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Microsoft Xbox Series X review: it’s getting better all the time

Microsoft's top-end console is a 4K monster, with Game Pass making it an appealing all-rounder. Here's our fully updated Xbox Series X review

Stuff Verdict

A beast of a next-gen console that’s fully future-proofed, while Game Pass is the best value video game subscription service by a mile.

Hellish load times a thing of the past

Quick Resume is great (when it works)

Ridiculously powerful

Makes old games look better

Game Pass is only getting better

Not many optimised titles at launch, and even fewer new ones

1TB SSD will fill up fast

Not the most attractive design

There’s nothing that excites quite like the dawn of a new console war, and the current one is now in full swing. Here’s our fully updated Xbox Series X review.

After Sony’s PlayStation 4 dominated the previous generation from a sales point of view like a peckish lion dominates the savannah at lunchtime, it was pretty clear that Microsoft needed a change of strategy this time round.

So while the company did more than its fair share of boasting about frame rates, SSDs and teraflops in the run-up to next-gen, it’s pretty clear that it wants the Xbox ecosystem to be as far-reaching as possible.

And that’s before we get to Game Pass, the subscription service that has been Microsoft’s ace card for quite a while now.

Got a smartphone? Get yourself a Game Pass Ultimate subscription and a decent Wi-Fi connection and that’s an Xbox. Your PC? That’s an Xbox too. Can’t afford to move on from your dusty Xbox One just yet? No worries. Many new games continue to launch on the old hardware too. And in a bold move, Microsoft didn’t initially launch any next-gen exclusive Xbox games. (That strategy has shifted somewhat since, but we’ll get to that.) 

The Xbox Series X, then, is just the most powerful of all the Xboxes designed to live under your TV. The emperor Xbox, if you will. It’s rammed with tech, faster and quieter than any console before it, and vows not just to make new games look and run better, but near enough every Xbox game that has ever existed.

You certainly aren’t short of stuff to play on the chunkiest Xbox yet, but has it lived up to its promise so far?

Original review published on 5 November 2020

Design: say hello to the fridge

You have to hand it to Microsoft; rather than turning a blind eye to the internet immediately deciding that its chunky new console looks not dissimilar to a fridge, it embraced the Series X’s new nickname – so much so that it built Snoop Dogg an actual fridge styled like an Xbox Series X, and a mini fridge replica of the console you can actually buy eventually followed. 

So yes, the Series X is a big matte black fridge that isn’t going to compete in any fashion shows, but its minimalist, PC-like aesthetic also means it quickly blends in on the shelf under your telly (unlike another console we won’t mention here), with the disc drive all but hidden and the only colour coming from the illuminating power button and a layer of Xbox green under the ventilation holes on top of the console. Although, if your Series X is on its side like ours is, you may never notice the latter.

Wherever it’s going to live, you’ll need a fair bit of room. Measuring 15 x 15 x 30cm and weighing just over 4.4kg, the cuboid Series X isn’t quite as large or heavy as your fridge, but it’s a beast in every sense of the word, and as you can see from the pictures, only just about slots into our reasonably wide shelf.

Still, we’ll forgive the heft when you take into consideration everything under the hood (more on that stuff shortly), including a fan system that’s remarkably quiet, and given that we haven’t felt the console get hot yet, seemingly effective. On the back you’ve got an HDMI 2.1 port, essential for hitting the 4K/120fps gameplay the Series X is technically capable of, three USB 3.1 ports, Ethernet, a power port and a slot for one of the Seagate-made 1TB storage expansion drives. Next to each port you’ll also find Braille bumps, in another win for Microsoft’s commendable drive towards more accessibility in gaming.

As for the controller, batteries are still required to power it out of the box and it looks very similar to the Xbox One’s pad. That’s not a criticism though, as that pad was near flawless, and the Series X evolution gets textured grips and triggers, an updated D-pad and a new share button that lets you easily upload clips and videos to your social media accounts. And in keeping with Microsoft’s forward compatibility philosophy, older Xbox One controllers work just fine with the new machine.

A quick word on storage. Of the 1TB of memory the Series X affords you, you can only use 802GB, with Microsoft pinching some for the UI and SSD features. This fills up very quickly indeed when you’re downloading 4K titles. It means you may well find yourself shelling out for one of Seagate’s proprietary expansion cards, which start at 512GB and max out at 2TB. These remain the easiest way to expand your storage, and for a long time were the only way. Western Digital recently released its own range to rival Seagate, so you have a choice. 

An external USB drive is still an option for moving and storing older games, but optimised games leveraging the Xbox Velocity Architecture won’t play ball with USB storage. The new generation is going to cost you.

• New Xbox console: what we’d like to see in the next-gen from Microsoft

Performance: teraflop til you drop

The Series X uses a custom-designed system on a chip (SOC) which includes an AMD Zen 2 CPU and an RDNA 2 GPU, as well as 16GB of GDDR6 RAM. The former promises 4x the CPU power of the Xbox One X, while the GPU’s 12 teraflops of raw graphics-processing grunt is double that of Microsoft’s outgoing flagship console and about 1.7 teraflops more than what the PS5 is capable of. The processor also facilitates new graphics features like variable rate shading (VRR), Auto HDR and raytracing, a rendering technique that produces more accurate light and shadow in games. All of this is supported by a new 1TB NVMe SSD, which can massively speed up your experience of playing games.

On the audio side, the Series X supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X out of the box, so you can expect more immersive spatial sound in future games that implement it.

Phew, that’s the information overload dealt with. You won’t be the only one wondering exactly what a teraflop is when it’s at home, and how much all of the above is actually going to impact your day-to-day gaming.

Well, some of the Xbox Series X’s improvements are instantly noticeable, the most obvious of which being load times. Working in tandem with the CPU, the SSD massively cuts down the amount of time you’ll spend waiting for a game to load, often to just a matter of seconds. We fired up Forza Horizon 4, to our mind always a tediously slow loader on our Xbox One S, and barely had time to refresh our Twitter timeline before we were unleashed upon rural Britain in a garishly decorated supercar. On pretty much any game we played during testing it was the same story: loading times dramatically faster than what console gamers have become used to.

Then there’s Quick Resume, another SSD-assisted new feature that enables multiple games to be left in their frozen state in storage memory until you want to play them again. You could, for example, play a game of FIFA 21 , then hop onto Watch Dogs: Legion for a mission or two, before relaxing to some Tetris Effect and rounding off your session with another virtual kickabout, all without waiting for any of the games to boot. A number of titles we were given access to during the review period had Quick Resume disabled ahead of launch, but when it’s working it’s brilliant, and could completely change our gaming habits.

But perhaps our favourite Series X performance-related feature is backwards compatibility. Microsoft already started work on making Xbox 360 and original Xbox games playable on the Xbox One, but with the Series X it goes a step further. Not only will a huge amount of your old games work on the Series X, but they’ll often also look and play better, with smoother frame rates, faster loading times, improved resolution and HDR applied automatically to formerly SDR games. 2003’s SSX 3 plays like a dream on the Series X, with races loading in an instant and colours noticeably popping. Revisiting the 360’s Fable 2 was great too, with the game running buttery smooth. With the much-anticipated new entry likely still years off, the Series X makes replaying the series seriously tempting.

What of the new games? Well, that’s where it gets a bit complicated. A technology Microsoft calls Smart Delivery ensures that when you carry your Xbox library over to a new console, it will automatically update it to deliver the best version possible on the hardware. Games that take advantage of the Xbox Series X’s next-gen advancements, whether built natively for the hardware or rebuilt and updated from their last-gen form, are badged as ‘Optimised for Xbox Series X|S’ in the Xbox store.

During the review window only five had been optimised: Gears 5 , Gears Tactics , Forza Horizon 4 , The Tourys t and Sea of Thieves . Gears 5 looks absolutely stunning (and disgusting) running at full 4K/60fps, and those with a TV that supports it can crank it up to 120fps. While the aforementioned Forza Horizon 4 , already a showpiece game on the Xbox One X, looks better than ever, especially on a TV that possesses the HDR wizardry to do it justice.

The lack of any next-gen exclusives during the Xbox Series X’s launch window made it difficult to really gauge just how powerful the machine was, but what about now, nearly three years later? Well, it’s no surprise that first-party titles like Forza Horizon 5 and Microsoft Flight Simulator are the ones you’ll want to fire up if you want to be wowed, while Ori and the Will of the Wisps (an Xbox console exclusive until a Nintendo Switch version arrived later) is probably the most visually impressive 2D game we’ve ever played. When it’s firing on all cylinders, the Series X is quite something. 

But just as we said about the PS5 in our recent update of that console’s review, the native 4K/60fps dream we were sold at the beginning of this generation is rarely the reality with more graphically intensive games. When it comes to third-party titles, you usually choose between a performance mode that aims for smooth framerates at the expense of the highest possible resolution, or a quality mode which focuses on fidelity at a lower framerate. Pretty standard stuff that PC gamers have been used to for years. Sometimes a game will struggle to run particularly well in either mode, though, such as this year’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor , which we also highlighted in the PS5 review, as the performance is the big mark against what is otherwise a really great game. And won’t even talk about Redfall , Microsoft’s big first-party release for the first half of 2023. Just read the review. 

On the whole, you can expect your games to look and play better than ever on the Xbox Series X, but don’t expect every AAA title to deliver buttery smooth 4K gameplay out of the box. 4K/60 was always going to the gold standard (and on less visually intensive games it really is glorious) rather than the default. Adjust your expectations and you’ll usually be very happy. 

As for the bits in between the games, you can read all about Microsoft’s slick new UI over on our Xbox Series S review , but know that’s a big upgrade on the head-scratching puzzle that was navigating the Xbox One. Game Pass is front and center of the experience, it’s easy to find your streaming apps, and recently played games are listed in the sidebar when you press the Xbox button – handy for Quick Resume. A recent firmware update has improved the experience further, making it easier to find the game you want to play, and leaving more screen space for your backgrounds behind the floating tiles.

• The best Xbox Game Pass titles you need to play today

Game library: still all about Game Pass

There’s no getting away from it: the Xbox Series X launching without a shouty exclusive that really showcased the hardware did seem a bit off at the time, no matter how many times Microsoft explained the reasoning behind it. 

In the years since we’ve had the likes of Forza Horizon 5 , Microsoft Flight Simulator and Halo Infinite , all big hitters in their own way, but Microsoft’s strategy this generation has very clearly been centred around two things: studio acquisitions and Game Pass.  

The most high-profile company the Redmond company has hoovered up is ZeniMax Media, which means it now owns every developer under its roof, the biggest of which being Bethesda. Arkane Studios, id Software and Tango Gameworks are all now part of Xbox too. Microsoft still also intends to acquire Activision Blizzard, which would make it the owner of probably the biggest video game franchise on earth in Call of Duty. 

Right now, every first-party Xbox game is on its Game Pass service from day one. Essentially the most convincing answer the video games industry has to Netflix, a Game Pass Ultimate subscription nets you Xbox Live Gold and over 100 games to play, with new ones added on a regular basis. A few years ago Game Pass also merged with EA Play, offering discounts and free-of-charge access to EA’s vault of titles. 

It’s still astonishingly good value and not something Sony has yet offered a true competitor to, even after revamping its PS Plus service last year. Game Pass serves up something interesting to play most months, and with the long-awaited Starfield , every Game Pass subscriber could play it at no extra cost from day one.

It’s been a slow year or two for first-party Microsoft games, but that looks set to change in the coming years based on the company’s impressive Summer Game Fest showcase . It’s also worth remembering that if you have a smartphone or tablet, you can take Game Pass with you everywhere you go thanks to Xbox’s ever-expanding cloud gaming platforming. 

Microsoft Xbox Series X verdict

The Xbox Series X has now been a permanent fixture in our entertainment setup for several years and the things we loved about it at launch remain the things we love today. We can’t get enough of the crazy-fast loading times, Quick Resume and the upscaling of older games, but we’re keen to see all those teraflops employed on a few more first-party titles, too.

Of course, you don’t need to spend so much on a new Xbox if you don’t have the gear. The Xbox Series S can do many of the same party tricks at a lower resolution, so if you’re still happy with your non-4K telly, take a look at that. We’ve used one extensively alongside the Series X and can confidently say that it’s a big step up from the Xbox One S it replaces. And you don’t need to upgrade at all if you don’t want to, with all the brilliance of Game Pass still available to the Xbox One crowd. Although at this point, we’d probably recommend doing so for fear of being left behind with new game releases. 

Though there was something slightly underwhelming about the Series X launch – it being positioned as more of an evolution than a revolution, with Microsoft keen to move away from the idea of exclusives – this is a monstrously powerful machine that at its best feels truly next-gen to use. And in the next few years, you can bet that gobbling up all those developers will start to pay off for Microsoft, not to mention Game Pass subscribers.

Stuff Says…

Score: 4 /5

A beast of a next-gen console that’s fully future-proofed, while Game Pass is the best value video game subscription service by a mile

I'm fascinated by all things tech, but if you were going to leave me on a desert island, I'd probably ask for my Nintendo Switch, a drone, and a pair of noise-cancelling cans to block out the relentless seagull racket. When I'm not on Stuff duty you'll probably find me subscribing to too many podcasts, playing too many video games, or telling anyone who will listen that Spurs are going to win a trophy this season.

Areas of expertise

Video games, VR, smartwatches, headphones, smart speakers, bizarre Kickstarter campaigns

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Xbox Series X review

Xbox series x is a significant step up over last-gen.

TechRadar Verdict

The Xbox Series X utilizes its powerful specs to significantly reduce load times and improve game performance and visual fidelity. But while features such as Quick Resume and extensive backward compatibility give it an edge, it’s lacking in key areas – notably, significant UI improvements and captivating exclusives.

SSD grants super-fast load times

Dolby Vision and Atmos support

Supports up to 4K/120Hz

Best-in-class backward compatibility

Exclusives lacking without Game Pass

Minimal UI improvements

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

• Price and release date
• UI and dashboard
• Performance
• Game library
• Should I buy an Xbox Series X?

Xbox Series X one-minute review

When the Xbox Series X launched, it felt as though a lot of features were missing. Of course, the hardware is incredibly impressive, but even that didn't stop it from being a hard sell at first. However, the console has come a long way since its initial release, and several updates along the way have drastically changed the console for the better.

The lack of exclusive games made it feel like you would struggle to get the most out of the Xbox Series X, especially with the competition from PS5 and a number of Sony -exclusive titles being thrown into the ring. Additionally, this wasn’t helped by the console’s continued use of the Xbox One interface. On the other hand, its UI was largely functional and in no need of a drastic overhaul. Quite refreshing, actually, given Microsoft's tendency to switch up its UI regularly in the Xbox 360 days.

So, when you first boot up the Xbox Series X, it’s easy to feel a little underwhelmed. It's not until you explore the console's array of features that it truly begins to shine. The improved library of games that showcase what Microsoft ’s new hardware can do is a great starting point. Games like Halo Infinite , Forza Horizon 5 , and Microsoft Flight Simulator are prime examples of what the Xbox Series X is capable of, and that’s hardly scratching the surface. 

We've always been impressed with the Xbox Series X from a hardware perspective. It's lightning-fast, practically silent, and delivers comparably exceptional performance to that of higher-end gaming PCs . This ensures that games – both old and new – look and perform better than they ever have before, providing a solid foundation for Microsoft to build upon as the generation progresses.

We've updated our Xbox Series X review to reflect our impressions after using the console for over two years. Microsoft has rolled out a few welcome improvements to the Series X, and now finally has the exclusive titles that take full advantage of the hardware's power like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 . 

But unlike the best gaming PC s, which can cost thousands of dollars, Microsoft has packed a considerable amount of power under the Xbox Series X's monolith-esque frame for just $499 / £479 / AU$749. The end result is a competitively priced and technically advanced console providing drastically reduced load times and significantly improved visual fidelity.

The deal is sweetened further thanks to numerous quality-of-life features enhancing your gameplay experience, like Quick Resume and FPS Boost, which we'll discuss in further detail below. However, even though the Xbox Series X’s raw hardware power cannot be understated – and its new time-saving features are most certainly welcome – it's lacking in some critical areas. 

The Xbox Series X still doesn't have the same library of ‘must-have’ exclusives that PS5 or even Nintendo Switch can offer, but it does have Xbox Game Pass . It's a subscription service that lets you access hundreds of games for a monthly fee – and if you're someone who loves to play new titles each and every month spanning multiple genres, it's the best deal in gaming right now.

Even though Xbox Game Pass is mostly populated by older titles, many are optimized to take advantage of Xbox Series X's hardware, such as Gears 5 , Forza Horizon 4 , and Sea of Thieves . So, it's a great place to experience new-gen games for less. What's more, all first-party titles hit the service on day one, and thanks to Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media, Xbox Game Pass is now home to a bunch of Bethesda titles - with future titles like Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 landing on the service on day one. Microsoft also plans to acquire Activision Blizzard , which means series like Call of Duty and Diablo will hit this service in the future, if the long-fought-for deal goes through.

As such, the Xbox Series X represents the ideal time to jump into the Xbox ecosystem for the first time. It's also above and beyond the quality long-time Xbox fans have come to expect. And with console availability better now than ever, it's an ideal time to pick up Microsoft's powerhouse flagship.

Xbox Series X review: price and release date

• Xbox Series X release date: Out now (released November 10, 2020)
• Xbox Series X price: $499 / £479 / AU$749

The Xbox Series X launched globally on November 10, 2020, giving Microsoft a two-day head start against Sony's PS5, which was released on November 12 (in select countries and November 19 for the rest of the world). Check out our PS5 review if you're interested in Sony's console.

The Xbox Series X is priced at $499 / £449 / AU$749. A lower-specced, digital-only version of the console, the Xbox Series S, launched on the same day, priced at $299.99 / £249.99 / AU$499. If that price point sounds more appealing, read our full Xbox Series S review .

While this isn’t exactly pocket money, it’s a decent price for the new Xbox. It’s the same price as the (now discontinued) Xbox One was at launch, also matching the MSRP of the also discontinued Xbox One X . Both are nowhere near as powerful as the Xbox Series X. Considering that the Series X has specs similar to a gaming PC, the $500 mark is pretty great – you’d be hard-pressed to find a good PC at that price.

However, as mentioned, if you want to get the most out of your Xbox Series X we recommend picking up an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which costs $15 / £10.99 / AU$15.95 a month (annual subscriptions are also available, which cuts a little off the yearly cost). While this is an additional outlay, that grants you extra access to hundreds of Xbox Game Pass games (including Bethesda and EA titles), Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and monthly free games , which should save you money in the long term compared with buying games separately. 

If you’re not fussed about the bells and whistles of Game Pass Ultimate, then it may be worth picking up a regular Game Pass subscription instead, which costs ($9.99 / £7.99 / AU$10.95). That only grants access to the service on console (rather than both PC and console) and does away with cloud gaming on mobile devices.

It’s worth pointing out that the Xbox Series X is also available on Microsoft's Xbox All Access subscription service in select regions, including the US, UK, and Australia. Xbox All Access bundles together the console with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on a 24-month plan (giving you access to the latter for the duration) at a price of $34.99 /£28.99 / AU$46 a month, with no upfront costs – which feels like a very good deal.

But the Xbox Series X isn’t the only new-gen console available, and it’s also worth checking out the PS5 and PS5 Digital, which initially launched at similar price points. However, we've recently seen the PS5 get a price hike with Sony blaming this on soaring inflation globally. Thankfully, Xbox won't follow PlayStation with price hikes but as it stands, Xbox doesn't rule out future price hikes . 

We won’t delve too much into that here, though, but it currently makes the Xbox Series X the cheaper powerhouse option.

Xbox Series X review: design

• Modern, sleek design
• Extremely quiet
• Emits same amount of heat as Xbox One X
• Minimal UI and dashboard updates

The Xbox Series X design is a major departure from its predecessors – the upright tower design is more reminiscent of a desktop gaming PC, though you can position the console horizontally, too. Measuring 15.1 x 15 x 30.1cm and weighing 4.45kg, the cuboid-shaped console is matte black all over, apart from a green hue inside the indented cooling vents on the top – it’s clever and elevates the console’s design. 

The design of the face of the console is pretty straightforward, with the signature Xbox power button at the top-left, a disc drive (and eject button) at the bottom-left, and a pairing button and USB 3.2 port at the bottom-right (the pairing button also acts as an IR receiver). The back of the console has some cooling vents as well as an HDMI 2.1 output port, two USB 3.2 ports, one networking port, a storage expansion slot, and a power input port.

