O Xbox Series X is here – if you can find one. However, if you were unable to find the next generation console from Microsoft, I have good news: You don’t really need one yet. Since the Xbox Series X plays the same games as the Xbox One (or a good gaming PC), you can safely wait until next year and finish your backlog in the meantime.
Still, if now is not the right time to buy an Xbox Series X, when will it be – if that time comes? Although this question is relatively easy to answer for the PS5 (“When more exclusive games are released”), this is more difficult to do for the Xbox Series X. That’s because Series X is simply an element in Microsoft’s broader gaming ecosystem, not necessarily its focal point.
The truth is that when you buy an Xbox Series X it is almost entirely arbitrary, since you will have access to most of the same games on the gaming systems you currently have – and soon, you will no longer need a gaming system.
Xbox Series X games and the Xbox ecosystem
The Xbox Series X is a place to play the latest and greatest games from Microsoft. But for the moment, Xbox One and PC are, too. Instead of exclusive titles, the X Series was launched with a list of 30 “optimized” games, in Gears 5 for Yakuza: like a dragon. Some of these games are from original Microsoft studios; others are from third-party developers. But the common point is that each of them can be played on an Xbox One, and most can also be played on a PC, or even on a PS4 or PS5.
There is no denying that optimized games look (and sometimes work) better on an Xbox Series X. But the more beautiful graphics alone are not enough reason to exhaust and update your system, especially if you already have an Xbox One X capable of 4K.
In addition, if you already have a high-end gaming PC, there is little reason to buy an Xbox Series X. Microsoft has committed to launching all of its exclusive Xbox and PC games in the future. And while the X Series is a powerful system, you can build something even stronger, especially if you get a new video card from Nvidia RTX 3000 series or AMD Radeon RX 6000 line.
However, the truth is that you don’t have to buy individual Xbox games. Thanks to the constantly expanding Xbox Game Pass, you can download over 100 games – including all original Microsoft games, on launch day – for a fixed monthly fee.
Plus, if you earn $ 15 a month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you are not limited to downloading games to powerful consoles or PCs; you can also stream games directly to Android phones and tablets. This feature is still in beta, but Microsoft will expand it next year to iOS and web browsers.
The “web browsers” part is especially important, as it means that you will be able to play Xbox games on a full-size PC screen, even if your entire computer has just enough processing power to run Chrome. We can’t say how well this feature can work in the beginning, or how long it will be in beta, but it essentially means that an Xbox Series X could eventually become a fully optional part of the Xbox experience.
Xbox Series X price and other factors
Granted, the Xbox Game Pass is only part of what the Xbox Series X offers, and is not particularly useful for players who prefer to buy a la carte titles. But it reinforces the idea that Microsoft wants you to buy the X Series whenever you want – if you buy one. Once Game Pass streaming reaches web browsers and iOS, almost everyone with a connected gadget can access a large portion of the Xbox library.
As such, the Xbox Series X will primarily attract core players with 4K HDR TVs, who prefer living room games to a computer nook. And, based on how quickly the Xbox Series X runs out with each new refueling, they are perfectly happy to pay $ 500 for the privilege. Since I don’t think the Xbox Series X will have any significant price drop in the next year, there is no point in delaying the purchase of the Xbox Series X to save money.
It’s also worth considering when the Xbox Series X will receive some of its exciting exclusive games, such as Halo Infinite, Fable 4, Hellblade II: the Senua saga and Declared. Many of these games do not have strict release dates, however, which means your guess is as good as mine as to when the Xbox Series X goes from “good to have” to “indispensable”.
In addition, I am not aware of any major feature updates that Microsoft has planned for the Xbox Series X. So the overall experience is probably not going to be much better in late 2021 than in late 2020. For better or worse, Xbox Series X seems to be a much more consistent console than the PS5, and that means you can buy it whenever you want.
Outlook: when to buy the Xbox Series X
At the risk of not responding, if you want an Xbox Series X, you should buy it whenever you find one. And if you don’t want that much, you may not need one for a long time, or ever. The games you want to play will be available on other systems and using different methods than just buying them one at a time. The X Series is a useful, but not necessary, component to the Xbox’s broad ecosystem.
When it comes to when Xbox Series X consoles will be easy to find, nobody knows. Historically, if a console is launched in November, its stocks will stabilize somewhere between late January and late March. So, let’s say “February 2021” is a good time to choose one. You may not be able to play any truly exclusive titles, but at least you will be playing the games you already own with absolutely beautiful graphics and performance.