Xbox Series X and S pre-orders are available today and rapidly selling out across the world, with one website hit by demand.
Although the consoles won’t be physically available until 10 November – for £249 for the smaller Xbox Series S, and £449 for the flagship Series X – consumers wishing to avoid the queues can purchase theirs online today.
Demand appears to be very high with pre-order stock of the Series X completely selling out in Australia, while in the UK the website for high street retailer Game going down this morning as customers tried to use the site.
Game told Sky News: “Xbox customers have come out in force with an exceptional response to pre-orders going live at 8am this morning, in-store and online. We’re dealing with large volumes of customers visiting our website and are working hard to serve their needs.”
A number of retailers in the UK have sold out of the Series X, although the Series S is still available at most outlets.
When pre-orders went live for Sony’s rival console the PlayStation 5 they sold out in significantly less than an hour.
According to Microsoft, customers in 12 countries – including the UK, US, Australia and South Korea – will be able to pay for the consoles and a gaming pass through a monthly plan starting at $24.99 for two years.
The cheaper Series S will not have a disc drive and will have lower specifications than the Series X, relying on users to download and stream games.
Image: The new Xbox console will be launched without Halo Infinite. Pic: Microsoft
Despite this Microsoft said the Series S will “deliver everything that is core to next-generation gaming – faster load times, higher frame rates, and richer, more dynamic worlds”.
The main difference between the two versions is the graphics resolution, with the Series S graphics processing unit not as powerful as the Series X, and being unable to output 4K video.
While there are also two new PlayStation 5 consoles, with the flagship model retailing for the same £449, the cheaper digital edition which also doesn’t have a disc drive will cost £359 – £110 more than the cheaper Series S – because Sony said it does not have lower specs.
The new PS5s will be available in the UK from 19 November.