An interesting accessibility feature on the back of the console is that all the ports have tactile indicators (little, raised dots) which indicate which port you are touching. For example, the USB 3.2 ports have three raised ports, while the power input port has just one. This aims to aid reach-around cabling and to make the console more accessible to the visually impaired.

The sides of the console (when it’s upright) are blank, save for a discreet Xbox logo in the corner of the left side and four rubber pads on the right, which allow for the console to sit horizontally. On the bottom of the console is a slightly elevated disc-shaped stand, along with some more vents for cooling – as mentioned, the top of the console is designed to help with ventilation, as this is where the Xbox Series X exhausts any heat it generates.

The console itself looks minimalistic, sleek… monolithic even. Despite its weight and fairly large size, it looks considerably smaller than its measurements would suggest. We found it slotted with ease into an Ikea Kallax shelving unit (39cm x 39cm), when oriented either horizontally or vertically, and comfortably blended in with its surroundings. 

The Xbox Series X design is something you’ll either love or hate – we found it a welcome change from the previous low-profile Xbox consoles. It's sleek, modern, and looks like something a grown-up would actually want to own, and it's a nice evolution from the flat-but-compact Xbox One S and Xbox One X models. 

Still, the matte black design does mean the console is easily scuffed and scratched, though it doesn't get dirty. While we've seen Logitech show off a white Xbox Series X console in a recent advert, Microsoft has confirmed there's no plans to release the base console in additional colors at this time.

Quiet as a whisper – but pretty toasty

A major upside of the Xbox Series X is how unexpectedly quiet it is. We've almost become accustomed to consoles revving up like they're about to take off when running games that really put them through their paces; but the Xbox Series X is the quietest Xbox we've had the pleasure of playing on.

When you're on the home screen, the console puts out around 30dB of sound – that's about the audio level of a whisper – and this changes very little when you actually load up and play games. When playing Sea of Thieves , No Man's Sky , and PUBG Battlegrounds , we found the decibels never exceeded 33dB.

That said, when installing a larger update we recorded levels up to 45dB, which is roughly as noisy as a printer in action. Even then, that's not too loud, and it barely registers over the sound of actually playing a game. This was also the case when sampling various new-gen titles.

It's welcome news for those who don't want their gameplay interrupted by the whirring of a struggling machine – but with this quietness comes some heat. The Xbox Series X is on a par with the Xbox One X for heat emission, with heat dispersed through the cooling vents at the top, which we advise leaving ample space for. The console itself does get toasty, too, but we didn't find that this impacted performance when running more intensive new-gen titles.

Xbox Series X: UI and dashboard

While the external design of the Xbox Series X is a considerable departure from its predecessors, the console's UI and dashboard contain more subtle changes. The Xbox Series X dashboard is the same as the Xbox One’s. The main reason for this is because Microsoft rolled out a meaty update to the Xbox One back in August 2020 to make its UI more streamlined, and to converge it with that of the Xbox Series X.  

That means the Xbox Series X UI still has a tiled layout with customizable pins. So, you can choose which games and apps you want to see first on your home screen, and offers easy access to games, apps, party chat, and other features via the Xbox button on your controller. It's a pretty streamlined interface that allows for plenty of customization options and easy navigation. 

Customization seems to be at the heart of the Xbox Series X UI. In addition to moving around your pinned games and apps, Microsoft is also letting players express themselves a bit more with the inclusion of new profile themes, acting as a background for your profile page. Players can also now finally use dynamic backgrounds, which offers a more personalized home screen option for those who are bored of the Xbox One's static offering.

The Xbox Series X dashboard is quicker to navigate than previously, too, but we did find that there were some pop-in issues when content was being pulled in from the internet. We also found ourselves a bit underwhelmed generally by the UI and dashboard, as it’s lacking any real next-gen flair. We would have liked to see an overhaul that really distinguished the Xbox Series X from its predecessor and made it look new, with easier ways to navigate to media outside of having to add your streaming apps to a pin group.

We can expect further changes to come for the UI. If you're an Xbox Insider, Microsoft recently rolled new Xbox Series X homepage layouts but fans aren't happy. While this introduces some quality of life changes, some players weren't so keen on the "tile clutter" this introduced, while others aren't fond of ads still taking up homepage space. As a feature currently in beta testing, this could change, so we'll keep this updated as we learn more.

Xbox Series X review: performance

• Significantly faster loading times and more stability
• Easily expandable storage
• 4K/60fps gameplay (up to 120fps support)

The Xbox Series X is an absolute powerhouse, rocking an eight-core AMD Zen 2 processor running at 3.8GHz, a custom RDNA 2 AMD GPU that puts out 12 TFLOPs of processing power, 16GB of GDDR6 memory, and a 1TB Custom NVMe SSD.

CPU: 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.6 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU 

GPU: 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU 

Die Size: 360.45 mm2 

Process: 7nm Enhanced 

Memory: 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320b bus 

Memory Bandwidth: 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s 

Internal Storage: 1TB Custom NVME SSD I/O Throughput: 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s

Expandable Storage: 1TB Expansion Card (matches internal storage exactly) 

External Storage: USB 3.2 External HDD Support 

Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray Drive 

Performance Target: 4K @ 60fps, Up to 120fps

So what does that mean in terms of real-world performance? 

Shorter loading times

Well, for a start, the Xbox Series X is super-fast thanks to its NVMe SSD. We've seen the Xbox Series X shave tens of seconds off the load times in games, compared with how they run on the Xbox One S. The Xbox Series X always loaded quicker – in some cases by a few seconds, and in others almost halving the load time. 

To give you an idea of how much faster these load times are, we timed how long it took to load into a game from clicking the 'Continue' button on the menu screen, for the same games on the Xbox One S and Xbox Series X. 

While some titles benefit more than others from faster load speeds, even a few seconds saved is welcome. While games such as Ori and the Blind Forest load fairly quickly anyway, meaning the difference is less noticeable, it's with titles like Sea of Thieves where the power of the SSD really shines – we saw the loading time for Sea of Thieves cut down from roughly 100 seconds to just 35.

When it comes to next-gen titles, we found the few loading screens we were presented with lasted mere seconds. The speed advantage was really shown off by Yakuza: Like a Dragon's fast travel, which comes in the form of a taxi ride. It took around 4.7 seconds to fast-travel to a different district from the moment we accepted the ride, a big improvement over our experience on Xbox One.

4K at 60fps (up to 120fps)

The Xbox Series X’s RDNA 2 GPU allows the console to target 4K at 60fps, however, it also means there’s support for up to 120fps. 

To make sure we could experience Series X gameplay the way it was intended, we hooked the console up to a 55-inch Samsung Q80T QLED 4K HDR Smart TV . We made sure the TV's game mode was enabled, and configured the Xbox's TV settings to allow for 4K UHD and 120fps, which is only achievable on an HDMI 2.1-compliant display like Samsung's here, and which is recommended for enabling the best visual experience possible. 

Unless you’re fussy about your frame rates, we would say that getting an HDMI 2.1-compliant display isn’t necessarily essential. The Xbox Series X’s native 4K at 60fps means you get the best of both worlds, minimal frame rate drops (resulting in a smoother experience), and pretty stunning visuals. However, it’s worth noting that for this you do require a 4K-ready TV for 4K resolutions.

While 120fps feels buttery-smooth in games such as The Falconeer , these games do sacrifice resolution as a result. So, for example, The Falconeer can be played in 4K at 60fps. But if you choose the 120fps option, you’ll notice fewer frame drops and better response times, at the expense of sharpness as resolution drops to 1080p. It’s all about compromise and personal preference.

That being said, the likes of Gears 5’s multiplayer allows for 4K at 120fps (thanks to Xbox Series X optimization) and, as a result, offers a smooth and visually impressive upgrade over its Xbox One predecessor. If you enjoy fast-paced competitive multiplayer, then you’ll notice a huge difference from the Xbox One family.

To enable 120fps, you can pop into your console’s audio and visual settings, where you can choose from various frame rate and resolution options. It’s pretty straightforward, and we're pleased to see just how many Xbox Series X games with 120fps support there is, including The Falconeer and Gears 5’s multiplayer, Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War , Halo Infinite multiplayer, and more.

Auto HDR on Xbox Series X

Like the Xbox One, the Xbox Series X allows for calibration of HDR for games. We'd advise setting this before playing any games, as it ensures the balance of contrast is spot-on, giving you the best visuals possible.

For our initial review, we primarily had access to a selection of backwards-compatible titles which are the best indicator of the boost in performance the Xbox Series X delivers over its last-gen counterparts. With the above settings enabled, we found that the games immediately looked better on the Xbox Series X – which isn't particularly surprising, given that Microsoft has implemented native HDR for these titles.

We go into detail as to how this performance boost improves Xbox Series X Optimized titles further down, but in short, when playing backwards-compatible titles on the Xbox One S and Xbox Series X versions side-by-side we could clearly see the visual upgrade.

FPS Boost on Xbox Series X

Microsoft has added a new feature to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S post-launch called FPS Boost , which has the potential to quadruple the framerates of older titles. It means that games that were previously locked to 30 frames per second can now hit 60fps - some games can even hit 120fps.

At present, FPS Boost only applies to a specific selection of  Xbox One games . The list is extensive but unfortunately, Microsoft's not adding any further games to this. Still, FPS Boost is a fantastic upgrade, particularly for those with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, as it allows Xbox One games to utilize the power of the Xbox Series X. So, for compatible games, it feels less of a technological step back when you decide to revisit some of your favorite Xbox One games.

If, for some reason, you don't want to play these games at a higher framerate, you can also turn it off on a per-game basis. However, we'd recommend leaving it on as it makes games look visually smoother and feel far more responsive. 

We've included some of the Xbox Series X|S games that support FPS Boost in the linked list.

Xbox Series X Storage

The Xbox Series X's 1TB Custom NVMe SSD translates to 802GB of usable storage, with 198GB reserved for system files and the Xbox operating system . We were able to download 18 games of varying sizes before having to utilize the console's expandable storage. 

That's a fair chunk to play through, then, but we'd advise picking up the Seagate Storage Expansion Card if you really want to take advantage of features such as Quick Resume and the plethora of titles available through Xbox Game Pass. It’s important to note that true new-gen titles will likely take up more storage space once their optimizations have been rolled out. 

Along with our console, we were able to test Seagate's 1TB expansion storage card for the Xbox Series X, which also comes in 512GB and 2TB options. The 1TB card doesn't come cheap at $219.99 / £219.99 / AU$359, but we found it extremely easy to use – when we were running out of storage, we simply slotted the card into the back of the Xbox and accessed the extra terabyte. When the console detects that it's approaching its storage capacity, it asks if you want to install on the card instead, while also offering a straightforward option for freeing up space by deleting games. 

If the expansion storage card runs a bit expensive for your taste, you can always attach an external drive HDD or SSD via the console's USB 3.1 port. However, these can only play Xbox One and backward-compatible games (with the SSD allowing for faster loading times). You can store your Xbox Series X games on the external HDD or SSD, but only an NVMe SSD can play Xbox Series X Optimized titles. 

The process of adding an external hard drive works in the same way as it did on Xbox One: you simply plug the storage into one of the system’s USB ports, and the Xbox will detect it. If the drive needs to be formatted, you’ll see a prompt asking you to do this. It’s a plug-and-play solution that works just as you’d hope. 

What's good about the Xbox Series X's storage is that, when you’re installing (or uninstalling) games, you can select particular parts of games to install rather than the full thing. For example, you can download Doom Eternal 's multiplayer but not the campaign, or vice versa. We're curious to see how many games will support this kind of installation functionality in the future, because it's a welcome feature and should help with storage management. 

Xbox Series X review: controller

• Feels familiar in the hand yet subtly different
• Works on a range of devices
• Improved tactile textures and refined geometry
• New ‘Share’ button

The Xbox Series X Wireless Controller feels familiar in the hand yet subtly different. Compared to the Xbox One Controller , it's got improved tactile textures and refined geometry which makes for a more ergonomic, and more comfortable, playing experience. 

On the surface, the Xbox Series X controller doesn’t look like a particularly drastic departure from its predecessor. It sports a similar shape and keeps the traditional button and trigger layout. On closer inspection, though, you begin to notice the subtle differences Microsoft has implemented. 

The gamepad’s exterior now sports a matte finish that closely matches the console’s design. While this certainly looks sleek, there's a few drawbacks – the black controller that comes with the console easily picks up noticeable scuffs and scrapes, and considering the amount of hands-on time controllers are subjected, you may find it hard to keep yours looking in tip-top condition for years to come. Other color variants are available though (you'll need to buy these separately), including Electric Volt, DayStrike Camo, and Pulse Red, and some may be less prone to scuffs.

That's a minor quibble, though, and overall we found that the Xbox Series X controller resembles a more premium controller, both in look and feel. The revised pad now has a tactile texture on the triggers, grips, and bumpers, which we found made the controller feel more secure in our hands.

In addition, while the controller is the same size as its predecessor, the bumpers and triggers have been rounded and reduced in size by a few millimetres, which makes the gamepad feel less bulky. If you're someone with small hands, past Xbox One controllers have felt quite bulky, but this simple change improves comfort levels in a subtle but noticeable way. 

Perhaps the most notable changes to the controller are the addition of the ‘Share’ button and the hybrid D-pad. The Share button essentially acts as a capture button, allowing you to easily snap screenshots of your game – a single click takes a snapshot while holding the button down for longer records a 15-second video by default (you can adjust the video duration in the Capture settings). 

This is much easier than on the Xbox One, where you had to press the home button and then X or Y. Still, we did find it a bit fiddly to quickly take a screenshot – your experience may vary depending on how big your hands are.

The hybrid D-pad, on the other hand, aims to provide a middle ground between the Xbox One controller’s classic D-pad and the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 ’s changeable disc-shaped, faceted D-pad. What results is a kind of traditional D-pad, laid over a disc. Again, this is a small but welcome change and is intended to give more control and leverage over the D-pad – while generally feeling more comfortable.

But there’s a lot about the controller’s design that hasn’t changed. It keeps the 3.5mm audio jack and expansion port at the bottom, its USB charge port and pairing button at the top, and its View, Menu, and Xbox buttons on the face.

In addition to the cosmetic changes, the Xbox Series X controller brings improvements in functionality too. We found the controller to be more responsive, which is likely down to the lower latency Microsoft has boasted about (paired with more frame rate stability), while connecting the gamepad wirelessly via Bluetooth to a range of devices – including the Xbox One, an iPhone 11, and a Mac – was straightforward.

The Series X controller again runs on AA batteries (regular or rechargeable), but if you want to avoid the hassle of changing or charging batteries constantly then you can invest in a Play and Charge Kit (a rechargeable battery back that you can use to charge the controller while you’re playing or between sessions), or connect your controller to the console via USB-C (although this will, of course, limit your freedom of movement).

Xbox Series X review: features

• Quick Resume is pretty seamless
• Great backward compatibility with games and accessories
• 4K UHD Blu-ray drive
• Dolby Atmos and DTS support

The Xbox Series X has a number of useful features and meaningful quality-of-life improvements. Unlike most consoles, there's active support for using a keyboard and mouse on Xbox Series X , while the 4K Blu-ray drive and access to entertainment apps means the console doubles up as a home entertainment system. We've even seen Discord become available for all Xbox Series X players .

Quick Resume on Xbox Series X

Perhaps the most welcome of the Xbox Series X’s features is Quick Resume. The purpose of Quick Resume is to allow you to continue a game from a suspended state pretty much instantly. So, within seconds, you can jump back into the game where you left off, as if you never stopped playing, without having to sit through loading screens again. Not only that, but you can jump between multiple games that have been left in this suspended state in no time at all. 

We could seamlessly jump between gameplay in  seconds, as long as the games you're hopping between have already been booted up at some point beforehand. We were able to jump from being in a timberyard as Alan Wake to being Alyson Ronan in Dontnod's Tell Me Why within 11.4 seconds, by pressing the Xbox button on the controller and selecting the game from the sidebar. That's from gameplay to gameplay – no loading screens. If we wanted to access Tell Me Why from the Xbox dashboard home screen, selected as the current game we were playing, the time from the dashboard to gameplay was 2.7 seconds.

Online multiplayer games work a bit differently from other titles. Naturally, it wouldn't be feasible to allow players to suspend mid-play during online gameplay, or we'd just have a bunch of AFK players on the servers. For example, if you're mid-game in Sea of Thieves, and then decide to jump into another game, you’ll be removed from the game – but you can Quick Resume from the title screen.

Since its launch, Quick Resume has received an update that makes the feature more reliable, makes it easier to see which games you have stored in a suspended state. That also identifies which games actually support the feature, with the ability to simply select each game from the My Games and Apps menu. It's a very welcome quality-of-life feature that simply makes using Quick Resume a little bit easier.

Backward compatibility on Xbox Series X

Another of the Xbox Series X's best features is the breadth of its backward compatibility . There are well over 1,000 backward-compatible titles available, meaning you’ll be hard-pressed to find an older game you have that isn’t supported on the Series X. 

As mentioned previously, we found these titles loaded faster and simply played better; improved stability means fewer frame rate drops, which makes older games feel nicer to play, even if they're otherwise a little outdated by the standards of modern blockbusters. Sadly, Microsoft has confirmed it's unlikely that we'll see more added in the future.

This backward compatibility also extends to Xbox accessories. We found that we could easily connect the original Xbox Wireless Controller and the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 to the Xbox Series X with no issues, and we were also able to connect our headsets.

Any officially licensed Xbox One accessory that connects either wirelessly or via a wired USB connection should work on the Xbox Series X, such as the Xbox Wireless Headset ; however, it’s worth noting that optical port connections aren’t supported, although some of these products may work with a firmware update.

Smart Delivery

Xbox Smart Delivery aims to allow players to always have access to the best possible version of an Xbox game, whichever console they’re playing on. Essentially, it’s a bit like forward compatibility and backward compatibility combined, making the most of cross-generation gaming. 

We found that we could access the games we had access to on Xbox Series X on the Xbox One S without issue, and without having to purchase two versions of the same title. So, for example, we could play The Falconeer on Xbox Series X – with its optimizations – then jump onto the Xbox One S and continue playing the game there, just without the Series X optimizations. 

Save data is carried between consoles, so we could easily jump between playing on both. Likewise, our Xbox One games were easily accessible on the Xbox Series X, with upgrades becoming immediately available for those that currently have Series X optimizations, such as Gears Tactics and Gears 5 .

Multimedia on Xbox Series X

The Series X also offers a range of multimedia features. For one, the console boasts a built-in 4K Blu-ray player that’s simple to use. 

You also have access to a range of streaming services: there’s Netflix , Amazon Prime Video , Disney Plus , and others that are available on existing Xbox One consoles, plus some that are new to the platform, including Apple TV Plus and region-specific apps such as Hulu in the US and Sky Go in the UK. All of these can take advantage of the console's 4K UHD capabilities, although some require a decent internet connection.

While all the most popular entertainment apps are available, we did find that there are still some (more regional apps) that we wish we had access to, such as ITV Hub and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

Dolby Vision support

Microsoft is also the only new-gen console maker to support Dolby Vision, a more exacting HDR format that allows for superior contrast and color accuracy. In terms of content, you can watch shows and movies in Dolby Vision with Netflix (if you shell out for the premium subscription tier).

The advantage Dolby Vision has over standard HDR10 is that it supports 12-bit color, enabling the console to display more than 68.7 billion colors, far more than the 10-bit HDR format could show. Of course, how good those colors will look ultimately depends on your TV – which also needs to support Dolby Vision, although that’s par for the course. You can now enjoy Dolby Vision gaming too.

It's worth noting that the 4K Blu-ray player in the Xbox Series X doesn't yet support Dolby Vision, though we could see this changing in the near future with a firmware update.

DTS and Dolby Atmos support 

While the default headphones setting for Xbox Series X is Windows Sonic, as on the Xbox One before it, the Xbox Series X also supports Dolby Atmos and DTS headphone: X sound – though you need to purchase a separate license for each.

Windows Sonic is fine for those who aren’t too fussed about their audio, but Dolby Atmos and DTS provide a fuller spatial sound experience. This means, for example, that you can tell from an enemy’s footsteps exactly where they are in relation to you. If you’re someone who plays a lot of online multiplayer then it could be worth picking one of these up, especially as you don’t need a specific headset for either to work – though to use Dolby Atmos you require a compatible soundbar.

It’s also worth noting that these only work with games that support Dolby Atmos or DTS sound, which include the likes of Gears 5, Forza Horizon 5 , and Rise of the Tomb Raider .

