GoKawiilThe past few years have been rough for gamers, with AI-driven price hikes on memory, GPUs and SSDs hitting PC and console gamers’ wallets hard. Unfortunately, there’s no respite for Xbox fans if a new rumor is true about Microsoft’s special-edition translucent green Xbox — it could allegedly retail for around $900, which is even higher than how expensive the console has become after multiple price hikes.
The 25th Anniversary Edition Xbox Series X on display at Microsoft’s Xbox Showcase at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles.
French site Dealabs, which is typically reliable for these kinds of leaks, lists the unit at a €900 price. Given Microsoft’s tendency to match British and US prices despite conversion differences, we’d expect the special-edition console to retail for $900. Dealabs also suggests it will have a Nov. 27 release date, which puts the launch right around Black Friday, though you likely won’t be getting much of a discount during it.
A Microsoft Xbox representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Presuming the special 25th anniversary edition is otherwise identical to a stock Xbox Series X console, the rumored price is $100 extra for green plastic on top of the current $800 price after hikes. It would be a staggering $400 on top of the Xbox Series X’s launch price of $500,” said CNET Managing Editor David Lumb, who got to see the console in person at Microsoft’s Xbox event during Summer Game Fest in June.
CNET’s sister site IGN (also owned by Ziff Davis) noted that it’s a $100 more than the standard Xbox Series X with a disc drive ($800) and the same price as a standard PlayStation 5 Pro ($900). With the more classic design elements giving gamers a throwback to the original Xbox console that launched 25 years ago, it’s likely that Microsoft will still see brisk sales from gamers driven by nostalgia.
The unfortunate truth is that price increases for gaming hardware are a reality of the games industry right now, due to rising component prices resulting from the RAM shortage, as well as tariffs and logistical issues. Nintendo hasn’t been immune, either, with a price hike for the Switch 2 starting Sept. 1, expected to bring the unit up to $500, a $50 increase since the console launched last June.
Sony also raised the prices of its entire console lineup on April 2, with across-the-board increases that brought the PlayStation 5 Pro to $900 (up from $700), the PlayStation 5 with disc reader to $650 (up from $500) and the handheld PlayStation Portal up to $250 (up from $200).
The 25th Anniversary Edition Xbox Series X on display at Microsoft’s Xbox Showcase at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles. David Lumb/CNET
Microsoft increased the price of its consoles twice since the recent RAM shortage and tariff woes, seeing jumps that make its systems far more expensive six years after they launched; In every previous generation, consoles have gotten substantially cheaper over time.
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