Xbox Series S
- Manufacturer
- Microsoft
- Released
- 2020
- Generation
- Gen 9
- Type
- Home
- Launch price
- $299
About Xbox Series S
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in Microsoft's Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Series X and lower-end Series S are part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, which also includes Sony's PlayStation 5, released the same month.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Library & collector facts
Lineage
Pricing
Launch price (2020)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $299
- 🇬🇧 GBP
- £449
Controller
Xbox Wireless Controller (all revisions)
Launch titles & exclusives
(Shares all Series X launch titles — same software platform): Assassin's Creed Valhalla · Dirt 5 · Gears Tactics · Yakuza: Like a Dragon · Watch Dogs: Legion
None standard; various bundles included Fortnite + Rocket League digital codes
Shares all Series X exclusives (cross-generation development requirement): Halo Infinite · Forza Horizon 5 · Forza Motorsport · Starfield · Hellblade II · Avowed · Indiana Jones and the Great Circle · Hi-Fi Rush (originally) · Sea of Thieves · Pentiment
Still in production (active platform)
Carbon Black Series S (2022, 1TB); limited regional variants; specific Halo Infinite Series S not produced
Hardware specs
- Os
- Xbox System Software
- Cpu
- Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2, Series X: 3.8 Hertz, GHz, 3.66 GHz with Simultaneous multithreading, SMT, Series S: 3.6 GHz, 3.4 GHz with SMT
- Gpu
- Custom AMD Radeon RDNA 2 architecture, Series X: 52 CUs at 1.825 Hertz, GHz, 12.155 TFLOPS, Series S: 20 CUs at 1.565 GHz, 4.006 TFLOPS
- Ram
- GDDR6 SDRAM, Series X: 10 GB/320-bit & 6 GB/192-bit (16 GB total), Series S: 8 GB/128-bit & 2 GB/32-bit (10 GB total)
- Power
- Built-in power supply (both consoles)
- Sound
- Custom Project Acoustics 3-D Audio, Dolby Atmos, DTS (sound system)#DTS:X, DTS:X, 7.1 surround sound
- Weight
- Series X: 9.8 lb, Series S: 4.25 lb
- Dimensions
- Series X: 15.1 × 15.1 × 30.1 cm, Series S: 15.1 × 6.5 × 27.5 cm
- Display Output
- All models: 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 4K resolution, 4K
- Storage Internal
- Western Digital, WD SN530 NVM Express, NVMe Solid-state drive, SSD w/ custom ASIC supporting PCIe 4.0 x2, Series X: 1 TB (Black and Halo Edition) / 2 TB (Galaxy Black Special Edition), Series X All Digital: 1 TB (Robot White), Series S: 512 GB (Robot White) / 1 TB (Carbon Black/Robot White)
Hardware revisions
- Original Xbox Series S(2020)
4 TFLOPS RDNA 2 GPU (1/3 the Series X), 1440p target, 512GB SSD, $299 launch — the 'budget next-gen' positioning that defined the platform
- Carbon Black Series S 1TB(2022)
doubled SSD capacity, $349
Launch colorways & special editions
- Carbon Black Series S 1TB (2022)
- Gilded Hunter Bundle (Fortnite, Rocket League content)
- Starter Pack Bundle (Game Pass trial)
- Holiday gift bundles
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- none
- Custom firmware
- No public CFW; Dev Mode same as full Series family
Reception & legacy
Mixed — praised for the $299 price as a 'next-gen on a budget' value pitch; criticized by developers (notably Larian's Swen Vincke and others) for the 10GB RAM constraint that requires every game to support split-memory-budget builds
Larian Studios publicly fought with Microsoft over Baldur's Gate 3 Series S split-screen support in 2023 (Microsoft later relaxed feature-parity rules); developer complaints about the platform holding back Series X versions; some publishers cite it as the reason Xbox has had cross-gen-only releases through 2024
Pioneered the 'budget next-gen tier' that Sony has not matched; Game Pass + Series S became the affordable on-ramp to current-gen gaming that arguably defined Xbox's market position this generation; controversial among developers but commercially significant
References
More from Microsoft
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Xbox Series S in the news
Recent coverage mentioning the Xbox Series S, gathered from 80+ gaming-news sources.
Final Fantasy VII Revelation Brings Back Rebirth’s 8 Regions, but Hamaguchi Insists the World Map Now Feels Truly Substantial
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"It helped": Years of Xbox Series S game optimization probably made life much easier for Nintendo Switch 2 developers
The Xbox Series S may have helped developers prepare for Nintendo Switch 2, with similar optimization techniques and visual compromises carrying across both platforms.
Where Winds Meet Developer Q&A: Hidden Mountain’s Vertical Exploration, Future Roadmap, and Ongoing Netcode and Performance Optimization
The popular free-to-play open world Wuxia action RPG Where Winds Meet, already available on PC, PlayStation 5, Android and iOS, launched on Xbox Series S and X earlier this month, featuring exclusive benefits for Game Pass subscribers. The announcement also included a tease for the game's third...
Rockstar Confirms That Grand Theft Auto 6 Pre-Orders Kick Off on June 25 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X
In pure Rockstar Games style, the studio has suddenly announced that pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto 6 will open on June 25 for Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series S and X. The studio also unveiled the official cover art, which is very much in line with previous GTA covers. Rockstar...
As GTA Online readies for another large update, and GTA 6 approaches, Rockstar offers free upgrades to GTA 5 on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X
In a surprise move, Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games is giving players of GTA 5 on PS4 or Xbox One a free upgrade to GTA 5 on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S. Read more
Famitsu sales (6/8/26 – 6/14/26) – Nintendo Switch 2 hardware leads in Japan
The latest Japanese hardware sales from Famitsu are as follows: Switch 2 – 25,793 PS5 Digital Edition – 6,610 Switch Lite – 2,445 Switch OLED – 1,831 PS5 Pro – 1,257 Switch – 657 PS5 – 317 Xbox Series X Digital Edition – 329 Xbox Series X – 129 Xbox Series S – 117 For comparison’s sake, here are...