Xbox App 

The new Xbox App for iOS and Android is an upgraded version of the companion app that gives you more control than before. 

It allows you to specifically manage storage across your Xbox consoles, voice-chat with friends on either Xbox or PC, and easily share clips and screenshots from games and granting easy access to remote play. 

You can even use the app as a remote control for your console, which is very handy for multimedia services. Overall, we found the companion app made it easier than ever to access and manage our Xboxes on the go. 

Xbox Series X review: library

• Launch title lineup is a bit disappointing
• Combined with Xbox Game Pass, offers plenty to play
• Plenty of backward-compatible games to play

The Xbox Series X game library is perhaps what lets the new console down the most. For a start, there were only a handful of new big-name games that landed on the console at launch – Assassin's Creed Valhalla , Watch Dogs: Legion , Dirt 5 , and Yakuza: Like a Dragon , none of which were Xbox exclusives.

In fact, every Xbox Series X launch game was already available (or would be available) on Xbox One – and many were released on PS5 too. The launch titles that were Xbox exclusives, such as Gears 5, Forza Horizon 4 , and Ori and the Will of the Wisps , were all optimized versions of Xbox One titles. 

The Xbox exclusive situation has thankfully improved, with Halo Infinite, Microsoft Flight Simulator , and Forza Horizon 5 bolstering Microsoft's lineup. However, there's still a distinct lack of games that can only be played on Xbox Series X|S, like Bloober Team’s psychological thriller  The Medium . It’ll be a while yet before we get our hands on big hitters like Everwild and Fable .

While the next few months for Xbox games still look a bit uncertain, Microsoft has a major ace in the hole: its acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard. This is a huge move by Microsoft that could seriously bolster that lackluster exclusive offering, meaning that future Bethesda titles like The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield will come exclusively to Xbox and PC. 

Now that’s a prospect that makes Xbox Series X very interesting and could give it a serious advantage over the PS5.

Xbox Game Pass

The saving grace, in terms of the games available, is that Xbox Series X players have access to thousands of backward-compatible games, so you'll have plenty of older games to play.

If you’re picking up an Xbox Series X, we would strongly advise picking up an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription to bolster your library. As previously mentioned, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate means you get access to hundreds of Xbox One games off the bat, including first-party Xbox games on day one. So, in terms of money-saving, pairing your Game Pass subscription with your new console means you won’t have to shell out for brand-new games – unless they’re not included on Game Pass.

In the past six months, we’ve seen even more titles added to Game Pass, including a large number of Bethesda titles, with Microsoft confirming we will see future first-party Xbox games hit the service on launch day - that includes Bethesda games. Activision Blizzard games will also come to the service if the aforementioned acquisition is approved.

If you're hoping to get Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for an even cheaper price, we've got good news. While this is currently being trialled in just the Republic of Ireland and Colombia, Microsoft is looking to launch an Xbox Game Pass family plan , allowing you and four players to jump in for a monthly cost of €21.99 – which comes to around $21.99 / £19.99 / AU$32.99

Xbox Series X optimized

A handful of the best Xbox One games have been optimized for the Xbox Series X. These titles have been upgraded or built with the Xbox Series X in mind, in order to make the most of the console’s power – and boy, do they show it.

We tested a few Optimized titles including Gears 5 , Yakuza: Like a Dragon, The Falconeer , and Dirt 5 , and found that these games boasted minimal loading times, improved stability, and considerably enhanced visuals. For example, Gears 5 on Xbox Series X boasts ray tracing and 4K at 60fps, making the campaign mode look better than ever before, and load faster.

It’s immediately more immersive, thanks to more stable frame rates and a lack of loading screen walls. The difference is even more noticeable in Gears 5’s multiplayer, which allows for 4K at 120fps, resulting in buttery smooth performance that feels much more responsive – which is critical in online multiplayer. With Dolby Atmos support too, it's a brilliant showcase for the Xbox Series X’s unbridled power.

Should I buy the Xbox Series X?

Buy it if...

You want minimal loading times and smoother gameplay The Xbox Series X’s super-fast SSD drastically decreases load times for games – both old and new – while its custom RDNA 2 GPU allows for 4K/60fps gameplay (and supports up to 120fps). So if you’re tired of having to compromise when it comes to frame rates vs visual fidelity, you’ll be glad to know that you can have both here.

You want a great audiovisual multimedia experience A built-in 4K Blu-ray player, access to an abundance of streaming services, and support for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision make the Xbox Series X great for those who use their console as a home entertainment system and want strong audiovisual specs.

You want to keep access to your older Xbox games and accessories The Xbox Series X is backward compatible with three generations of Xbox games, meaning you won’t have to worry about accessing your older titles on your new hardware. There are more than 1,000 backward-compatible games available at launch, and many Xbox One accessories will be backward compatible from launch too. In addition, Smart Delivery means you can hop between your old and new console with ease.

You want more control over your storage With the ability to manage which parts of games you choose to install, via either the console itself or the Xbox app, it’s never been easier to manage your console storage. In addition, while expensive, the Seagate storage card makes expandable storage quick and hassle-free.

Don't buy it if...

You want an exciting exclusive game library The Xbox Series X exclusive game library leaves a lot to be desired – it’s primarily made up of optimized versions of Xbox One games, and titles that are available on other platforms. We’re expecting the library to grow over time, but don’t expect to be wowed from the off.

You don’t intend to buy at least a 4K TV While the Xbox Series X offers reduced loading times and plenty of quality-of-life features, without at least a 4K TV you won’t be able to get the most from the console’s visual upgrades – you won’t get those 4K visuals, and without an HDMI 2.1-compatible display you won’t have access to 120fps.

You’re expecting a full next-gen UI overhaul The Xbox Series X interface doesn’t differ greatly from that of its predecessor so, aside from dynamic backgrounds and improved speed, don’t expect a huge difference from the Xbox One.

Also consider

Xbox Series S The smallest Xbox ever made, if you're looking for a gateway into next-gen gaming, the Xbox Series S offers excellent performance for an affordable price. Make sure you pick up Xbox Game Pass, too. 

PS5 If you're interested in playing some of Sony's fantastic exclusives like Gran Turismo 7 and Horizon Forbidden West, you'll need a PS5 to do so. We're a big fan of the PlayStation 5, especially its clever DualSense controller.

Nintendo Switch OLED Nintendo Switch OLED is the best version of the Japanese company's hybrid console to date. An incredible library of games and a gorgeous screen makes the Switch OLED well worth considering.

First reviewed: November 2020.

• Which Xbox console is right for you?

Vic is TechRadar Gaming's Associate Editor. An award-winning games journalist, Vic brings experience from IGN, Eurogamer and more to the TechRadar table. You may have even heard her on the radio or speaking on a panel. Not only is Vic passionate about games, but she's also an avid mental health advocate who has appeared on both panels and podcasts to discuss mental health awareness. Make sure to follow her on Twitter for more.

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Review: Xbox Series X 

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Nothing seems to go right in 2020. A couple of weeks ago, FedEx tried to deliver an Xbox Series X review unit to my house and couldn’t. After one failed delivery attempt, I was not about to miss it again, so on the day it was set for delivery I made myself a cup of coffee, grabbed my mask, and sat on the front steps of my building for a couple hours. It felt like I was waiting in line outside a Best Buy for the Xbox 360 way back in 2005—without all the antsy tweens.

That unfettered excitement and almost painful impatience is so rare as an adult. I was surprised to feel it so strongly while I was pacing outside perking up at the sound of every passing bus and delivery truck. It was exciting. This is the first new Xbox console (actually new) to come out in about seven years. When the truck finally arrived, I whisked the package up to my apartment and tore into it with both hands.

Updated Nov 9, 2020: Corrected the release date for Halo Infinite.

The Xbox Series X is one of two new Xboxes , and it cuts an impressive figure. It looks like a subwoofer, or two Borg cubes stacked on top of each other. Compared to the unique design of the PlayStation 5, it's a less adventurous look, and that's by design. It resembles a small desktop computer, unobtrusive and almost invisible in an entertainment center. The whole thing is very grown-up and businesslike. This is the console you’d take home to show Mom—the decent guy with a stable but boring job in insurance. He wears button-ups with sweater vests, but he’s an attentive listener—and he has a hell of a game library.

The Series X controller is also in that reliable-but-boring category. It's essentially the old Xbox gamepad, just a little slimmer, with textured grips where your fingers rest and an all-new Share button. Otherwise, it’s largely the same Xbox controller we’ve used since the Xbox 360.

If you were to ask PS4 owners what their biggest gripe with the Xbox One was, they might point to the interface. This has always been an issue for the Xbox. The One X and its cousins (the One and One S) all had a clunky user interface that seems purposely difficult to navigate. Just moving between apps and games requires you to navigate a labyrinth of blocky menus.

Thankfully, the Series X has a more refined interface, with fewer menu interactions. It’s mostly the same, just streamlined with Game Pass and the Store easier to locate. It still has a bad habit of getting in your way when you’re just trying to find your YouTube app or a game you haven’t played in a couple of weeks. And there are still lots of immovable sponsored ads. But it’s a step in the right direction—and you can create folders. So that's something.

It's not like you're going to skip this console because it's shaped like a skyscraper, so let’s get into its processing power ( see the specs here ). Instead of just upping the horsepower with an aim toward increasing visual fidelity and detail, like we usually see every console generation, the emphasis is twofold. Right now, the Xbox Series X can run your games in full-on native 4K. This is different from previous generations, even the Xbox One X, where 4K support was compromised. Previously, you'd often have to choose between speed and beauty if you wanted to play in 4K: better graphical detail or higher frame rates. Now, you'll get both.

The other big change for this console generation is the emphasis on frame rate. The Series X can consistently run games at 120 frames per second. The Xbox One X could only hit about half that, or 60 fps. The more frames the console renders every second, the smoother gameplay looks. At 60 fps, games can really feel sharp and responsive, but 120 fps gameplay is just otherworldly. Yes, games are also more detailed with this hardware, and there's a lot of talk about new graphical effects like ray tracing , but the star of the show is the frame rate. Once you see it, it’s difficult to go back. Games running at 60 fps or 30 fps just feel sluggish. But playing at 120 Hz may require a new TV.

I was lucky enough to test the Xbox Series X with a brand-new $1,400 LG CX TV designed to run games at 120 Hz. That means the TV is refreshing as fast as the console can spit out frames. That’s what makes everything so silky-smooth and hyperreal. Many 4K TVs can't do this. A lot of them cap out at 60 Hz. So to get the most out of the Series X and its capabilities you’ll need not only a 4K TV, but a TV that can run games at 120 Hz. There aren’t very many of those on the market right now, and they’re very expensive. Especially when you can snag otherwise excellent 4K TVs for less than $700.

Another way to look at it is through the lens of future proofing. Console generations seem to last about seven years now. Chances are you’ll have at least one big TV purchase sometime in the next few years, right? That’s a charitable interpretation but it seems to be Microsoft's strategy.

When I tested the Series X on a standard 4K TV, games were richly detailed and performed well—there’s no doubt there. Even Xbox One titles like Gears 5 felt slicker and looked sharper. The graphics don't feel like they've bumped up as much as the generational leaps we’ve come to expect from these kinds of console releases. The improvements are still subtle at this point. Lighting does look more realistic and everything has a modern sheen to it, but these improvements don’t have the same effect on TVs running at less than 120 Hz.

The Nintendo Switch was the last major console launch I got stoked about. Before that, it was the Xbox 360 and PS4. All of these consoles have something in common: a killer launch lineup. The games available on day one were the games people would be talking about for months and memorable games make for an exciting and memorable launch.

The Series X has … Dirt 5 . During testing I've found myself bored by the Series X launch lineup ( see the list here ). Granted there are other launch titles that don’t involve mud and driving around in a circle really fast. Yakuza and Forza are fun, but there isn't a killer game or much here to anchor conversation and interest. That’s not going to happen until Halo Infinite hits retail shelves in 2021. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla comes close, but it's such a solitary experience and doesn't exactly have the scope and spectacle of a Halo game.

An exciting console launch is defined just as much by its flagship titles as it is by its hardware. Think of the Nintendo Switch. It had a slim library of games at launch and was a very unusual console at the time, but the strength of Breath of the Wild made a compelling case for the new console. That said, the Series X hitting store shelves ahead of what are likely to be its most exciting year one games is par for the course for Microsoft, and it's worked out in the past.

One of the biggest benefits to investing in the Xbox ecosystem is access to Xbox Game Pass. For the same price as a Netflix subscription ($15 a month), you get access to hundreds of games in the Xbox library. It’s a pale substitute for an exciting launch lineup, but it is something to consider when you’re forking over $500 for a high-end game console.

The Series X is a conundrum. On the one hand, it is an incredibly powerful console when its paired with a 120 Hz TV. Games look incredible. On the right TV, games running at 120 fps simply defy description. Unless you already own a great gaming PC , the Series X offers a totally new level of fidelity that will seriously ruin you for gaming on anything but a 120 Hz TV. But it also costs $500, and you probably already have an Xbox One or One X.

Unless you're ready to invest in a new TV, I can't think of a great reason to get a Series X yet, unless some mild visual upgrades are enough for you. If there is a benefit to getting it now, it's because you'll probably need it at some point, but for now that upcoming Halo game will be on your Xbox One, too. Here's where the cheaper all-digital less-powerful version comes in, though. The Xbox Series S is a great alternative if you want to step into this console generation but don't really plan on replacing your TV anytime soon.

Then again, choosing when to finally dive into the next console generation is always a question you have to answer for yourself. The Xbox Series X isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

• Xbox Series X review: a next-gen PC

The new Xbox feels like you’re upgrading your PC

By Tom Warren , a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.

Photography by Vjeran Pavic | Video by Becca Farsace , Phil Esposito , and Vjeran Pavic | Sound by Andrew Marino | Graphics by  Grayson Blackmon

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Microsoft’s new Xbox Series X console is designed to usher in a new era of gaming. We affectionally call it the “next gen” every time a big leap in console hardware arrives, promising new games and things we’ve never seen before. The Xbox Series X will undoubtedly deliver those in time, but for now, the big launch games, flashy new graphics, and next-gen games are still on their way.

In the meantime, Microsoft has built what feels like an exciting PC upgrade experience in a console form. The Xbox Series X comes the closest I’ve ever witnessed to re-creating the superior PC experience of playing games, thanks to SSD storage, a far more powerful CPU, 120Hz support, and impressive backward compatibility features that improve existing games. This is all inside a $499 box that’s quieter and far easier to use and maintain than the $3,000 gaming PC I built a few weeks ago.

There’s a reason the Xbox Series X even looks like a PC — it’s because it often feels like one.

Cool and quiet hardware

Microsoft has squeezed all of the components of the Xbox Series X into a boxy, rectangular, tower-like case. It looks like a compact PC but with an unassuming design that looks far better standing vertically than it does laying horizontally (just like most PCs). The base of the Xbox Series X isn’t removable, and (unlike the PS5) the console is not designed to be opened up. When placed horizontally, it’s fair to say that the Xbox Series X looks like it fell over with the base permanently attached. I’m not in love with the design, but I’m also not bothered by it. It’s a black box you stick under your TV and forget about, as long as you’re able to fit it under your TV.

There are two USB ports at the rear alongside an Ethernet port, a storage expansion slot, and HDMI 2.1 out. At the front, there’s a single USB port and the 4K Blu-ray drive. Microsoft has also added raised Braille bumps next to the ports on the Xbox Series X, a nice touch for accessibility. I would have liked to have seen USB-C here or even the clever HDMI passthrough system from the Xbox One days, but neither is a major omission. Sadly, the Xbox Series X doesn’t support Wi-Fi 6, which would have been great future-proofing for many.

I haven’t noticed any issues with heat or noise on the Series X. Microsoft has placed the Xbox Series X exhaust fan at the top, flanked by a green coating in the plastic cover that makes it look like there’s an LED up top. I’ve never once heard this fan, which is surprising since my Xbox One X can get pretty loud in certain games. Yet, the Series X has remained silent throughout the weeks I’ve been using it. The heat exhausting from the top is very similar to what I’ve felt on the Xbox One X, and it has never been too hot to touch.

It’s difficult to judge dust buildup, noise, and fans in just a few weeks of use, but I don’t have any immediate causes for concern. I have mostly been using the Series X outside of a TV stand where air can flow easily, so it hasn’t been squeezed inside a unit. I think most people are going to need to think about positioning and airflow with these next-gen consoles, just like you would with a giant gaming PC.

The only other hardware that’s new with the Xbox Series X is the controller and the storage expansion cards. (More on these in the next section.) The updated controller is very similar to the Xbox One version, with an updated D-pad, textured grips, and the addition of a new share button and a USB-C port. The share button lets you quickly share clips or screenshots with friends, much like on a PS4, while you’ll need to purchase a rechargeable play-and-charge kit separately ($24.99) if you really want to take advantage of USB-C — the controller runs on AA batteries by default.

Storage and load times

Load times are incredibly good on the Xbox Series X compared to what we’re used to on current consoles. The Xbox Series X utilizes a greatly improved CPU that works in tandem with the SSD to help games load far faster than the current Xbox One X.

I’ve noticed load time improvements across every game I’ve used on the Series X. Some are dramatically faster in terms of minutes saved waiting for a game or a level within a game to load. Others are a few seconds saved here and there, but they all add up to more time spent playing games instead of waiting for them to load.

Xbox Series X load times

I’m used to the speedy load times from PC SSDs, but I’m still impressed with the Series X load times. Games like Sea of Thieves and Destiny 2 load in less than half the time they do on the Xbox One X. Even older games like GTA V load a lot faster than before.

While the Xbox Series X comes equipped with 1TB of storage, you can only use 802GB of it. That’s actually slightly more than the 780GB of usable space on the Xbox One X, even with Microsoft reserving space for the OS and new Quick Resume feature that lets you swap between games in around 10 seconds or less.

Microsoft is also using a proprietary storage expansion slot on the Xbox Series X, and so far, only Seagate has been confirmed as a partner for the $219.99 1TB cards that slot into the rear of the console. The usable space on these cards is 920GB as, once again, space is reserved for Quick Resume.

Games that have been specifically updated for the Xbox Series X make use of Microsoft’s new Velocity Architecture to get the most performance out of the system’s SSD, so you can’t run them off USB storage. The vast majority of backward-compatible games, however, don’t use Velocity Architecture, meaning they can be played directly off a USB drive — unless they get a Series X update in the future.

That means a lot of the immediate load time improvements are thanks to the SSD and CPU alone, not the new APIs Microsoft has implemented that should improve load times even more in the future. It also means that if some of your older games don’t get updated for the Velocity Architecture, then you could just run them freely from USB storage. You’ll see plenty of load time improvements this way — providing you’re using fast USB SSD storage drives — and some may even come very close to the times you’ll see using the internal drive.

Optimized games and 120Hz modes

These load times and CPU improvements, alongside a big bump to 12 teraflops of GPU performance, all contribute to an experience in existing games that feels a lot smoother. That could mean a jump from 30fps to 60fps in games like Fallout 4 , or menus and planet load times in Destiny 2 suddenly being on par with PC.

These improvements also mean that most titles with poor performance on an Xbox One should hit a stable 30fps at the minimum. A lot of frame rate drops that I’ve seen in games on the Xbox One X have simply disappeared with the Xbox Series X, thanks to the hardware boost. I’ve noticed Apex Legends , Warframe , and Destiny 2 all dipping less at demanding points.

A number of Xbox Series X optimization patches will be available when the console launches on November 10th, and I’ve had a chance to test both Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 4 . Both games are transformed by these updates, moving from 30fps to 60fps. Sea of Thieves feels like a new game as a result, or like you’re playing on a PC. That’s how dramatic the shift from 30fps to 60fps feels.

Even backward compatibility support gets an impressive boost. The Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV now runs super smoothly on the Xbox Series X locked at 60fps, while the Xbox One X often struggled to maintain that 60fps performance. Grand Theft Auto IV also benefits from the auto HDR feature that Microsoft is shipping with the Xbox Series X, that will work on most games to make them look even better.

Alongside the optimization patches, the most exciting games I’ve tested so far on the Xbox Series X are Dirt 5 and Gears 5 — not because they’re necessarily technical showcases for the console, but because both offer a new 120Hz option.

