a day where quite a bit of shopping happens.
The Xbox Series X25 console is designed to be a throwback to the original Xbox, which was launched all the way back in 2001. Referencing the black and green aesthetics of the original, the new limited-edition console will have a translucent green plastic shell with plenty of etchings on it. The celebration also involves a similarly themed translucent green controller with “Xbox 25” printed on it next to the right analog stick.
Both the Xbox Series X25 and the Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition will be available as a bundle. Players who already own a console can also simply pick up just the controller when it’s finally out.
Keeping in mind the price jump between a regular Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series X25, the controller likely has a similar price hike when compared to the standard one that comes with the console. However, details on this have not been revealed.
The console was unveiled just a few months after Asha Sharma took the reins of Xbox as the division’s new CEO. In April, she unveiled the company’s “We Are Xbox” marketing campaign, which involved the unveiling of a brand-new logo that also called back to the black and green color scheme of the original Xbox.
The new logo came shortly after Sharma and CCO Matt Booty announced that the Microsoft Gaming division was being rebranded to Xbox.
“‘Microsoft Gaming’ describes our structure, but it does not describe our ambition,” they said in a joint statement. “So, we are going back to where we started and changing our team’s name. We are Xbox. We are a high agency culture where wild and wonderful ideas thrive. Our job is not to smooth over our differences, but to connect everyone into something greater than any one studio or product.”
In the months since then, the company has gone through several major shifts, including massive layoffs affecting approximately 1,600 jobs across Xbox. Sharma also confirmed that around 1,600 more job cuts were planned for the rest of the fiscal year.
