Xbox Series S
- Manufacturer
- Microsoft
- Released
- 2020
- Generation
- Gen 9
- Type
- Home
- Launch price
- $299
- Media
- Disc
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
- 1.93 kg (4.25 lb)
- Dimensions
- 151 × 275 × 63.5 mm
- 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, Halo Edition, SpongeBob Edition, 25th Anniversary Edition) / 2 TB (Galaxy Black Special Edition), Series X All Digital: 1 TB (Robot White), Series S: 512 GB (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.
Gears Of War: E-Day Smashes Steam Record And Earns Xbox Series S Praise In First 24 Hours
Strong start. The latest Xbox first-party release in Gears of War: E-Day has now been out for Premium Upgrade, Premium Edition and Collector's Edition owners for around 24 hours, and it seems to be off to a strong start already. As spotted by HazzadorGamin, Gears of War: E-Day has already smashed...
Square Enix Walls Off Separate Optimization Team for Final Fantasy VII Revelation, As Switch 2 and Series S Fears Persist
Final Fantasy VII Revelation will be the only entry in the series developed by Square Enix to launch simultaneously for all platforms - PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Nintendo Switch 2. While the announcement of a simultaneous multiplatform release back in June was met with...
Two Metro Redux Games Are Getting Free Xbox Series X|S Upgrades This October
"Several improvements and enhancements for modern hardware". Great news for Metro fans today! It's been announced that both Metro 2033 Redux and Metro Last Light Redux are getting free Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S upgrades later this month on October 29th. The team says this isn't a "remaster"...
Gears Of War: E-Day Comparison Shows Difference Between Xbox Series X And Series S
How the Xbox versions stack up. Here we go! With the review embargo now having lifted for Gears of War: E-Day, that means we've also finally got some raw gameplay footage of both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S versions of the game. This is coming via numerous sources, including Digital Foundry...
Famitsu sales (9/21/26 – 9/27/26) – first week sales revealed for Dragon Quest 11 S on Nintendo Switch 2
The latest Japanese hardware sales from Famitsu are as follows: Switch 2 – 32,198 PS5 Digital Edition – 9,470 Switch OLED – 3,108 Switch Lite – 2,355 Switch – 843 Xbox Series X Digital Edition – 244 PS5 Pro – 148 PS5 – 112 Xbox Series X – 104 Xbox Series S – 14 For comparison’s sake, here are...
Remedy May Be Building Alan Wake 3, as Director Quietly Helms Mystery Project Since January 2025
Remedy Entertainment has just released CONTROL Resonant on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, but it is known that the Finnish developer is working on a remake of the first two entries in the Max Payne series together with Rockstar Games. However, the studio is also working on a...