This is where the Xbox Series X really started to feel even more PC-like to me. I play at 165Hz with frame rates that exceed 200fps in games like Destiny 2 , Valorant , Call of Duty: Warzone , and CS:GO on my gaming PC. I personally value frame rates over visual quality, so I regularly drop settings to get as many frames as possible. Running around the versus multiplayer mode in Gears 5 in 120Hz feels like I’m playing on my PC. With frame rates hitting 120fps, input lag is reduced, and the experience is suddenly so much smoother than what I’ve ever experienced on any Xbox before.

That same feeling of PC-like smoothness plays out in Dirt 5 with the 120Hz mode enabled. The overall visual quality drops to achieve 120fps, but when I’m sliding around corners, the input latency is reduced, and I value that over some mud and snow rendering just that little better on my 4K TV.

It’s that feeling that’s really important with this new Xbox, and I can’t stress it enough. Games feel better. Whether that’s because of load times, better frame rates, or simply the CPU, SSD, and better GPU making things like menus or character changes in games feel instant, a lot of the sluggishness has been removed without developers even having to touch games.

Higher frame rates are clearly a focus on the Xbox Series X, but some games will favor new ray-tracing techniques instead. Watch Dogs: Legion is a good example, as it will run at 30fps on the Xbox Series X with ray tracing enabled. The Watch Dogs: Legion patch for Series X wasn’t available in time for review, so ray tracing is still largely a mystery on the Xbox Series X right now.

I’m also encouraged to see that a choice is emerging in Xbox games. That’s something we’ve seen in current-gen games, with video options like FOV sliders you typically only find on PCs. Dirt 5 and Gears 5 are good examples of this choice, allowing you to enable a 120Hz mode for the higher frame rates and smoother gameplay or focus on a 4K target with image quality prioritized.

I’m hoping we see these choices on many optimized Xbox Series X titles in the future.

Quick Resume and the Xbox dashboard

Agree to continue: xbox series x and series s.

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them, since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.

To start using an Xbox Series X or Series S:

• You need a Microsoft Account and have to agree to Microsoft’s terms of service.
• You must agree to send diagnostic data to Microsoft (basic game or app errors).
• You must agree to share usage data with game or app publishers.

You can also say yes or no to:

• Optional usage data sent to Microsoft

That’s three mandatory agreements and one optional one to use an Xbox Series X or Series S.

While the hardware and experience of gaming have changed on the Xbox Series X, the dashboard remains the same. Microsoft is keeping the same Xbox One dashboard that exists today, with a few visual changes the company has been working on in recent months.

It feels like Microsoft has been tweaking the Xbox One dashboard ever since the disastrous launch of the console back in 2013, and not a year goes by without an overhaul. I think it’s definitely in much better shape these days, but I still find the guide confusing to use at times.

Most of the big issues I had with the Xbox One dashboard have disappeared, though. Speed and reliability problems have vanished, and, like games, the dashboard feels just that bit more responsive on the Xbox Series X. A new store interface, also available on the Xbox One, has definitely helped. It’s clear Microsoft has taken the feedback and made some meaningful changes in recent months, but I’d still like to just be able to pin my favorite apps and games at the top of the home interface instead of seeing recently used ones that rotate frequently. Microsoft could still do with offering more customization options here and simplifying the interface further.

You do get the benefits of a dashboard that feels instantly familiar if you’re coming from an Xbox One, but without the fun and fanfare that a new UI entails. Thanks to the faster components inside the Xbox Series X, you can now boot from cold (not standby) in around 20 seconds. That might be enough for some to turn off the instant standby option in favor of some energy bill savings and the health of our planet. Also, the boot animation no longer has an accompanying sound so loud it makes you feel like your house is falling down .

The biggest new addition to the Xbox Series X dashboard over the Xbox One is Quick Resume. It’s a feature that lets you switch between games in around 10 seconds or less. The timing will vary per game, as will the number of games you can switch between and quickly resume. I’ve been able to regularly swap between five games freely, but the number will vary on titles.

It even works after reboots or updates, and it’s great to just turn a console off and not have to worry about save points. When Quick Resume works, it works really well, but it doesn’t seem to work on all games. I’ve not been able to use it with Forza Horizon 4 , Watch Dogs: Legion , Sea of Thieves , or GTA V . Microsoft is still working to enable Quick Resume on a number of games due to a “recently discovered platform bug,” so updates should arrive after launch. While most games should support Quick Resume, it’s still not clear which missing ones will get updated.

While I ran into a number of Quick Resume bugs on an Xbox Series X preview unit, I haven’t had as many problems on the retail hardware. Gears 5 has failed to resume or the audio has crackled as it resumes, but most games seem to resume well. I have had Quick Resume points just disappear, though. I think Quick Resume is the best part of the Xbox Series X, but there are clearly some early bugs that still need to be squashed. I also wish Microsoft had provided some way to manage Quick Resume or to know which games are in a suspended state.

The final part of the dashboard I want to touch on is sharing clips and screenshots. Microsoft made a big deal about a new share button on the Xbox Series X controller, but it’s totally let down by the dashboard. It still takes far too long for clips and screenshots to be uploaded to Microsoft’s Xbox Live service for you to share them.

This is a problem that exists on the Xbox One, and I’ve had to wait minutes for clips to be available despite having a fast 1Gbps upload at home. On my gaming PC, I can instantly stream clips or my screen to friends on Discord, and the Xbox process just feels old and slow in comparison.

The feel of a PC

Microsoft’s intention with this new generation is to bring a PC-like experience to a console. You can feel it throughout the Series X and even the smaller Series S. If you upgraded from a GTX 1060 gaming PC to an RTX 3080 PC right now, you’d get the same Windows 10 you know and access to the same games you’ve been playing for years. Everything would just feel faster and look better, and you’d be ready for the latest and greatest games.

That’s exactly what you get with the Xbox Series X. Not only does it feel like you’re upgrading your PC if you move from an Xbox One to an Xbox Series X, but it feels and looks like it. (Hello, PC tower design.) You take everything you already own, even existing hardware accessories, and you bring them along with you, just like you do on a PC.

It’s a different approach to Sony with the PS5 and its dedicated exclusive next-gen games, new dashboard UI, and new controller. Microsoft has focused on the basics that really matter: high frame rates, a quiet and cool console, faster load times, accessory support, and backward compatibility. In my three weeks of using an Xbox Series X, it’s fair to say it has delivered on these basics.

But the best part about the Xbox Series X is that it’s not actually a PC. I don’t have to worry about drivers, copious game launchers, or Windows updates ruining how my PC works. You turn the Xbox on, and you play games. If developers embrace the choice and performance options I’ve experienced on the Series X, I’d certainly be tempted to play far more on an Xbox with crossplay, cross-save, and keyboard and mouse support all becoming more prominent on Xbox.

There’s one big question that remains for me with the Xbox Series X: when will Microsoft’s 23 first-party studios deliver the next-gen games to truly show what this console is capable of? Powerful hardware and a sleek user experience are only part of the mix. Microsoft will need the games to really make the Series X feel like something brand-new.

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More from The Verge guide to the PS5 and Xbox Series X

Playstation 5, xbox series x and s.

• Xbox Series S review: small console, big potential
• Xbox Series X and S: everything you need to know about the next gen of Xbox
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• Here’s where and when you can buy the Xbox Series S and Series X consoles
• A first look at ray tracing on the $299 Xbox Series S

Next-gen comparisons and analysis

Xbox Series X Review: Game Pass to the Future

A plethora of choices in a powerful console..

Tom's Hardware Verdict

The Xbox Series X is a powerful console with good looks, quiet operation, and backwards compatibility for both games and accessories, launching Xbox into a new era and offering gamers a ton of choices in how they play.

Great industrial design

Runs very quietly

Quick Resume lets you switch between active games

Backwards compatibility for most games and accessories

Comfortable, familiar controller

No USB Type-C port

Proprietary external SSD is expensive

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

Next-gen console gaming is about power, but the Xbox Series X ($499.99) is also seemingly about empowerment. 

The system, with its 8-core/16-thread CPU and AMD RDNA 2-based GPU is, on paper, the most powerful console ever. It stands tall in a surprisingly inviting design, and yes, it plays almost every Xbox game ever with backwards compatibility.

It also lets you play games however you want, whether through a subscription service, buying them digitally, owning a disc or even streaming them to your phone. It even has a smaller controller to fit more hands than ever before.

But only in testing the system could we get an idea of how it performs, the power it draws, the heat and noise it produces, and whether or not it's worth it.

Let's just say the Xbox Series X makes a powerful first impression, even if you don't need one right away. Editor's Note: This story was originally published on November 5, 2020. It was updated on November 12, 2020 to include more comparisons to the PlayStation 5 .

Design of the Xbox Series X 

The Xbox Series X is a black monolith, standing tall (or lying on its side), in your entertainment center. From first glance, it's rather plain, putting attention on your monitor or TV. But there are some cool little accents that pay dues to Xboxes past. This is industrial design I can get behind, and it only grew on me as I spent more time with it. At 5.9 x 5.9 x 11.8 inches (151 x 151 x 301 mm) it's quite a different shape than the Xbox One X (11.8 in x 9.5 x 2.4 inches). At its longest point, it's roughly the same height, but otherwise it has more of a cuboid design that sits taller than the last gen system. The original Xbox One was 13.1 x 10.8 x 3.1 inches, and this doesn't seem so big in comparison. That being said, the Series X seems small when compared to the PlayStation 5, which is 15.4 x 4.1 x 10.2 inches (390 x 104 x 260 mm). There's no question: The Xbox is the better console when it comes to looks.

On the PC comparison side, the Corsair One , which we last reviewed last year, is 7.9 x 7 x 15 inches, making it both taller and thicker than the new Xbox. Of course, that did house a discrete GPU.

On the front of the Xbox Series X, there's a 4K Blu-ray drive and a single USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port. The rest of the ports are relegated to the back, and include two more USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, an Ethernet jack, a connector for the power cable, the HDMI output and a slot for Xbox's new custom external SSDs. With the exception of the lock slot, each of these ports have some dots printed above them in the chassis , which should make it easier to get around by feel in an entertainment center. It's a nice, subtle touch.

Notably, the HDMI input is gone from the Xbox One. Microsoft and the Xbox team have positioned the Series X as being all about gaming here. You'll see below, though, that there is no lack of entertainment options if you want them.

You can lay the Xbox Series X down sideways on four small feet on the right side. The bottom-mounted stand is permanently attached to the system, even when you lay it down. It's small, though, and not all that distracting.

My favorite part of the design are the air holes on the top. There's a 12 x 12 grid of holes cut into the top of the chassis to release the air, and it's slightly convex, uniqueness to the monolithic design. These holes are painted green on the inside, so that when you approach the Xbox, you start to see a green circle reminiscent of the original Xbox, even if the system is off. It's a cool effect that makes the Series X feel like a living room centerpiece.

Xbox Series X Specifications 

CPU and GPU and the Velocity Architecture in the Xbox Series X 

On a 360.45mm² die, the Xbox Series X boasts both an 8-core/16- thread CPU based on AMD's Zen 2 architecture at 7nm, as well as a GPU baked with AMD's RDNA2 silicon, with 52 compute units. 

The whole chip has 15.3 billion transistors in total, with slightly less than half of the die going to the GPU. Transistor counts here have more than doubled compared to the Xbox One X (6.6 billion to 15.4 billion). Microsoft has stated that the Xbox Series X and Series S will be the only consoles with full RDNA 2 capabilities. The DRAM is also on the SOC , with 16GB of GDDR6 memory.

The GPU allows for hardware ray tracing support, though we haven't seen software in time for this review that truly makes use for it. Like traditional PC gaming, it's still used with a mix of traditional rasterization.

In theory, the system on a chip supports 4K / 120 Hz output, though that will depend on the monitor you use and the game itself. 

Elsewhere on the Xbox Series X's split motherboard is the SSD storage, a part of what Microsoft calls the Velocity architecture, with 2.4GB/s of I/O throughput. The Xbox also has a custom texture data decompression algorithm. This is what allows for faster load speeds that finally get on the level PC gaming has been on for years, as well as allowing features like Quick Resume to suspend and resume multiple games at once. 

One interesting spec to note is that the Xbox Series X is using 802.11ac wireless, or Wi-Fi 5. It's not upgrading to Wi-Fi 6, although it's chief competition, the PlayStation 5, is. As a device that’s likely to live in millions of people’s homes for years to come, that’s unfortunate.

Gaming and Graphics on the Xbox Series X 

Microsoft claims that the Xbox Series X can game up to 4K at 120 Hz, though that is dependent on two factors: the game you're playing and the monitor that you're using.

Over the course of our time reviewing the Xbox Series X, we played portions of a series of games. Some, like Gears 5 , The Touryst , Forza Horizon 4 and Gears Tactics already had been optimized. Others, like Marvel's The Avengers and Madden NFL 2K21 were the Xbox One versions of the game, but will have optimizations soon. 

Some games, like the Versus mode in Gears 5 support 4K120, in theory. The Xbox Series X uses HDMI 2.1, which is largely relegated, as of this writing, to a few TVs and even fewer monitors. For us, 4K60 was still the limit, and I imagine that will be the case for most people for the immediate future. Still, games look and play great on the Xbox Series X. It doesn't take much of a trained eye to tell the difference between 30 and 60 fps, and any game that could take advantage of that did. Some games, like Dirt 5 will have modes to prioritize performance or visuals, letting you choose how to use the system's power (this game also had it on some last gen systems). Those games are the closest we've seen on consoles to the experience PC gamers get when customizing settings. It's not much, but it's a choice.

Knowing that games can run at 60 fps both in 1080p and 4K is a big step. As recently as last-gen, many games were prioritized at 30 fps. The power of the Series X brings Xbox into the same realm as PCs in that regard, though we'll have to wait until the right content and monitors are more prevalent to see if it can match PCs in high-end gaming.

Even some older titles I pulled up, like in Halo: The Master Chief Collection , ran smoother than I expected (of course, for the oldest games, there's only so much that can be added).

And because backwards compatibility is almost entirely there, minus some Kinect games, I was even able to go and download a freebie from the Xbox 360 days, Aegis Wing , to my library, and it worked just as I remembered it. Of course, the performance of the Series X will likely be pushed more to its max in time. As we've seen with just about every console generation, developers tend to get better at optimizing for these platforms. Still, if you're an Xbox fan who plays current and previous-gen games, they will run best here. 

Heat, Power and Noise on the Xbox Series X 

It's quite difficult to run something like a traditional benchmark on a console, but three metrics give you a pretty good idea of how powerful a system is: heat, power and noise.

This is the first time we've taken these numbers for consoles, so we don't have competitors to compare to yet. But when we do, we'll update this review with the comparison.

During a race in the version of Forza Horizon 4 optimized for the Series X, we saw a peak of 169.2 watts. In Gears 5 , another optimized game, it peaked at 192 watts, though was largely in the high 180's.

In a backwards compatible game, Halo: The Master Chief Collection , the system pulled a peak of 148.1 watts. Those are all lower numbers than what we saw with PS5 launch titles. Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, pulled a peak of 225.5 watts in both fidelity mode (4K, ray tracing, 30 fps) and performance mode (4K upscaling, 60 fps). Astro's Playroom peaked at 224.2 watts. At the time of testing, we didn't have access to any of the same games on the two platforms, but these numbers suggest that the Xbox Series X will be the cheaper system to run.

We also counted cumulative power use measured in watt hours, though those are adjusted to the slightly different lengths of the samples. Run long enough, Gears 5 would clearly cause the system to use the most power.

When the Xbox Series X is at idle, it typically pulls around 41.3 watts, while the PS5 is around 49.6 watts . With the system asleep, it runs around 11.7 watts, which is more than the PS5 falling between 3 - 4 watts in rest mode. (Note that we reviewed the Series X in the "Instant On" power mode, which turns the system on from sleep almost immediately and allows for game downloads to be started remotely from your phone. Another setting, "energy-saving," is more environmentally friendly but doesn't offer all of those features.)

Unsurprisingly, idle uses more power than putting the system in sleep mode (you can see in our charts where we turned the system on). With default, out of the box settings, it takes the system almost 10 minutes to go from a game to a fully idle state.

The Xbox Series X uses a single 129 mm fan at the top of the system to bring air in through the bottom of the system. This is a part of what Microsoft calls its "parallel cooling architecture," with three air flow channels, a sizable heatsink over the chip, a vapor chamber and a split motherboard (the RAM, CPU and GPU are on one side, with the I/O on the reverse).

In any case, the system was effectively silent. We measured ambient sound in our test at 35.3 dBA (a measure of decibels as heard by the human ear). With the system idle, our sound meter measured 35.3 dbA, and while racing in Forza Horizon 4 , it ranged from 35.4 to 37.0. For what it's worth, with it on my desk next to my monitor, I couldn't make out the difference (the measurements were taken from approximately three feet from the system). With it further from me, underneath my television, I doubt I would notice it at all. (Our sound tests were performed with digital games, rather than utilizing the disc drive.)  I'm extremely impressed with what Microsoft has done with the cooling system to keep it this quiet.

The PS5 is only slightly louder. It measured 37.1 dBA at idle, ranged from 37.1 to 38.3 dBA with  Spider-Man: Miles Morales  in fidelity mode and 37.3 to  40.0 dBA in performance mode. It did occasionally make a high pitched whirring when in idle or rest mode, but not under load.

We took images of the Xbox Series X through a Flir thermal imaging camera. The hottest point on the system was 39.7 degrees Celsius (103.5 degrees Fahrenheit). In the image, you can see the sort of vortex shape that Microsoft has promoted in its advertising.

From a top-down view, the hottest point is 49.1 degrees Celsius (120.4 degrees Fahrenheit), which includes the hot air being ejected from the multiple holes at the top of the system. Microsoft has incorporated cooling into the overall design, and to great effect. 

The one big question I have about this design in the long term is what it means for dust. "There is not a user accessible way to open/clean the system, which was designed to be very open for air flow, and blowing compressed air through the intake vents will help loosen any dust that has accumulated," a Microsoft spokesperson told Tom's Hardware . In comparison, Sony 's PlayStation 5 has dust catchers for users to clean out every so often. 

Upgrading Storage on the Xbox Series X 

The Xbox Series X has 1TB of built-in storage as part of its Xbox Velocity Architecture, but that may not be enough for those who have lots of games downloaded. Of that 1TB, only 802GB is available after the Xbox software and OS is applied.

As of this writing, Xbox's major offering for this is a 1TB Storage Expansion Card from Seagate , which costs $219.99. That plugs into the back of the system, which brings a sort of nostalgia for the days when we had memory cards for games. This is one of the big differences from Microsoft’s competitor, Sony's PlayStation 5, which lets you install compatible PCIe NVMe SSDs like those you would install in your PC. The Seagate Expansion Card will let you play games directly from the card, including games optimized for the Series X as well as backwards compatible games.

You can also use an external USB 3.1 hard drive to play Xbox games from previous generations, like the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and original Xbox. An external will not, however, play games for the Series X.

Xbox Series X Controller 

Microsoft has opted not to make major changes over the Xbox One controller. The version released for the Xbox Series X (and its less powerful sibling, the Xbox Series S) is very similar. It's a bit smaller, with a textured back and triggers for a better grip. The D-Pad is the biggest change, as it more closely resembles the disc on the Xbox Elite Controller. It's very clicky, and I love it. It is far superior to any other D-Pad on an Xbox controller, and I sometimes even chose to use it for menus as opposed to the D-stick.

This controller borrows one of the DualShock 4's (the PS4 controller) biggest innovations, the share button, for easier sharing to social media.

Additionally, if you connect over a wire or buy a rechargeable battery, Microsoft has switched to USB Type-C. However, the controller comes with two AA batteries, which seems a bit archaic in 2020.

The smaller controller is a bit more comfortable to hold, but it's not a huge change. I do suspect that it will be far better for people with small hands. But everything is still largely in the same place despite the change in shape, so if you've developed muscle memory with the Xbox One controller, you'll still feel at home.

In fact, the change is so slight that Microsoft says many accessories, like chat pads, will still fit on the new controller.

Additionally, the new controller uses Dynamic Latency Input (DLI) to reduce latency and uses the latest in Bluetooth Low Energy protocol.

User Interface on the Xbox Series X 

If you've used an Xbox One in the last few weeks, the Xbox Series X (and S, for that matter) user interface will look plenty familiar to you. It uses the same design as the October 2020 Xbox One Update, which maintains continuity across the platform.

The home screen has a list of games and apps that you've most recently used, so it's easy to get back into the games you play or the software you use most often. A sidebar leads you to highlights from Xbox Game Pass, the Microsoft Store, entertainment apps, Xbox events and suggested apps.

You can customize the order parts of the home screen appear in, and you can also make changes to whether you want a dark or light mode, theme by color and even custom photos.

