Microsoft’s upcoming translucent green Xbox Series X, designed to celebrate a quarter-century of the Xbox brand, will reportedly carry a hefty $900 price tag and arrive just in time for Black Friday shopping. The pricing and release details were uncovered by well-known leaker billbil-kun on Dealabs, who has a strong track record of accurate information. Microsoft is widely expected to make the announcement official at Gamescom next week.
The limited-edition console, which was first unveiled earlier this year, features a striking translucent green shell that pays homage to the original Xbox launched in 2001. The see-through casing lets owners glimpse the hardware inside and reportedly contains several hidden Easter eggs scattered throughout the chassis. It ships with 1TB of storage and includes a matching anniversary controller loaded with nostalgic touches, from the classic multicolored face buttons to rear bumpers that reference the black-and-white buttons found on the legendary original “Duke” controller.
At $900, this would make it Microsoft’s most expensive console to date, though context matters. The price sits just $100 above the current standard Xbox Series X with a disc drive and matches the PlayStation 5 Pro’s current retail cost. Unlike Sony’s Pro model, however, the anniversary Xbox is not a more powerful machine — its appeal is almost entirely aesthetic and collectible in nature.
The November 27 release date positions the console squarely on Black Friday, a strategic move that could drive impulse purchases among nostalgic Xbox fans. Notably, the anniversary controller is expected to hit shelves earlier, with a previously leaked launch date of October 20. The controller will also be sold separately for those who want the retro styling without the premium console price.
The steep cost reflects a broader trend across the gaming industry, where console prices continue to climb due to tariffs, supply chain pressures, and soaring memory costs driven by demand from AI data centers. Microsoft has already signaled that further Xbox price increases could come in 2027, while Nintendo recently confirmed price hikes for the Switch 2 in key markets. The era of affordable gaming hardware appears to be fading fast.
For collectors and longtime Xbox loyalists, the translucent green design may justify the splurge. But for budget-conscious gamers, the anniversary edition serves as yet another reminder that the cost of entry into console gaming keeps trending in one direction — upward.