Xbox Series X Launches On November 10, Priced At $499

After months of waiting for an answer, we finally know when Xbox Series X will launch and how much it will cost. Microsoft's next-gen console will be released on November 10, albeit without the now-delayed Halo Infinite to serve as its biggest launch game.

Microsoft announced the launch date today along with the price of the Xbox Series X: $499. The more-powerful console will be supported alongside the cheaper Xbox Series S, which is out on November 10 for $299 and supports the same games. That system is digital-only, however, cannot support native 4K resolution, and includes a significantly weaker GPU that is capable of 4 TFLOPs instead of the 12 TFLOPs on Xbox Series X. However, its CPU is very similar. It will be able to load up games in a fraction of the time as past Xbox One systems. Like its more expensive sibling, it also supports ray tracing.

Xbox Series X and S pre-orders will go live on September 22. In addition to buying the systems outright, they will be available through monthly payments as part of the Xbox All Access program in 12 countries. It will cost $35 per month for the Xbox Series X while the Xbox Series S will be $25 per month. Both provide two years of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, including an EA Play membership. It appears this may actually save some money compared to buying the console and two years of the service on its own, albeit you have no choice in whether or not you want to subscribe until this program.

Microsoft did not intend to share the news quite yet. The recent Xbox Series S leak prompted the official announcement of that console, leading to this batch of Series X news. On Twitter, Phil Spencer revealed this was all set to be announced next week and praised the team for dealing with the unexpected change. If that were the case, it would have only been about one week before pre-orders opened.

Taco Bell is also giving you the chance to get an Xbox Series X console slightly before everyone else. All you have to do is download the Taco Bell app and sign up for the rewards program to be entered into drawings, and the system will potentially be yours before November 10.

As noted above, while Halo Infinite won't make the launch as previously expected, we will have several big-name AAA games releasing on the system out of the gate. These include two of Ubisoft's biggest 2020 games, Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs Legion--in Valhalla's case, the release date has been moved forward. Gears Tactics, previously a PC exclusive, will also launch on November 10. We will likely hear more about some of these games at the Ubisoft Forward event taking place tomorrow, September 10. This event will also feature news on some unannounced titles.

We are still waiting on a final release date and price for Sony's PS5. The system was fully unveiled over the summer along with some of its biggest games. Like Microsoft, Sony is releasing two versions of the console, but they will be identical except for either having or omitting a disc drive.