Pressing the Xbox button, or "Guide" button, on the controller brings in the Guide side panel over whatever else you're doing, which can easily get you home, to your game library, show what your friends are up to, switch apps, join parties and chats, and see your achievements. 

The Xbox Store looks very similar to the other changes in the home screen. It's snappy, has big images and a sidebar that gets you to different areas of the store (games, movies, your wish list, the shopping cart) quickly. 

None of this is a big change. But it's tried, true, tested and fast. Fans of Xbox will feel right at home. And for those who are making the move from the PC, it's somewhat reminiscent of the Windows 10 Start Menu. 

Xbox Series X Quick Resume and Smart Delivery 

I didn't know how much I would love Quick Resume until I tried it. This feature lets you swap between games that are in suspended states. These games are stored directly in storage, and you only have to wait a few seconds to swap back to exactly where you were. Sure, you should always save your progress, but this can keep you from having to go through start menus and load data just to switch between games. Not every game supports Quick Resume, so I did sometimes find myself back at the start screen of a game when I didn't expect it. But knowing most games going forward will likely support this feature is exciting. I was able to switch between several games at a time - The Touryst , Halo: The Master Chief Collection , Marvel's The Avengers and Gears 5 , and had to wait just around 30 seconds (give or take) to be in the exact spot I was in, no menus or further loading required. There's another benefit that's not exclusive to the Series X this generation called "Smart Delivery." It's Microsoft's buy-once-play-anywhere system. If you purchase a game that's compatible with Series X, Series S and/or Xbox One, it will work on all of them and download the right version of the game to each system you choose to use. 

Sharing and Social on the Xbox Series X 

The share button is the biggest change to the Xbox Series X, but sharing isn't the most robust feature. When you press the button, it automatically takes a screen grab if you're in a game, while holding it down creates a video clip.  (You can't use the share button outside of a game, however. For screenshots of the user interface, we used an Elgato 4K60 Pro capture card.)

Images are uploaded to your Xbox Live storage (you can turn this off) where they can be edited. Or you can store them on your console. As soon as you take a screen capture, you can share it on your profile, on Twitter, in direct messages, to a game's club or to be stored on OneDrive. You can also make it your background on the home screen. Videos have the same options, but with the immediate choice to trim it. In this way, it's really the capturing of the content that has become easier on the Series X. But beyond Twitter, there are few ways to share it on to broader social media directly from the Xbox, and I would like to see more integration there. 

Entertainment on the Xbox Series X 

If there's a streaming service you subscribe to, it's likely on Xbox Series X. Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Disney Plus, Vudu, Showtime, YouTube and YouTube TV, Peacock, CBS All Access, Major League Baseball, and Funimation are just some of the options. Apple TV will also be joining, marking a significant new entry. Some, like HBO Max, were a bit buried, but are there. For music, Spotify and Prime Music are both available, as are Deezer and Pandora. Tidal isn't in the Microsoft Store.  The PlayStation 5 has many of these, but the offering isn't as comprehensive. HBO Max, CBX All Access, MLB, Prime Music, and Pandora aren't there just yet.

For watching streams, Twitch is in the store, though the Microsoft store does have some off-brand viewers that sometimes surfaced ahead of it.

Of course, Microsoft also sells a variety of TV shows and movies on its own, should that be the place you want to own them.

Microsoft has abandoned the HDMI input function from the Xbox One. You can use an app like Fubo to watch live TV, but you won't be plugging your cable box into the Series X.

Xbox Series X Game Library 

The games that run best on the Xbox Series X (or Series S). These games use the latest technology, like variable rate shading , DirectX ray tracing , up to 120 fps and faster load times. Those with Xbox Smart Delivery let you purchase a game once and then download the appropriate version for other Xbox consoles, like the Xbox One.

To start on launch day, Microsoft is listing 30 games that are optimized for the Series X. Those include Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Sea of Thieves, Watch Dogs: Legion , Dirt 5 , Forza Horizon 4 and NBA 2K21. You can see a full list here . Of those, the majority support Smart Delivery and will let you buy a game on Xbox One and play it across generations with the Xbox Series X. And since none of these are exclusives, it also means you could hold off if you don't need the latest and greatest right now. More are coming soon, like versions of Borderlands 3 and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War . You can see a full list here . Some of those are actually coming soon, while others are only now in development.

There are exclusives coming, with the first notable one being the psychological horror game The Medium (it will also be on PC) in December. Halo Infinite , arguably the real system seller, has been delayed until 2021. Meanwhile, you can still play hundreds of games another way...

Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live 

It's rare for a console to launch with a killer app that's not a single game. No, Microsoft's has over 100. Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service that costs $9.99 per month for just the console, or $14.99 per month for Game Pass Ultimate, which also serves the PC and includes xCloud streaming to Android phones. 

Games from Xbox Game Studio launch day and date with retail copies, so expect to see a bunch of first-party titles. You'll also get access to EA Play games.

Game Pass is the future of Xbox. You may not buy the Series S or Series X. But it also works on PC. This subscription is what Microsoft wants you to subscribe to, more so than buying the hardware.   Xbox Game Pass Ultimate comes with Xbox Live Gold, which  lets you participate in online multiplayer and get you some deals. This is $9.99 per month or $24.99 per 3 months, so if you're online gaming, Game Pass Ultimate is the better deal.

A Note on Xbox Series S 

Microsoft is also releasing the Xbox Series S, a smaller, less powerful system priced at $299.99 aimed at 1080p and 1440p gaming, rather than 4K. We haven't had the opportunity to test the Series S, though much of this review could apply. It has the same controller, UI, entertainment options and supports both Quick Resume and Smart Delivery. It has a less powerful processor and GPU, however, and while it will have the same games, developers will have to create slightly different versions for each console. In a way, that's more like the PC than ever, as games will run differently based on specs.  

Xbox Series X and PC 

The Xbox Series X definitely brings Xbox closer to a computer than ever before. It's not upgradeable, but it's part of a "series" of machines, one that also includes the Xbox Series S.

If you're a PC gamer looking for a console alongside it (which we suspect many of our readers are), the Series X makes a strong argument. It has a common user interface with Windows, and you can use the same peripherals across both devices. With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can get a library of hundreds of games to play for a monthly fee on both systems (unfortunately, there isn't Smart Delivery for both Xbox and PC). With Xbox Game Bar and Xbox Console Companion on Windows 10, you can see achievements and your friends list across the platforms.

Microsoft's studios will treat the Series X and PC equally, so console exclusives will still come to both at the same time — and both through Game Pass.

Where the Series X will beat the PC, for a while at least, is price. The $499.99 price tag is aggressive, bringing Zen 2 and RDNA 2 for less than most of the best graphics cards .  

Bottom Line 

The Xbox Series X is a strong opening argument for a future filled with gamer choice. It's the most powerful option in a lineup with two price points and levels of power. It utilizes a service that lets you play over 100 games on the hardware, your PC or even streamed to an Android phone. Or you can keep buying your own games, on disc or digitally, and run them on a quiet, powerful gaming platform.

It also gives you the choice to play almost any game from four different generations of gaming and with almost any peripheral from the last one.

Microsoft has the looks to compete in power and in the entertainment center with a mature, understated design, even if it's a different shape than you might expect. If only it had a USB Type-C port and Wi-Fi 6. Out of the gate, it's biggest weakness may be a lack of console exclusives. Sony will be launching the PlayStation 4 with Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Demon's Souls , Sackboy: A Big Adventure , Bugsnax and more as exclusives, which may entice. Halo Infinite has been delayed to 2021, and we're also waiting on exclusives like Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 and Forza Motorsport . But a wide array of third-party titles should provide plenty to play in the coming months. It also means you likely don't need to spring for it immediately, as those games are also coming to last-gen consoles, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

But the Xbox Series X delivers more raw power, at least on paper. And while we'll have to wait to see how developers take full advantage of it, the Xbox is clearly modernized. As it stands, the Series X’s engineering is impressive, the offerings provide plenty of choice, and the games look and play well. This is Xbox, refined.

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social .

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• 80-watt Hamster I find myself rather impressed, particularly after my (admittedly limited) experiences with the Xbox One, which seemed like it was engineered by the B team. Of course, even if I were in the market, a PS5 would end up in my living room. Because ecosystems. :-/ However, I can definitely see myself picking up one of the new controllers. Agreed on the batteries, though. WTH? Re: share button as innovation, I'd argue the touch features on the DS4 were more clever. Too bad implementation was sporadic at best. Reply
• nofanneeded USB-C is not that important ... it is the lack of Gen 2 USB3 ... Actually USB-C can break faster when used by kids. But looking at the NVME slot , I dont think GEN2 USB3 is needed at all ... the only use of 10GB/s speed is the storage. so it is not a minus IMO Reply
• MorganPike "If you're a PC gamer looking for a console alongside it (which we suspect many of our readers are), the Series X makes a strong argument." Considering how first party xbox games are all coming to PC as well as xbox in the future (as per MS) I don't see how the Series X makes a 'strong argument' for PC gamers. If you really are a PC gamer then you already have a capable rig and no need whatsoever for a Series X, and certainly not an S. I'm actually pretty pleased over this because it means I -don't- need an xbox to play new exclusives. My PC and a PS5 and I'll be fully covered. PC gamers should be thinking about putting that Series X money toward a 6800XT! :) Reply
• rtyped It would be interesting to see how the thermals look when the xbox is horizontal. Reply

MorganPike said: "If you're a PC gamer looking for a console alongside it (which we suspect many of our readers are), the Series X makes a strong argument." Considering how first party xbox games are all coming to PC as well as xbox in the future (as per MS) I don't see how the Series X makes a 'strong argument' for PC gamers. If you really are a PC gamer then you already have a capable rig and no need whatsoever for a Series X, and certainly not an S. I'm actually pretty pleased over this because it means I -don't- need an xbox to play new exclusives. My PC and a PS5 and I'll be fully covered. PC gamers should be thinking about putting that Series X money toward a 6800XT! :)

• View All 5 Comments

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The Xbox Series X Gets Serious About Gameplay

And that’s exactly what we wanted from the new console.

Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Why Trust Us?

The Takeaway: The Series X is powerhouse, and that strength gets you to your games faster and more seamlessly.

• “Velocity Architecture” significantly reduces load times, and Quick Resume makes it fast and easy to switch between games
• Support for up to 120 frames per second
• Backwards compatibility with (and upgraded graphics for) games from previous Xbox generations

The first thing I thought about the 10-pound Xbox Series X when I pulled it out of the box was, This thing is solid . Yes, the console is a unit, befitting the power Microsoft stuffed into its matte black rectangle. But it’s not flashy. Save for its size, it won’t stand out on an entertainment center. And that design reflects its priorities. While the Series X has plenty of tricks, this generation puts the focus back on play.

$500 Microsoft Xbox Series X

First, the specs. The Series X comes with an eight-core Zen 2 CPU, and a 12-teraflop RDNA 2 GPU. It will run 4K resolution at 60 frames per second, with support up to 120 fps at lower resolutions. Storage is a 1 terabyte SSD, with an external slot for another one terabyte expansion card. For ports, it has one HDMI, two USB Type-A, Ethernet. It also has a Blu-ray drive.

In my time with the Series X so far, those components have led to predictably outstanding graphics and near seamless refreshing. As I played Gears 5 , my character slogging through snow and sand, I was impressed with the tracks they left and by the light passing through branches overhead. But that level of visual performance is to be expected. The Series X's unique strengths are compatibility with games from previous generations of Xbox, reduced load times, and the Quick Resume feature. That is where Microsoft shines.

In the past, I would reach for my phone at the first sign of a load screen, anticipating a little time to kill. With the Series X, it would finish before I could even consider it. I never waited more than 15 seconds for something to load. (Though there was one instance of game-stopping lag, and another when the sound mysteriously cut out in Gears 5 ).

Quick Resume also speeds things up. This function gives you the ability to switch between games, and begin playing right from where you left off. I’m the type of person to save, save again, then quit to the game’s home screen before I turn the console off. On the Series X, I only witnessed a game’s opening graphics twice. Everything loads right away. And that means more time playing.

The Series X’s main screen has a row with the most recently accessed games and apps across the top, which meant I spent even less time switching games. Going down from there, there are different rows to access the store, Game Pass, and entertainment apps. You can also customize what appears where, and pin individual games to certain rows for streams, achievements, and groups. Tapping the X button brings up the guide screen on the left side, though I didn’t find myself using this much. It, too, is customizable though for those who like that added bit of control.

The controller is largely unchanged from the Xbox One, except for a share button that lets you quickly capture screenshots and record video for posting. It runs off of two AAs out of the box. (You can buy a rechargeable pack for $25 ).

Running at such a high level means lots of heat. The Series X’s fan sits on top of the console, pushing air downward to keep it cool. In my weeks of testing, I didn’t hear it once, even when playing with the volume low. It’s a minor detail, especially if you play with headphones. But if you use the Series X for applications like Netflix, where noise can be distracting, the silence is welcome.

Who Should Buy It

The Series X is for people who want the newest tech and best graphics. That’s the easy answer. But as someone who regularly loses patience with and doesn’t have the attention span for slow tech, I found that Quick Resume and fast load times were where the Series X showed its value. Both have been boons for my playing time. If you fall into that crowd, you will have the same results.

But there’s also the Xbox Series S, which has the same Velocity Architecture for faster load times and Quick Resume. But it has about half the storage, no disc drive, and a lesser CPU and GPU (it can still support up to 120 fps, however). It’s also $300, which is $200 less than the Series X. If that savings is attractive, and you only plan on downloading games and streaming shows and movies, that makes it a more accessible option.

Both go on sale Nov. 10.

Will is the director of product content for Hearst’s Enthusiast Group, leading reviews and gear coverage across Best Products , Bicycling , Popular Mechanics , and Runner’s World .

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Xbox Series X Review

Vivaciously powerful, the new xbox series x is ahead of its time.

Updated August 3, 2023

Products are chosen independently by our editors. Purchases made through our links may earn us a commission.

About the Xbox Series X

What we like, what we don't like, should you buy it, related content.

Incredibly powerful tech

Hugely improved load times

Future proof

Absolutely massive

Needs more default storage space

I've been reviewing TVs and their adjacent tech for almost a decade, and have been a fairly dedicated Xbox gamer for even longer. In that time I've developed a bit of a nose for what I'd call the "timeliness" of a product. For the Xbox Series X, like most consoles before it, there remains the question of whether the upgrade is substantial enough to warrant the not inconsiderable cost of entry—$500. I'm not about to say this product isn't worth every penny of its $500 price tag: it is, without a doubt, more powerful than the average gamer will be able to even take advantage of (more on that below). What I'm puzzling over is who should spend that kind of money at this point in the Series X's life cycle.

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It's not a question of whether the Xbox Series X is a major step up over the Xbox One, but whether you'll be able to take advantage of it right now. I was blown away by HDR gaming, load times, and the general snappy improvements around the entire experience—right down to the controller's new capture button. But even my 2019 4K/HDR TV felt a bit outpaced, and I couldn't help wondering just how much power I was missing out on.

If you're a dedicated Xbox fan, you won't be disappointed with the range of upgrades here, but we feel compelled to make interested buyers aware that taking full advantage of this console's capabilities may mean upgrading a lot of your gear, while on the content side, there aren't any Xbox Series X games right now that can't be played on an Xbox One. Then again, playing one of my favorite games in 4K/HDR brought tears to my eyes, and it's hard to put a price on that.

The Xbox Series X is Microsoft's most powerful console ever. It's also huge, as you can see.

Microsoft's new generation of home gaming consoles comes in two flavors: the bigger, beefier Xbox Series X, and the more compact, digital-only Xbox Series S. Microsoft sent us a loan sample of the Series X, which launches worldwide next week on November 10th.

Here are the deep-nerd tech specs for it:

• Processor: 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU
• Graphics: 12.155 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU
• Die Size: 360.45 mm2
• Process: 7nm Enhanced
• Memory: 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320mb bus
• Memory Bandwidth: 10 GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s
• Internal Storage: 1 TB Custom NVME SSD
• External Storage: USB 3.2 External HDD Support
• Optical Drive: 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive
• Resolution Outputs: 4K @ 60 FPS, up to 4K @ 120 FPS, 8K @ 60 FPS
• HDR Formats: HDR10, Dolby Vision
• Color: Matte Black

If you know what all of that means, more power to you: I'll admit I don't entirely understand what some of these specs indicate. Fortunately, I'm not reviewing the Xbox Series X's components—I'm reviewing what happens when they all work together.

The HDMI in port is gone! But you're still getting three USB 3.0 ports (two in the back, one in the front), a storage expansion slot, an HDMI out, and an ethernet input.

4K/HDR gaming is a moving experience

While 4K/HDR gaming isn't new for Xbox, the Xbox Series X does it better than ever before. I was blown away by how good Gears 5 looked and felt.

Naturally, one of the first things I did after the rather familiar setup process was to boot up one of the very few "optimized for Xbox Series X" titles I had access to, Gears 5 . To preface my experience with playing on the Series X, it's worth mentioning that this isn't a game I've slept on: I've been playing it on and off since it launched last year. I've played through the entire campaign and dozens if not hundreds of hours of multiplayer, so nothing about my experience was dictated by the basics of the game or its gameplay. Finally, it's reasonable to expect that everyone's HDR experience will vary depending on the abilities of their TV or monitor.

All that said: wow . Even on a midrange 4K/HDR TV like mine, Gears 5 looks incredible. From the opening scene of the campaign, which showcased characters' faces and clothing fabrics richly rendered in sunkissed 4K detail, to the subterranean subtle terror of wandering through almost pitch-black hallways lit only precariously by flashlights and muzzle flash, I was legitimately moved by the experience. I found myself thinking, "Okay, this is what this game was supposed to be like," and I dread returning to a lesser experience now that I've seen the light.

With my ears treated to virtual surround sound and the Series X's HDR contrast tuning into pitch darkness and spooky specular lighting, I was immersed in games in a way I haven't been in years.

The improvement in things like graphical fidelity, color detail, and frames-per-second smoothness is palpable. To make sure it wasn't just my abiding love for the Gears of War franchise coloring my experience, I also checked out a second "optimized" title, Sea of Thieves . I've also played way more of that game than is probably healthy, but the experience was no less impressive. Yes, the twinkling lights of distant galleons floating amongst the wine-dark ocean waves were impressive in HDR, but playing the game at a consistent 4K @ 60 fps was what really sealed the deal for me. I've played the game on a higher-end gaming PC before, and the speed the Xbox Series X produced reminded me favorably of that experience.

About 24 hours later, I'm still thinking about some of the differences I saw in Gears 5 , such as the rendering of characters' "armor light" shining blue at the edges of their faces, or the intense sun dappling in the jungle of the opening level. Looking amazing in HDR isn't new for Gears 5 , but HDR gaming looking this good and rendering this smoothly is still an (obvious) feather in the Series X's cap. I've since tried out a bunch of other games in HDR, and they all look incredible, Forza Horizon 4 especially.

Driving around Lego Island in 4K/HDR was truly mesmerizing.

Where we're going, we don't need loads

Getting a bead on premium 4K/HDR gaming may be the foremost reason in many peoples' minds to upgrade to the Xbox Series X, but it's far from the only reason. Another major improvement (and one that it took me a little too long to notice) is in-game load times.

While there's no hard spec I can reliably relay here, I can confidently say that games boot up and load a lot faster. I first noticed this while playing Sea of Thieves . Just jumping into the server alone used to take at least a few minutes of time. I'm not sure exactly how long, but I remember prodigious load times on my Xbox One S after making it through the splash screens, picking my boat size, etc. I would say on average it would take anywhere from five to ten minutes to start playing Sea of Thieves .

Even on the Xbox One S with an ethernet connection, loading into a game of Sea of Thieves used to take a frustrating amount of time. On the Series X, it takes about one minute.

Just now I had my fiancee use a stopwatch to time how long it took from clicking on the Sea of Thieves tile in the Xbox's home menu to when I found myself standing in one of the taverns you always start in at the beginning of the game: one minute and six seconds.

This improvement might not be as jaw-dropping as seeing a triple-A game in 4K/HDR glory for the first time, but I dare say it's just as valuable a quality-of-life improvement for gamers, if not even more so. As an adult with a job and other responsibilities, I spend a lot more time playing games that are easy to load and get playing than the ones that take half the length of the average TV episode to actually start playing. But on the Series X, I'm finding it's a snap to get into games like Sea of Thieves , Destiny 2 , and Skyrim that used to take much, much longer to get loaded up.

