Xbox Series X and S: Everything We Know About The Australian Release

We’re in next-generation console season with a new Xbox and PlayStation both due out by the end of the year. If you’re an Xbox loyal, or thinking of converting, here’s what you can expect from the new console.

Xbox Series X and S specs and release date

Like the upcoming PlayStation 5, Microsoft will release two versions of its latest console — the Xbox Series X and S.

Unlike the PS5 announcements, however, both are physical consoles though the cheaper Series S won’t take physical discs.

Both the S and X are due to be released in Australia on 10 November 2020, beating out the PlayStation 5 by two days.

So, what are you getting with your choice of the Series X or Series X?

The Xbox Series X, costing $749 on launch, is the big dog of the two. It’ll come jam-packed with high-end gaming specifications such as 4K gaming, up to 8K resolution, 1TB of storage and a fast Radeon graphics cards.

If you’re on a budget, the Xbox Series S will save you a few hundred when it launches for $499. With that $250 price difference, however, you’ll only get 512GB of storage with an additional 1TB if you plug in a portable hard drive. It’ll also only offer up to 1440p resolution on games, half the frame-speed of the Series X and won’t play physical discs. Still, you’re saving quite a bit and on the plus side, it’s much smaller physically compared to the chunky black box that is the Series X.

If you want to still get the premium console but are light on savings, you can also opt to pay monthly instalments.

For $46 a month, you can grab the Series X with 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate included if you’re a new or existing customer. After that period, you’ll have to pay for the Game Pass separately but you’ll own the console outright. It’s a good way of guaranteeing yourself a selection of games and the console without paying the eye-watering standalone figure upfront.

If you’re happy with the Series S, you can also grab that on the Telstra deal. For $33 a month, you’ll be able to get the Series S console with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

What games are expected?

You can expect all the usual upcoming non-PS5 exclusives to be available on the Xbox Series X and S once it’s released.

Xbox also announced hours ahead of its pre-order release it was buying over Bethesda, a major gaming studio, meaning it’s likely a lot of popular titles created by the studio might soon appear on the popular Game Pass.

It’s not yet known if Microsoft intends to make any of those games exclusive to the console, something Sony PlayStation is known for doing, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Otherwise, some of the titles you can expect include:

• Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
• Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
• Call of the Sea
• Control: Ultimate Edition
• CrossfireX
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Dirt 5
• Far Cry 6
• Forza Motorsport
• Hitman 3
• Hogwarts Legacy
• Microsoft Flight Simulator
• NBA 2K21
• S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2
• The Ascent
• Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
• Watch Dogs: Legion
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood

How can I pre-order it in Australia?

Pre-orders for the console have now opened but if it’s anything like the PS5 pre-order release, you can expect they’ll sell out very quickly.

Here are some of the places you can sign up for the console.

We’ll update these links as availability changes.

• Amazon: Series X | Series S
• Big W: Series X | Series S
• EB Games
• Harvey Norman: Series X | Series S
• JB Hi-Fi
• Microsoft: Series X | Series S
• Telstra: Xbox Series X  | Xbox Series S

Before you go, grab one of our Harvey Norman promo codes so you can save on your next shop.