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.
Image: The website for Game was down while ‘dealing with large volumes of customers’
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.