If that's not enough for you, consider the Series X's "Quick Resume" function, which—as of the brief amount of time I've had with the console at this point—I'm still trying to figure out in its entirety. With "Quick Resume," the Series X "bookmarks" where you were in a game when you suspended it, and can pick up right there, even through power cycles. Microsoft has stated that up to 8 games can be suspended in "Quick Resume" mode at a time, which is plenty enough for any reasonable person.

However, I'm not sure how or when Quick Resume triggers just yet. It worked fine for Gears 5 and Skyrim but Sea of Thieves didn't allow it. And it obviously doesn't work for an MMO type game like Destiny 2 (this last of which, I'll also mention right now, looks bananas in HDR).

The huge, concave heat-sink is subtly tinted with green, a nod to the Xbox's usual colors. It's one of my favorite design elements.

When you open a game with Quick Resume, it'll pop up in the top right corner of the screen (right where HDR10 or Dolby Vision mode usually displays) to let you know that Quick Resume has been activated. I've been able to jump into multiple not-always-online titles that I left suspended for hours, including Skyrim , Tekken 7 , Warhammer: Vermintide 2 , and Night in the Woods . It's truly one of the best new features so far.

Loading into games and playing is much, much faster, especially for the big, ponderously hefty always-online titles that millions of gamers love. Now if you'll excuse me, this is the first time Grand Theft Auto Online didn't take twelve-plus minutes to boot up, so I need to go fly a plane into a tank.

The controller is just slightly better

The new Series X controller is in no way a redesign of the Xbox One's, but it has been gently improved, at least. The most notable change is the addition of a "capture" button in between and slightly below the "menu" and "change view" buttons.

Taking a page out of the Nintendo Switch playbook, pressing the capture button grabs both a screenshot of what you're doing and records a (customizable) amount of gameplay footage. Naturally, you can customize what hitting the capture button will do, but it's a big improvement over the old method of hitting the "guide" button and then X or Y, depending on what kind of footage you wanted to capture. I've lost games in Gears 5 too many times while distractedly trying to capture something cool I had just done.

The new Series X controller is very similar to the Xbox One controllers. There's a new capture button, though, which is a nice detail.

The new controller also has grippier, textured plastic on the rear of its chassis, making it a little easier to hold, and its actual physical dimensions have been tweaked ever so slightly. I know this because my Xbox One S third-party rechargeable batteries fit, but not the third-party battery covers. While this is a slight nuisance, it's also no surprise that folks might have to shell out to replace certain accessories.

One of the most notable changes in button responsiveness is, perhaps surprisingly, the d-pad. The new d-pad feels, for lack of a better word, much crisper. I primarily use the d-pad while playing Tekken 7 (which I'm decent at), but I'm still no better at pulling off hyper-fast, arcade-stick-requiring inputs. At least I can't blame the d-pad for it.

Shoulder-trigger travel feels a bit improved too, but I can't confirm that just yet. Overall, the controller feels almost identical to the Xbox One controller, especially if you're mostly gaming in a casual manner, but the small improvements are worth a shoutout.

Remote play is way better

While PlayStation gamers have had fairly reliable ways to play games remotely for some time, the onset of Microsoft's Project xCloud has been slow to roll out, and console streaming—something I've been beta testing for months—is still only available through the beta version of the Xbox app. However, with the new Series consoles—and the Series X especially—I feel like this functionality has finally arrived.

I've been perfectly content streaming my Xbox One S to my smartphone or tablet when I want to play in a more convenient or less all-encompassing way than when I'm propped up in front of the TV, but the quality of that streaming hasn't always been amazing. Even with a solid 5G WiFi connection, there were plenty of graphical hitches and always a touch of lag before. That hasn't stopped me from utilizing the feature, but it was certainly never an ideal way to play.

Using this feature with the Xbox Series X is a game-changer, however. I am truly surprised at how much more responsive it is to play remotely in this fashion. Graphics don't necessarily look any better, but the enhanced frame rates on the Series X translate well to responsivity in console streaming. I even sat down in front of my TV with the Xbox on while streaming to my phone, and moving the cursor around happened almost simultaneously.

Console streaming via the Xbox app (beta) is truly marvelous.

For people like me who use this feature often, this is an awesome reason to upgrade to the new console ecosystem. It may not be as exciting if you aren't already taking advantage of it, but it is a legitimate way to turn your phone or tablet into a little handheld Xbox console, and that's another box checked in my book.

This thing is too darn big

The Xbox Series X is a quality piece of hardware. Its matte black finish, gently concave top heat-sink, and port arrangement are all as finely implemented as you'd expect for a $500 machine. And I certainly understand it needs enough space to hold the numerous techy components that help it do things like render HDR games in beautiful detail or basically decimate load times—but it's just so big .

Pictured: an absolute unit

I'm still leaning towards grabbing the more compact Xbox Series S as my next main gaming machine, but if I were keeping the Series X that Microsoft loaned us, I feel like I'd have to rearrange my whole TV stand setup to accommodate it. Where my Xbox One S fits nicely inside the dedicated "source device" shelves in my TV stand, there's no room at the inn for the chunky Series X. It's as big as a PC tower, defiantly doing away with the "cable box" feel of previous iterations.

The Series X isn't quite as long as the One S, but it's easily twice as wide.

More specifically, it's a little under a foot tall, which actually makes it a bit shorter than the Xbox One X if you lay it on its side, but both its width and depth are just a bit over four inches—making it roughly the size of a 4x4 post. On top of that, the ample heat sink on top is not shy about its exhaustive purposes. Since setting it up, I've considered turning off the radiators in my aging Philly apartment: yes, it puts out that much heat.

But not big enough in some regards

Despite the impressive physical size of the Series X, there have been some major concerns about the size of its hard drive. Between the Series X and the Series S, only the former has a disc drive, which allows it to play games on disc as well as Blu-rays and DVDs. That said, it's my understanding that most gamers buy some if not most of their games in an entirely digital format—and that means downloading the entire game to the hard drive.

While the Series X's 1 TB hard drive might sound generous, it fills up fast when you're downloading big-budget games. I may be spoiled by the 2 TB hard drive on my Gears of War 4 edition Xbox One S, but the Series X's storage space filled up fast—even after only about a day of installing the games I wanted to play. Gears 5 takes up around 72 GB of space, for example, while Destiny 2 is a whopping 108.8 GB. Right now, I'm at 95.8% of the hard drive filled up with 15 games installed, some of which are smaller, indie titles.

With all of these games installed digitally, I've got almost all of my storage space filled. While it's manageable, I think storage space is going to be a problem for a lot of gamers.

Does anyone need to be able to play 15 games concurrently? Not really. However, it's a step down for me. Mostly, I'm concerned for Xbox Series S owners: with no disc drive and an even smaller default storage space, that console is sure to feel cramped for most folks.

That said, everyone does have the option to buy expandable storage, but it's top-of-the-line stuff that won't come cheap: sources I've seen have cited $200 price tags for Xbox Series storage devices. You can technically use any device over 128 GB that utilizes USB 3.0 to transfer data, but it's not like everyone has those just lying around either.

So familiar it's almost underwhelming

Once I got into the meat of key features like smooth 4K/HDR gaming, Quick Resume, and adjusting to the zippy load times, I found myself back at the home menu, checking for subtler differences. And to be honest, when you're not playing games in HDR or watching some rad Dolby Vision content on Netflix, the Xbox Series X feels remarkably similar to the Xbox One.

This isn't a bad thing, of course: familiarity means skipping the rigmarole and jumping into games or media content faster, which is really what we're all here for. But it's also true that in every console generation past, the new generation of consoles has come with something of an upgrade and redesign feel to the console menu itself. In that regard, the Series X doesn't feel new at all.

Other than the cool "dynamic background," this experience feels familiar—almost too familiar.

In fact, you don't even really need to own an Xbox console to get a lot of the basic "Xbox experience" anymore. Anyone with a subscription can download the Xbox app and play Game Pass games on just about any mobile device or Windows 10 PC, and a huge amount of Xbox games are becoming "Play Anywhere" titles, meaning that if you bought them on Xbox you can play them on a capable PC. This means Microsoft isn't going to alter the cohesive look of its Xboxes any time soon.

The end result is that the full experience really feels like a big, futuristic version of the Xbox One X, rather than something as different as, say, the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo GameCube, especially because there just aren't a ton of "next-gen" optimized games yet.

You kind of have to upgrade everything

My final point is one that applies to the whole next-gen ecosystem, including the PS5. While it's old hat in the tech world, it still bears mentioning. If you're considering an Xbox Series X, you should really think about whether you'll be able to get the full experience out of it.

Yes, zippy load times and quick resuming games is awesome, but if your TV isn't a newer 4K/HDR model, you aren't going to be able to really take advantage of this thing. I also found that my TV struggled to keep up with the demands of switching from SDR to HDR10 to Dolby Vision, such as when going from the home menu to an HDR game to Netflix, which is available in Dolby Vision—and I imagine I won't be alone in that regard.

I own around 250 Xbox games. The Series X is still fully backwards compatible, but there aren't many games yet that are optimized to take advantage of all its power.

Yes—if you love being on the cutting edge

The new consoles had to come out eventually. I don't mean to dampen anyone's sheer excitement for how powerful the Series X is, but there are going to be 1,000 reviews that tell you that. There's no good reason not to buy the Series X if you want it and can afford it, but we're here to tell you it's not the most practical of choices just yet.

As someone who received this product on loan from Microsoft, it's difficult to know exactly how I'd feel about it if I'd shelled out $500 myself. The menu and controller look and feel almost identical to the Xbox One, which makes for an intuitive but somewhat rote initial experience. Games look much better, but they also push the limitations of my midrange, but still relatively new 4K/HDR TV, especially when it comes to jumping between HDR formats. The TV gets confused. It's not the Series X's fault that it only perfectly pairs with some of the priciest A/V hardware out there right now, but now it is your fault if you say you didn't know any better when you bought one.

With that out of the way: wow, yes, wow, the games look incredible. This console makes me want to give up all of my obligations and just play beautiful high-frame-rate games all day and night. The Series X controller's alluring siren song lives rent-free in my brain at all hours of the day, and I could probably play the first level of Gears 5 in HDR twenty more times before I got tired of it.

It really is that awesome, especially if (like me) you aren't coming from an Xbox One X. When 4K/HDR TVs are extremely cheap and 8K TVs are beginning to see reasonable prices, the Series X will still be relevantly powerful and equipped to deliver an incredible media experience for years. If that's a future you want to invest in, you won't be disappointed.

The Series X is still a contender for those who want a powerful gaming console.

best-right-now

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

Meet the tester

Lee Neikirk

Former Editor, Home Theater

Lee was Reviewed's point person for most television and home theater products from 2012 until early 2022. Lee received Level II certification in TV calibration from the Imaging Science Foundation in 2013. As Editor of the Home Theater vertical, Lee oversaw reviews of TVs, monitors, soundbars, and Bluetooth speakers. He also reviewed headphones, and has a background in music performance.

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Xbox Series X review: two years on, it's now a contender

Two years on, our xbox series x review reveals a powerful games console with a bright future..

Our Verdict

Xbox Series X started out against a tide of hype for PS5 and too few killer games, but two years on Microsoft's next-gen console has proved to be a powerful games console, and Game Pass is the secret weapon that ensures this console is good value and technically impressive. The only downside is UI design that feels dated. Two years from launch, Xbox Series X is a good alternative to PS5, and well worth the money.

• A fast and powerful games console
• Game Pass is incredible value
• Small and neat design
• Fantastic backwards compatibility
• UI is workable but clumsy

Why you can trust Creative Bloq Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

• Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S
• Performance
• Should I buy one?

At launch Xbox Series X had an uphill struggle to tease gamers away from PS5, and with the spectre of Xbox One's muted support hanging over it, this was a hard task. As 2022 ends, and two years on, Xbox Series X has proved to be a powerful games console that's more than something you buy if PS5 has run out of stock.

While at launch on November 10, 2020 things felt muddied – it launched with the less powerful Xbox Series S and Xbox One was shared its games roster, time has been kind to Xbox Series X. While PS5's design took us aback (read my PS5 review for more) Xbox Series X was a small black box, its lines failed to ignite the imagination. Yet, over time, that simplicity has become beneficial and it has proved to be one of the best games consoles around. I also have a comparison feature, PS5 vs Xbox Series X .

At launch a lack of exclusive games was a problem. The best Xbox Series X games are by and large the same on PS5, for example Elden Ring is available on both platforms, but Microsoft has released exclusives since launch, and plans on releasing some big titles in 2023, such as Starfield. However, when it comes to games, Game Pass – the subscription model for getting monthly free games – remains unmatched. Also, unlike PS5, Xbox Series X is fully backwards compatible with hundreds of classic Xbox games. (Discover more games for Xbox Series X in my guide to the most anticipated games of 2023 .)

Inside the black box is the kind of tech you expect from a state-of-the-art games console; a super-fast SSD loads and reloads games in under a second, plenty of internal storage and the kind GPU and CPU combo you'd get in a high-spec gaming PC or one of the best laptops for gaming – the eight-core Zen 2-based AMD processor with AMD's RDNA 2 GPU can handle everything thrown at it.

Below I'll go into a little detail about why Xbox Series X has shown itself to be a dependable and superb games console. Before that, take a look below at a comparison of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, launched together they're similar but slightly different.

Xbox Series X review: two models

Xbox Series X is the slightly more powerful of two consoles and features a 4K Blu-ray disc drive. In terms of performance you may not currently notice much difference as the real upgrade for Series X is its output of 4K at 120Hz (it can output at 8K).

The games libraries, UI, storage and more technical features remain the same. It's worth noting if you have an Xbox games collection Series X is preferred as you have a disc drive for full backwards compatibility.

The Xbox Series S is a slightly cheaper model compared to the Series X, largely because this is a digital-only console that doesn't feature a disc drive. If you don't want to play Blu-ray movies or old Xbox games, it's worth it.

The other area it lags behind Series X is in output – this console has less powerful graphics performance so displays games at 1080p and 1440p. This will be fine for a couple of years, but eventually developers will target 4K and 8K and Series S could be left behind.

Xbox Series X review: design

Xbox Series X underwhelmed at launch. It's a small rectangular black box of tricks, and to an extent simply re-enforced a sense Microsoft's console is just a gaming PC with few innovative features.

However, after spending two years with the Xbox Series X I really appreciate the simplicity of the design. At just 15.1 x 15 x 30.1 cm it's smaller than PS5 and is a neat little black box that can sit unassumingly next to, beneath or behind a TV. Despite initial impressions, the simplicity of the design makes Xbox Series X a functional but also eye-catching console. Design should consider use as much as aesthetics, and time has been very kind to Xbox Series X.

There's a little design flourish with the inclusion of the textured top vent, which breaks up the hard lines and offers a little secret to discover. In hindsight the design of Xbox Series X is actually lovely, it's slightly textured and has the one slim slit for the disc drive, giving this console a smart, almost industrial and modernist look.

It has all the ports you could need, including a HDMI 2.1, two USB 3.2 ports, and a storage expansion slot for extending the console's memory. There's another subtle design idea here too, as each rear port features raised dots so you can judge by feel which port is which – why has this level of accessibility never been done before?

This is a super-quiet console, too. The top and rear vents disperse heat really well and when turned on you won't notice at all – it's near silent. Overall, Xbox Series X has shrugged off the initial design impressions to reveal a discreet games console.

Xbox Series X review: performance

Xbox Series X is, technically, the most powerful games console on sale right now – yes, it's slightly more powerful than PS5. It boasts an eight-core AMD Zen 2 processor (3.8GHz), a custom RDNA 2 AMD GPU (with 12 TFLOPs of processing power), 16GB of GDDR6 memory and a 1TB Custom NVMe SSD for fast loading.

Like PS5 the SSD is used to reduce loading and reloading times to under a second for most games, some can be a little longer. This is great for jumping straight back into games with no loading, and you can skip between games and start right where you left off – you can juggle between multiple games from the dashboard. The SSD is best used in games such as Elden Ring, where you're starting and restarting instantly. 

CPU:  8x Cores 3.8 GHz, Custom Zen 2 CPU  GPU:  12 TFLOPS, 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU  Memory:  16GB  Internal Storage:  1TB Custom NVME SSD Expandable Storage:  1TB Expansion Card External Storage:  USB 3.2 External HDD Support  Optical Drive:  4K UHD Blu-ray Drive  Performance Target:  4K / 60fps / 120fps, 8K / 30fps

When playing I really notice frame rates more than ever these days, and Xbox Series X delivers 4K at 60fps and can manage 120fps – only really necessary if you super-competitive in Halo Infinity or Gears 5 – this shooter supports 4K at 120fps online, which is, frankly, incredible. 

This is also a testament to Microsoft's backwards compatibility, as Gears 5 was an end of life Xbox One game that shines on Xbox Series X. Some games will drop resolution to 1080p to handle 120fps. It will mean you'll want one of the best 4K TV s, eventually.

It's worth digging into Xbox Series X's backwards compatibility and features, as this really puts this console in its own unique space. As well as offering automatic HDR support to boost the colour depth and contrast of older games there's also FPS Boost that can quadruple the frame rates of older games – classic Xbox games (X360, Xbox and Xbox One) can get boosts from 30fps to a locked 60fps, some can reach 120fps. This gives these older games a sharper look and smoother feel. It varies from game to game, but many older titles can be tweaked.

Xbox Series X review: UI

The downside to Xbox Series X is its UI – it launched with a mere tweak to the older Xbox One dashboard and hasn't changed too much in two years. The tiled approach is okay, but feels old fashioned. Each tile connects to game collections, Game Pass, the Xbox Store, apps, party chat and more. You can move the tiles around and pin them yourself, so your regulars are always top.

If you've been using Xbox for years, or Windows, the Xbox Series X UI likely feels okay and functional, however if you're coming fresh to this series of consoles it can feel clumsy and obtrusive. There are some weird quirks too, particularly in Game Pass, where it regularly shuffles focus – for example if you just want to find the newest added games they can be harder to find than needed.

Unlike PS5, the Xbox Series X UI hasn't really evolved or changed in two years. It is faster and lag-free compared to older Xbox consoles, but there's a new charm of personality to the layout or user journey. Microsoft does have plans to revamp the UI in 2023.

The biggest advantage is the new Quick Resume feature that I touched on earlier. This enables you to drop in and out of up to five games at a time. The UI can be accessed at any point, it auto-saves and records status and progress. It can be a little hard to keep track of what games you've been playing and when and where you can drop back in, but the feature is smooth, fast and instant (it takes seconds to launch and relaunch).

Xbox Series X review: controller

The Xbox Series X controller is an iteration on the Xbox One controller rather than a completely new design. This is more ergonomic and textured, it feels good to hold and is fairly lightweight. At launch colour was black or white (Series S), now there are a number of fun and vibrant colours, including Electric Volt, DayStrike Camo and Pulse Red.

This is a premium controller that feels solid and functional, and has the off-set sticks and button layout that many prefer over the PlayStation controllers – for shooters and racing games, the Xbox layout is a better design. There are more third-party controllers available for Xbox Series X than PS5, too. This means there are some fun and advanced controllers available now, two years on, and generally more choice than PS5 offers.

There's a weird design choice too; the Xbox Series X controller uses two AA batteries so you will need to invest in a Charge and Play kit eventually, which is sold separately, It feels like a hangover from a past console generation.

It's a solid controller but old tech and lacks the haptic feedback, touchpad, adaptive triggers and other progressive design choices Sony made with the PS5's DualSense Controller. If you've not played on a PS5 you won't miss these features, but going from PS5 to Xbox Series X can feel like a downgrade in some respects. Full disclosure, I own both consoles and make deliberate choices to play some games on PS5 only – Deathloop, for example, feels more immersive on PS5.

Yet, Xbox Series X now has the new Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 in its corner. Since the console launched this new controller has been released, and while it still lacks the features of PS5's DualSense Controller, this new gamepad features fully customisable triggers and sticks, and buttons can be programmed for multiple games. It's also cheaper and has a longer battery life than PS5's forthcoming pro pad, the DualSense Edge Controller.

Xbox Series X review: games

At launch Xbox Series X felt like a powerhouse without anything to show off its tech. The launch games were lacklustre and Microsoft relied on third-party publishers to pad out the games line-up. Worse still, the exclusive games were all available on Xbox One, and included Gears 5, Forza Horizon 4 and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which gave little reason to invest in a new console.

Two years on, however, and the games library and future prospects are much brighter. Xbox Series X exclusive games include Halo Infinite, Microsoft Flight Simulator and Forza Horizon 5 – and all three are outstanding titles. (Some of the best games on Xbox Series X have been nominated in this year's BAFTA Games Awards 2023 .)

It's the future that looks impressive for Xbox Series X, as Microsoft has spent two years buying and investing in new studios, including ZeniMax Media, home of Bethesda, which means blockbuster releases such as The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield will only be Xbox Series X (and PC). Microsoft is also in protracted talks to buy Activision Blizzard, home of Call of Duty, Diablo and Crash Bandicoot.

The biggest advantage Xbox Series X has is Game Pass. This monthly subscription service offers free, with most being day one releases and exclusives. This meant in 2022 Xbox Series X had A Plague Tale: Requiem, High On Life and Football Manager 2023 free at launch, and new games on the horizon include Redfall, Atomic Heart and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Subscribers also get access to EA and Ubisoft collections, including classic games from Xbox 360.

Xbox Series X review: should I buy one?

At launch in 2020 I would have said stick with Xbox One, aim for a PS5 or at a push get an Xbox Series S because it's more cost effective. However, two years since launch and Xbox Series X is now an established and impressive console. Costing $499 / £449   it's cheaper and easier to buy than the PS5, and many of the launch issues have been ironed out.

Day one Xbox Series X had no exclusive games and offered little reason to buy a new console. Two years later this next-gen console has exclusive games that demonstrate the power of the console, and for those on a budget the development of Game Pass to deliver new games, on the day they're released, is a serious advantage. 

Game Pass costs $14.99 / £10.99 a month, but you can always get offers – for example there's a $1 / £1 a month deal for new subs and after that you can even get three months for free on a 12 month sub. When a single new game can cost as much as $69.99 / £69.99, Game Pass is great value.

I was always on the fence about the design of Xbox Series X as its subtle, box-like approach can feel underwhelming in isolation, when it's in your hands and in your home this simplicity really shines. It's a shame the UI remains a little outdated and unchanged and the controller, while good, lacks the tech and flourishes of PS5's DualSense Controller.

To an extent Microsoft played it safe with the Xbox Series X, from the design to the UI and controller – it's all simple and effective and at a lower cost. This means the games and performance become a greater priority, and while lacking in 2020 Xbox Series X now impresses, particularly as its a fully backwards compatible console with older Xbox titles. More so, with exclusives such as Starfield, Fable and Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 coming in 2023 there are enough big games to sustain the console. 

Two years on, Xbox Series X represents great value for money and has a bright future. PS5 is still slightly ahead due largely to the DualSense Controller and its exclusive games, but the distance between them is now paper thin.

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Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.

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The Xbox Series X/S Review

Following a transformative generation where Xbox recovered from a rocky start to deliver a successful, consumer-friendly approach, the gaming team at Microsoft is back with two consoles that do everything the Xbox One currently does, but better. Blazing fast load times, superb compatibility, and a ton of power combine with various quality-of-life adjustments to improve upon the Xbox One experience in noticeable ways. While an iterative approach may not give you the “wow” factor you expect when you power on your new console for the first time, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S undeniably provide you the best way to enjoy your library of Xbox games.

Hardware and Form Factor

Upon unboxing the Xbox Series X, one thing is immediately apparent: Xbox’s new flagship console is massive. Resembling more of a PC tower than a traditional video game console, its nearly-12-inch height wouldn’t be such a barrier for entertainment configurations if it weren’t for its approximately 6-inch depth and width as well. With those dimensions, players with horizontal-oriented slots in their entertainment systems for hardware like Blu-ray players, cable boxes, and previous video game consoles will likely have issues fitting it within their existing configuration; the only place I could fit it into my entertainment setup was on the stand behind the TV. The less expensive, disc-less Series S, on the other hand, is the smallest Xbox ever produced. The console weighs just 4.3 pounds versus the 9.8 pounds of the Series X, and it can easily fit anywhere your Xbox One already fits.

Both consoles feature an ethernet port, three USB ports (two in the back, one in the front), an HDMI port, the power connection, and a storage expansion slot designed for proprietary external SSD expansions (more on that later). Sadly, Xbox Series X/S removes the optical audio port of previous generations. However, to the delight of Xbox One owners who are sick of the massive power brick, both the Xbox Series X and Series S eliminate the giant block in favor of a standard power cord. Each version also includes an HDMI 2.1 cable, which allows for high-speed transmission of data between the console and screen, capable of hitting up to 120 frames-per-second performance. However, you do need a monitor or television with a matching 2.1 port to take advantage of what it offers. Despite the power both consoles deliver, the Series X/S is whisper quiet, even when the Series X is playing discs. Not only that, but even after extended playtimes of new-gen software, both systems do a good job of regulating heat thanks to ample ventilation.

Perhaps the biggest differentiator of the two consoles from a hardware perspective is in how the Xbox Series X has a physical disc drive, while the Series S does not. Whether or not this is a big deal is strictly based on your individual gaming tendencies, but not having a disc drive obviously means you cannot play disc-based games or disc-based movies. For those who like physical media, that component of the Series S could be a deal-breaker.

Performance

Regardless of whether you choose the Series X or Series S, the new consoles shine when it comes to performance. Thanks to the Xbox Velocity Architecture, which includes a custom NVME solid-state storage drive, both new Xbox models deliver marked improvements over last gen, particularly in how fast games load. This performance upgrade is most impressive in open-world games, with backward-compatible titles loading in a fraction of the time. New-gen games with open worlds like Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Assassin's Creed Valhalla load faster than other games featuring big worlds on last-gen hardware. This is the biggest advantage I noticed over last-gen hardware; after spending weeks with the new consoles, I find it extremely difficult to return to my Xbox One X.

Additionally, Xbox Series X/S delivers myriad tweaks to how you experience your games, including multiple latency-lowering features and various ways to optimize the use of the system’s memory to provide more detailed textures faster. Players can expect less screen-tearing due to the variable refresh rate, and more realistic worlds and characters due to hardware-accelerated ray tracing. On top of that, spatial sound and implemented acoustic models provide a better audio experience than any Xbox before it.

Unfortunately, both consoles still contain too little storage. The Xbox Series X features a 1TB SSD, while the Series S possesses a paltry 512GB. The plus side to the Series S’s low storage is that games downloaded to the system do not include 4K textures, so the files are smaller. However, with game sizes growing bigger each year and updates ballooning the sizes of the files, your choice comes down to either keeping just a few triple-A games on your SSD or purchasing the pricey proprietary external storage.

You can use a third-party external HDD to store games, but you can only play backward compatible games from it and it won’t achieve the same performance or speed of the internal SSD. If you want extra space for Xbox Series X/S-optimized games, you need to pick up the proprietary expansion cards. The current one, from Seagate, adds an extra terabyte of SSD storage and operates at the same levels as the internal SSD, but it sets you back $220.

The Xbox Series X is an absolute powerhouse, with 12 TFLOPs of GPU power that works in conjunction with 16GB of GDDR6 320-bit memory including 10GB of GPU-optimized memory that works to prevent bottlenecks. The result is the ability for Xbox Series X titles to reach 4K resolution at up to 120 frames-per-second. Meanwhile, Xbox Series S has significantly less processing power, with 4 TFLOPs of GPU power that works with 10GB of GDDR6 128-bit memory. Thankfully, the Series S can still reach up to 120 frames-per-second, but its resolution tops out at 1440p.

Thanks to this hardware, gameplay is silky smooth with minimal pop-in. Games feel responsive and perform well, offering stable framerates and crisp visuals. While there may not be a ton of games that you can’t also buy on Xbox One, my time with both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S tells me that the performance of these new systems deliver substantial quality-of-life improvements that make it easily the best way to experience any Xbox game.

User Experience

Although the dashboard is largely unchanged from the Xbox One generation, the improvements come from how quickly everything loads and how smooth it is to navigate. The speed at which you can bounce between screens and menus is impressive, but the biggest step up from last gen is in how you can swap games and pick up where you left off.

The new Quick Resume feature allows you to jump between multiple games fast by leaving titles in suspended states. Using this feature, I alternated between completing contracts in Hitman 2 and wandering around the Oldest House in Control, then switched over to Overwatch for a few matches before returning right where I left off with Hitman 2 all within a few seconds. Obviously, for titles like Overwatch and Destiny 2, that time you out of the server for inactivity, you won’t be able to suspend their states without being dropped, but being able to jump between games without any load screens or lengthy menus is incredibly convenient. Unfortunately, the feature was deactivated for Xbox Series X/S-optimized titles during the review period until a patch can be released, but I did test the feature with new-gen preview builds prior to this happening.

In addition, the Xbox Home and collection screens have been iterated on many times over the course of the previous generation, and as a result, the interface feels more user-friendly. Not only is the Home screen extremely customizable and reactive to how you play, surfacing the games and apps you most recently used, but you can pin games, groups, and apps to the screen so you can make it as organized, social, or game-focused as you want. In the collection screen, clear categories like “Xbox 360 Games” and “Optimized For Series X/S” help you find games you own or have access to thanks to Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass, as well as myriad sorting and filtering options to locate the game or app you want without much hassle.

From an accessibility standpoint, Microsoft carries over its progress from Xbox One in this important area. Players can remap the controller, enable copilot mode to let two people play as one, and take advantage of accessibility options like narrator, magnifier, game transcription, and different contrast settings. Additionally, the widely praised Xbox Adaptive Controller is compatible with the Xbox Series X/S, giving players who need additional accessibility options even more flexibility.

Coming off one of the greatest console controllers ever made with the Xbox One, Xbox chose to not reinvent the wheel with its next gamepad. The Xbox Series X/S wireless controller largely keeps the same form factor and functionality as its predecessor, but with a couple of refinements.

The Xbox Series X/S controller’s most noticeable addition is the new Share button. This button, located in the middle of the controller’s face, offers easier capture functionality. In the Xbox One generation, to capture a screenshot or record gameplay footage, you needed to press the Home button, wait for the side-menu to load, then press X or Y to capture. Unfortunately, some games automatically entered the pause menu if you hit the home button, making it difficult to capture the screenshot you wanted, while others kept the action going, leading to more than a few in-game deaths on my end. Thankfully, this controller’s Share button makes that a thing of the past. Now, you capture a screenshot by quickly pressing the button or record the last chunk of gameplay with a long press of the button. I love being able to quickly capture and share my gameplay screenshots and videos without throwing the brakes on the action or diverting my attention for more than a split-second.

The Xbox Series X/S controller also swaps out the plus-sign d-pad of last-gen for a hybrid multidirectional d-pad for increased versatility. I’m pleasantly surprised by how precise the new d-pad feels; playing side-scrolling games like Sonic Mania or Dead Cells felt as great as ever, and the d-pad has a satisfying click to it.

The controller features improved grip on the handles, triggers, and bumpers, plus a 3.5mm headset jack, and a USB-C connection port. Unfortunately, the controller still uses two double-A batteries, which feels downright archaic in 2020. I don’t expect a stock controller to have the awesome rechargeable battery of the premium Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2, but it’s annoying to have to keep double-A batteries nearby at all times. If you want to avoid regularly swapping out batteries, Xbox does sell official rechargeable battery packs. If you’d prefer to stick with your existing Xbox One controller, you can use that without losing any functionality aside from the Share button.

Compatibility

While everyone is looking forward to the new games they’ll play on these systems at launch and in the future, many of us have accumulated impressive collections of games we already love. With that in mind, Xbox did an outstanding job of making sure almost anything you enjoyed doing on Xbox One can be done on Xbox Series X/S.

It all starts with software compatibility. Sure, all your favorite streaming apps make the leap to this generation, but outside of a handful of Kinect titles, every game that runs on Xbox One can run on Xbox Series X/S from day one. That means that in addition to the vast library of Xbox One titles, you can also access the backwards-compatible-enabled Xbox 360 and original Xbox library. I loved turning my Xbox Series X on for the first time, long before any new-gen games had arrived, and instantly having access to the large library of Xbox games I already own. Most people don’t buy new hardware to play old games, but when the games I already know and love benefit from the better hardware (including better framerate, higher resolution, smoother gameplay, better load times, and added HDR), it’s nice to not have to start from scratch. Additionally, if there is an Xbox Series X/S version of a game you own on Xbox One, developers can utilize Smart Delivery to get you the best version of the game on the console you’re using at no additional cost.

Not only do all of your games and apps make the generational leap, but Xbox took things a step further: Every accessory you own for Xbox One automatically works with Xbox Series X/S. I was able to pair my third-party wireless Xbox One headset and Elite Series 2 controller as if they were made for Series X/S. Even the Rock Band 4 USB legacy adapter plugged in and worked immediately. Upgrading to a new console is always expensive, and this level of peripheral compatibility means I don’t have to worry about buying a second controller for my player 2 or a new headset on top of the several-hundred-dollar investment. Unfortunately, Xbox Series X/S follows in the footsteps of Xbox One in not supporting Bluetooth headsets.

I was impressed with how simple moving my library to the new consoles proved to be. I had the option to either redownload them or save my bandwidth by simply plugging in the external HDD I was using on my Xbox One X. Once connected, the Xbox Series X/S immediately populated my games library with the titles on the external hard drive. It was largely a smooth process, but moving Rock Band 4 with my more-than 1,500 DLC songs across storage units did temporarily bring the system to its knees.

The Xbox Series X/S is the most compatible console we’ve likely ever seen. By veering close to PC-like compatibility, Xbox delivers on its platform uniformity goal. Xbox has not only set the standard for compatibility in an industry with a spotty track record, but it has thrown down the gauntlet and brought an extremely consumer-friendly approach.

The Verdict : B+

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S introduce superb quality-of-life improvements like Quick Resume and the reduced load times over Xbox One or even Xbox One X, but don’t expect a markedly different or revolutionary leap forward when you first power on the system. If you’re simply looking for the best place to play your library of past, present, and future Xbox games, look no further than Xbox Series X/S.

November 10

Xbox Series X – $499 Xbox Series S – $299

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Xbox Series X review

GamesRadar+ Verdict

The Xbox Series X is a great console with only a few games on the immediate horizon designed to take full advantage of it.

Excellent performance

Great backwards compatibility

Quiet, cool, and powerful

Lacks showcase games

User experience is very familiar

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Where to buy

• HARDWARE AND DESIGN
• USER INTERFACE
• ENTERTAINMENT
• BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY
• FINAL THOUGHTS

The Xbox Series X is looking to have an excellent year in 2023. That's mainly down to the sheer number of Xbox exclusives among the various upcoming Xbox Series X games confirmed to launch this year.

Thankfully, Xbox Series X stock issues have now mainly resolved themselves, which means that it's a great time to learn more about Microsoft 's latest console. Whether you're the proud new owner of one yourself, or you're trying to decide whether or not to make that purchase, this article has everything you need to know about the Xbox Series X.    

US Amazon:  often price matches on controllers, headsets, and more Best Buy:  accessory bundle deals often include Game Pass CDKeys:  big discounts on a massive range of games Microsoft:  All Access purchase options and big accessory savings Newegg:  regular bundle deals with free games Walmart:  best for budget third party accessories and cheap games

UK Amazon:  regular discounts on games and accessories Argos:  best for budget controllers and accessory bundles CDKeys:  big savings on old and new games Currys:  stock drops regularly include Game Pass bundles Microsoft:  regular discounts on controllers and accessories Very:  console bundles often stay in stock longer

Original review (November 2020)

You shouldn't think of the Xbox Series X as an evolution of the Xbox One that launched in 2013. Always listening, frequently watching, and rarely responding as you believed that it should or hoped that it could – Microsoft abandoned it and the battle for input one long ago. It's better to think of the Xbox Series X as an iteration of the Xbox One as it exists today, and as a continuation of the ecosystem that has flourished around it.

The Xbox One was originally positioned as a mainstream portal for entertainment. It was born out of a perception that players were spending more time watching media on Xbox 360s than they were playing games. Let that be a miscalculation that will live on in infamy; where the Xbox 360 never let a burgeoning infatuation with streaming services diminish the quality of games at the heart of its experience, the same could not be so easily said of the console that followed. It has taken countless revisions of the user experience and three major hardware overhauls to get Microsoft here in one piece.

Instead of treating the next generation as an opportunity to start anew, as Sony is doing with the PS5, Microsoft has positioned the Xbox Series X as the next stage of an endeavour that began in earnest back in 2017. That was the year Microsoft attempted a drastic return to the values that were once synonymous with Xbox: power and performance, leveraged to create the best environment for you to play. Kinect was laid to rest, the dashboard received its Windows 10-inspired Fluent Design update, and the Xbox One X made its debut alongside Xbox Game Pass. The Xbox Series X has been engineered alongside each of these developments. 

The Xbox Series X doesn't represent the closing of a book then, but the beginning of a new chapter. There's an inherent familiarity to the hardware, the user experience, and the games arriving alongside this console on November 10. And despite all of this, the Xbox Series X is still able to establish a strong foundation for the future. Where Sony has decided to use its next-generation console to upend the industry, Microsoft is continuing to lay the groundwork for what could come in the years ahead – a powerful platform that is capable of making Xbox the best place to play once again. 

• Xbox Series X price
• Where to buy Xbox Series X stock
• Xbox Series S review

XBOX SERIES X HARDWARE AND DESIGN

The Xbox Series X casts a commanding silhouette. It's a monolithic slab of matte black plastic that stands 11.8 inches tall, 5.9 inches deep, 5.9 inches wide, and weighs in at 9.8 pounds. On its face, you'll find a pairing button that handily conceals an IR receiver, a 4K UHD Blu-ray optical drive, a USB 3.1 Gen 1 port, and an Xbox logo power button that lightly glows white while you play. 

While the Xbox One was built to fade into the background of your home entertainment centre, the Xbox Series X is designed to quietly dominate it. If you can find a suitable place to stand it (and it is clearly meant to be used vertically, a fact that is reinforced by the fixed orientation of the Xbox logo and the non-removable stand), it'll soon feel like another fixture – not unlike that of a (more visually appealing) PC tower. The Series X doesn't draw attention to itself, like the provocatively designed PS5; an angular mass complete with pulsing strips of blue lighting that seems purpose-built to attract the eye. 

Xbox One owners will notice that some connectivity options have been lost in the transition to the next generation, although this largely reflects the shift away from ambitions in the entertainment space. HDMI-In pass-through is out, as is IR-Out and the optical audio connection. As part of Microsoft's ongoing commitment to promoting accessibility, there are tactile Braille indicators above each of the rear ports – two additional USB 3.1 ports, a gigabit Ethernet port, a storage expansion slot, and HDMI 2.1-Out. I do have concerns over future-proofing efforts with respect to connectivity. The PS5 comes equipped with USB-C, and it arrives with Wi-Fi 6 support whereas the Series X has stuck with an 802.11ac wireless networking solution; only time will tell how impactful these omissions will be. 

The Series X is equipped with a high-speed 1TB NVME SSD with 802GB of available storage – an improvement over the 780GB of usable space on an Xbox One X. The SSD unlocks the true potential of the system, allowing for faster load times and impressive new features such as Quick Resume – which will let you swap between multiple games that are held in a suspended state in fewer than 10 seconds. HDMI 2.1 is also a key component of the console, allowing for new performance and latency-reducing innovations for home console such as Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM), as well as the option for compatible games to run at 120 frames per second on supported televisions.

Even with all of these system-intensive features in play, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that the console runs quietly and efficiently, even after lengthy sessions with games optimised for Xbox Series X. The console also runs considerably cooler than the Xbox One X, although there is clearly some expectation that owners will think carefully about where they place the Xbox Series X so that air is able to flow unimpeded from behind the console and up through the curved venting array that sits at the north end of the console. 

From a purely aesthetic perspective, I think the Series X is a better-looking console than the PS5. That's a debate that will rage for years to come, but there's something to the minimalistic nature of the Series X that speaks to me. I'm impressed with how much Microsoft has been able to pack into the box, and how efficiently it is able to run while subjected to multi-hour play sessions. 

XBOX SERIES X CONTROLLER

Microsoft hasn't changed the basic layout of the Xbox controller in 15 years, and for good reason – the Xbox 360 gamepad is still considered by many to be the gold standard. As a testament to its enduring legacy, Microsoft has opted to leverage small iterations on the Xbox One gamepad that leave a large impact. Adjustments have been made by the millimetre to ensure that it is a better fit for your palms. The grips have been resculpted and reweighted, with a balance born out of that decision that stands up to the scrutiny of lengthy play sessions. As does the gentle, tactile textured effect that has been applied to the top and back of the matte-black chassis. 

The bumpers have been comfortably reangled for the Xbox Series X controller, while the analogue triggers have been given a little trim too. They are ever so slightly deeper, requiring a little more force than before to achieve a full depression – a key differential as developers look towards dialling in greater precision and intuitive control in this generation. The Xbox Series X controller also comes equipped with a new and easy to reach Share button, improved analogue sticks, and a new hybrid directional pad. 

The Impulse and Rumble motors house within the triggers and grips of the chassis return, although they have not been improved. With the PS5's DualSense controller, Sony has gone all-in with haptic feedback and the results are a bold evolution over what Microsoft had in place throughout the last generation. It's disappointing to find that Microsoft hasn't iterated upon this technology – which is capable of delivering context-sensitive haptic feedback right to your fingertips – as it remains one of the most impressive and underutilised parts of the package. As we enter an era where how games feel is going to be more important than how they look , it's easy to wonder whether the decision not to push rumble forward will be a mistake Microsoft attempts to correct in the future.  

Battery life has been an ongoing concern on Xbox One; say what you will about Kinect, but I miss its ability to detect inactivity and drop the controller into a low-power mode dearly. Expect around 30 hours of play out of standard AA batteries, although using the 3.5mm port for a headset will reduce that estimation. While you can still tether the controller to the console via USB to disable its wireless connection, you shouldn't do in service of latency reduction: the Xbox Series X controller is fast and responsive, more so than any Xbox controller that has come before it. The Xbox Series X controller is among the most comfortable and capable gamepads I have ever used.

XBOX SERIES X USER INTERFACE

The Xbox One dashboard underwent so many revisions that it often felt as if it were in a perpetual state of beta. It has been heavily scrutinised and revised over the years, and Xbox Series X launches with what is perhaps the best Xbox dashboard to date as a result. It's flexible and fast, designed to let you navigate high-traffic areas of the dashboard with ease and shift the elements that slow you down out of your way. 

While the user interface may look aesthetically identical to what is currently available on Xbox One, the speed and responsiveness make it effectively unrecognisable. The console takes fewer than 20 seconds to go from a full shutdown to the dashboard, and just a fraction of that should you have the Instant On startup mode activated. Once you're onto the dashboard, navigating between the various sections of UI and Guide has been made as frictionless as the Fluent Design will allow. 

The dashboard can be customised to introduce specific blocks for your most-played games and entertainment apps, or used to pin different elements of Xbox Live to the landing page to cut down on friction – specific Friends, Clubs, Communities, and even services like Xbox Game Pass. That customisation also extends to the Guide, where you are able to reorder the tabs to prioritise access to Achievements, Capture & Share, People, Parties & Chats, and Profile & System settings. 

The Guide remains the best element of the Xbox user experience. From it, you're able to do everything from start parties with friends or create Looking for Group posts if you're keen to make some new ones. You can manage the audio of your headset and microphone, check the progress of installs and updates, and dial into game capture. You're able to keep tabs on recently earned Achievements and see how close you are to completing others, and even retain access to recent notifications, the store, and more. You're able to do all of this no matter what you're doing with the console – in the middle of a game, watching a movie, tooling around on the dashboard while you wait for friends to come online. There's a hell of a lot of functionality hiding behind the Xbox button of the controller. 

The biggest addition to user experience is the introduction of Quick Resume. This feature will let you jump between four-to-five games that are stored in a suspended state in the NVME memory of the SSD, meaning that you can resume playing from the place you left off in around 10 seconds. Your progress is saved even if you power the Series X or introduce physical media into the equation, it makes resuming play sessions faster than ever before. Sadly, there's no way to track what games are currently active in Quick Resume; I've been using Guide customisation to create a pinned group of games that I'm 'Now Playing' so that I can quickly jump between games I have in rotation without skipping a beat, but it's an inelegant solution to a problem that Microsoft should have anticipated. 

The Xbox Series X has clearly benefited from a dashboard and accompanying user interface that has been so heavily iterated upon over seven years, although some will undoubtedly be disappointed that it's so familiar. The PS5 arrives with a brand new UI and new functionality will always be worthy of a little fanfare. Still, the Xbox Series X user experience is fast and frictionless, and your mileage with it will likely depend on whether you ascribe to the notion that 'new is always better'. 

XBOX SERIES X SETUP

If you are turning on an Xbox Series X from a complete, powered-off state you should expect the startup to take around 20 seconds from pressing the power button to being signed into Xbox Live. If you have the Instant-On power mode enabled, that startup sequence will take between two and four seconds. From there, any of the games you previously had in a Quick Resume suspended state can be immediately loaded. The Xbox Series X is quick to start, and moves fast to get you straight into games. 

Of course, if you're powering the machine on for the very first time then you should expect to be greeted with an initial update. While this is downloading and installing, you'll be able to use the new Xbox app to start tinkering with the settings. If you have an Xbox Live account you'll also be able to sign your Xbox Series X into it and move hundreds of existing settings and preferences over. It's an easy process, the calm before the inevitable frustration. Unless you plan on transferring games from your Xbox One with an external SSD, you shouldn't expect to be playing all that much on day one. 

Your internet reliability and download bandwidth caps are going to dictate how quickly you can download games, though you really feel the rising size of game sizes when you're facing an empty hard drive. Be it through backwards compatibility or Xbox Game Pass, there's a massive library of available games and you'll want to pick your battles on day one wisely. Don't think that those of you with physical media are in for an easier ride, either; disks take as long to install on Xbox Series X as they did for Xbox One, so expect to wait anywhere between 20-50 minutes for installation before the inevitable patch requests kick in. And, no, you still can't download multiple games or updates simultaneously, nor can you easily shift them around in the install queue. 

Customisation runs deeper than the dashboard and the Guide and there is a wealth of options available through the Settings application; while you're waiting for all of your games to download, install, and update, it would be wise to dive in. The controller can be remapped at a system level to create defaults for thumbstick inversion and the functionality of the triggers, share, and face buttons. Privacy and parental settings are easy to control and leverage, there's a wealth of display and audio settings to tinker with, and it's well worth dialling in the types of notifications you receive from Xbox Live. While some of the options are buried in sub-menus, a holdover from the App-based design of the original Xbox One, the Xbox ecosystem remains incredibly flexible and customizable. 

XBOX SERIES X XBOX LIVE

Xbox Live has always been the backbone of the Xbox ecosystem and a new generation would traditionally introduce new innovations to the service. Last generation, Microsoft used the Xbox One launch to raise the friends list from 100 to 1000, made a number of quality-of-life improvements, and built a 'Smart Match' system that sought to improve matchmaking. Given how closely the Xbox Series X is intertwined with the Xbox One in service of forwards and backwards compatibility, we aren't seeing the same degree of innovation or evolution. Everything has to be consistent across both generations, and across platforms encompassing PC and Android devices thanks to xCloud and Remote Play. 

Microsoft's decision to integrate universally-synced cloud saves – complete with automatic saving and unlimited storage – with Xbox Live back in 2013 has proven to be one of the best decisions the company has ever made. Turn on your Xbox Series X, sign-in to your Live account, and everything is there. Your digital licenses, achievements, your profile and preferences, and, more importantly, all of your save data too. Xbox Series X backwards compatibility takes on a new dimension because of cloud saves, and so it's no surprise that Sony is implementing something similar for PS5, letting you move your PS4 save data over to the new console. A clear advantage of this connected Xbox ecosystem, however, is in the ability to load up a 15-year-old game only to find your save data waiting for you… honestly, it feels like you're witnessing magic in action.

The biggest change to Xbox Live surrounds game capture and streaming, an area Microsoft trailed behind Sony for an entire generation. The Xbox Series X controller features a Share button, meaning you no longer need to mess around in the Guide to capture screenshots and video clips. The Xbox Series X is capable of capturing 4K resolution screenshots, as well as streaming gameplay and recording clips in 4K and at a framerate of 60 frames per second. The Xbox One's Game DVR launched with a cap of 720p at 30fps, while the One X could just about manage 4K at 30, so this is a massive step up. Oh, and better still there's no more sifting through OneDrive or Upload Studio to get captures off your console and onto social, everything is beamed straight to the Cloud and will appear within the Xbox App on your Smartphone within seconds.

With the Xbox Series X wired into the broader Xbox ecosystem, you'll find that there are no new restrictions on who you can play with, party with, or send messages to. Xbox Live recognises Xbox Series X as another console on the network and, as a result, I haven't experienced any problems jumping into rounds of Fortnite or Call of Duty: Warzone with Xbox One and PS4 players, nor did I notice any problems or disadvantages when playing Gears 5 multiplayer at 120fps with Xbox One players who are locked to 60fps. 

When it comes to Xbox Live on Series X, it's all about small quality-of-life improvements, rather than sweeping updates or upgrades. The store is probably the most notable change, having been overhauled as part of the New Xbox Experience; it's cleaner and easier to use, and faster to find what you're looking for and increases the visibility of a wider range of products and services. Despite its familiarity, Xbox Live remains a phenomenal service. Multiplayer is smooth and secure, it's easy to party up and communicate with friends, and services such as Xbox Game Pass remain unparalleled in terms of accessibility and affordability. 

XBOX SERIES X ENTERTAINMENT

Microsoft understands that acting as an all-encompassing entertainment portal is a redundant ambition in 2020. This is a console designed to be played through new 4K televisions, and few of those are going to come without robust, built-in support for Smart TV and entertainment applications. The loss of support for HDMI-In makes OneGuide redundant. As Kinect stirs six feet under, so too does the need to beg and plead with your Xbox to pause a show. In an age where the use of second-screen devices is ubiquitous and so the Xbox One's Snap functionality – the ability to run an app or watch television side-by-side with a game – was removed from the OS back in 2017, and no picture-in-picture solution has been re-introduced for Series X. 

Instead, the Xbox Series X keeps it simple and comes loaded with just about every application that you could need. There are over 28 entertainment apps available through the store, so if any of your favourites are missing on Xbox One they will be missing here too. Media control for 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, and DVDs also shares the same underlying architecture with the Xbox One player, which is to say that it is functional and inoffensive. While the console is quiet in just about everything that it does, expect to hear a little bit of noise when using physical media as the disk drive whirrs into action. 

The Xbox Series X will also let you load up your OneDrive account and view external media from there, and it also supports playback from a USB storage device and media streaming from PC via DLNA should you download the free Media Player app. Music can still be played in the background of the dashboard and in-game from supported apps, such as Spotify; music can be controlled from the Guide, as can specific settings such as the rebalancing of game audio to your own music. 

If there's any major failing of the entertainment experience on Series X, it's that Quick Resume does not extend to media. If you're watching a show on Disney Plus or a movie on Netflix, for example, they won't suspend in place should you decide to switch your attention to a game and then back again. While it's fast enough to resume playback, it would have been nice to pick straight back up from where you left off with entertainment, just as you're able to do with games. Still, this frustration aside, the Xbox Series X is a capable entertainment hub – it just isn't the focal point of the entire experience. 

XBOX SERIES X BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY

The Xbox Series X has a custom processor with eight AMD Zen 2 CPU cores, and a 12 Teraflop RDNA 2 GPU. That pairing means that the console can target performance of eight times the original Xbox One and twice that of the Xbox One X, with the new Xbox Series X able to execute games at a native 4K resolution and at 60 frames per second with little compromise. There are few new games at launch that will truly take advantage of this power, and so it's, the way the powerful CPU can work in tandem with the SSD to automatically enhance backwards compatible games that will reflect the most obvious next-generation upgrades.  

The Xbox Series X has full backwards compatibility for Xbox One games, and it supports any Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles that worked on that system too. Legacy titles run natively on Series X, which means that the thousands of available games automatically benefit from performance of CPU and SSD. Every game I have tested has seen significant reductions in load times – lowering by as much as 70% in some cases. Typically, games run smoother, enjoy steadier framerates, and more stable transitions between the action and menu-based admin. 

That's all to say that the Series X is able to cast many of your favorite games – the cross-gen multiplayer games that are still in your rotation, in particular – in an entirely new light, and all without any direct optimisation from developers. It means games like Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and The Outer Worlds automatically benefit from the power of the hardware, holding steadier frame rates during moments of frantic action, loading in and out of menus without hitching, and loading between zones far faster than you'd have seen on Xbox One or Xbox One X. You can even look back to something like 2008's GTA 4 for Xbox 360, which is also able to double its frame-rate from a once unstable 30fps to a locked 60fps. 

The titles that were treated to performance-enhancing patches for Xbox One X have even greater gains. You can look at a performance heavy game like Fallout 4 and find that its frame rate has leaped from 30fps to 60fps, Meanwhile, titles like Final Fantasy 15, Monster Hunter World, and Rise of the Tomb Raider are finally able to run at locked 60fps in their High FPS, Lite, and Resolution modes. Broadly, we're seeing that games are able to realise their true potential now, after languishing within the constraints of Xbox One hardware for a generation.

Truth be told, the Xbox Series X has cast the entire Xbox One generation in a new light, and the free gains offered by the Xbox Series X makes an Xbox Game Pass subscription feel more necessary than ever before. It's made returning to the past a real pleasure. More impressive still is the implementation of Auto HDR across the back catalogue. Microsoft's machine learning algorithm is able to automatically add high dynamic range flourishes to existing titles, meaning that those of you with a 4K HDR-compatible television are about to find that your older games look better than ever too. 

If Microsoft's backwards compatibility efforts show anything, it's that we're about to see a huge shift in developers prioritising framerate over resolution, or at least giving consumers the opportunity to choose. The Xbox Series X is powerful enough to lock the games that pushed the boundaries of the previous generation in at their intended framerates and the results are truly impressive. That instils great confidence in what will come down the line for Series X: games that are faster, smoother, and more stable than in any console generation before it. 

XBOX SERIES X GAMES

It's perhaps indicative of the position that Microsoft is in that the best showcase of the Xbox Series X is a console exclusive released in 2018. There's a Halo Infinite-shaped hole in the launch lineup, and so it's been left to the first-party studios to fill the gaps in the library. Forza Horizon 4 is the clear standout, optimised for Series X to run in 4K at 60fps, and it's truly stunning. It is not only able to demonstrate what types of experiences we should expect from this console, but it highlights just how needed the Series X is for developers – straining to create the best games that they could within the constraints of the Xbox One and One X hardware. 

I've been similarly impressed with the optimisation efforts on Sea of Thieves (2017) and Gears 5 (2019), titles that again look and play better than any console player imagined they could. Gears 5 is particularly impressive, not just because of its 4K at 60fps campaign configuration, but because of its offering of 120hz multiplayer sessions. Dirt 5 – one of the few third-party games that were provided for testing – similarly offers the option for racing at 120fps, dropping the resolution to 1440p to accommodate. 

It's difficult to quantify just how impactful this focus on frame rates truly is. In many respects, it feels a little nebulous – something to be experienced, rather than read about. But I'm going to give it my best shot by saying that games just feel better; they are smoother and more responsive, and you'll certainly notice it when you go back to a 60fps game or (heaven forbid) 30fps. It isn't that you can visually recognise the leap from 60 to 120, but you'll notice that input lag is noticeably reduced. It feels as if you have full control of the avatar in front of you – be it a supercar burning rubber or a super-soldier slamming into waist-high cover. 

The Optimised for Series X games give us a glimpse into a future where games don't necessarily look all that much better from what you may have experienced on Xbox One X, but they certainly play better. Of course, frame rates are just a part of that – the SSD working in tandem with the unique Velocity architecture of the Series X means loading times are reduced even more significantly than standard backwards compatible titles. Everything feels faster and less sluggish, be it messing around with loadouts in-game menus or shooting an enemy in the face. This is a future we should all want to see and be immersed in, the question is how long will it take developers to seize it. 

XBOX SERIES X FINAL THOUGHTS

The Xbox Series X is an unconventional next-generation console. It's arriving with thousands of playable games from day one, each of which appears to play better than they ever have on console, but the broad appeal of that offering will likely depend on where your allegiances have been for the last generation. 

If you're returning home to Xbox after seven years with the PS4, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, and Sea of Thieves might be older titles, but with their optimisation for Xbox Series X, they look and feel as if they could have released yesterday. Similarly, other exclusives that are yet to receive optimisation patches – Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Halo 5: Guardians, for example – play wonderfully, as do games like Quantum Break and Rare Replay that were initially optimised for One X and are receiving huge free gains on the new hardware. If you're new into Xbox, there's plenty here for you to play. 

If you're coming into Xbox Series X from within, upgrading from an Xbox One, One S, or One X, then you'll immediately feel the benefits of the new system, but I anticipate that some will feel a little disappointed by the lack of anything truly brand new from the first-party studios that can act as a system showcase to justify the high price of entry as an early adopter. In a world where many of us are spending more time than ever before replaying the same games nightly – Apex Legends, Destiny 2, GTA Online, Fortnite, and Warzone, for example – perhaps that doesn't matter as much as it would have in previous generation cycles. For now, the Xbox Series X offers the best place to play for Xbox owners. Only you can decide if that's enough right now. 

Still, it's easy to be impressed with the Xbox Series X. It's a powerful and capable machine that sets Microsoft up for the future. What it lacks in a clear system seller, the Xbox Series X regains some ground with a number of key quality-of-life improvements. Between the massive reduction in load times, the ability to push games at a stable 60fps at 4K, and a number of improvements to existing games through backwards compatibility, the Series X has removed so much friction from the Xbox ecosystem. In many ways, it feels as if Microsoft is looking beyond November 10 with the Xbox Series X. It's clear that this is a system set up for future evolution, iteration, and success. The Xbox Series X is a great gaming console with only a few games on the immediate horizon designed to take full advantage of it.

Josh West is the Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar+. He has over 15 years experience in online and print journalism, and holds a BA (Hons) in Journalism and Feature Writing. Prior to starting his current position, Josh has served as GR+'s Features Editor and Deputy Editor of games™ magazine, and has freelanced for numerous publications including 3D Artist, Edge magazine, iCreate, Metal Hammer, Play, Retro Gamer, and SFX. Additionally, he has appeared on the BBC and ITV to provide expert comment, written for Scholastic books, edited a book for Hachette, and worked as the Assistant Producer of the Future Games Show. In his spare time, Josh likes to play bass guitar and video games. Years ago, he was in a few movies and TV shows that you've definitely seen but will never be able to spot him in.

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Xbox Series X Review

Our review of the Xbox Series X two years after release

The Xbox Series X doesn’t win on exclusive games, but when it comes to features it is an amazing bit of kit, with highlights including Quick Resume, Smart Delivery and Xbox Game Pass. However, it is in danger of falling behind in design, with a new PS5 “Slim” on the scene and no sign of a boosted Series X model right now.

• Sleek and premium design
• Xbox Game Pass offers a stunning level of value
• Quick Resume is a game changer
• SSD makes games and applications faster than ever
• User interface and overall design is very familiar
• Not as many high-quality exclusives as PS5 and Switch

Key Features

• 4K support: The Xbox Series X is able to play games at up to a 4K resolution, providing more detailed pictures than a Series S.
• Ray tracing: Ray tracing allows for more realistic lighting and shadow effects, but does impact performance when activated.
• Super-speedy SSD: With a blazing fast SSD, games can load up instantly, while Quick Resume allows you to switch between games and continue progress without saving.

Introduction

The Xbox Series X is one of (if not the ) fastest games consoles that you can currently buy, offering 4K graphics and a turbocharged SSD.

It has fierce competition in the form of the PS5 (or the newer PS5 Slim model), with Sony so far offering a greater selection of high-quality first-party games.

That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of reasons to buy the flagship Xbox, with features like Game Pass, Quick Resume and Smart Delivery all proving to be fantastic additions.

After spending over 3 years with the Xbox Series, here are my thoughts on whether it’s still worth a purchase in 2024.

• Feels like a natural successor to the previous generation
• Controller and colour scheme remain very similar
• The console weighs in at 4.46kg

Microsoft has abandoned previous design conventions with the Xbox Series X, opting for something more akin to an office desktop PC than a traditional gaming console. It’s a brave departure, and one of which I’m definitely a fan.

At first glance, it may appear needlessly bulky, but it has slotted under my desk, alongside my existing TV setup with ease, the sharp corners and distinct profile making it an ideal fit.

Nobody is going to call the Series X a looker; at launch, it was compared to a fridge so many times that Microsoft ended up actually making one . But it isn’t screaming for attention like the PS5, which has largely kept the same design language with the new slimmer model, and I like it that way. One in-your-face games console is more than enough. 

Measuring 301 x 151 x 151mm and weighing 4.46kg, the Series X has a noticeable heft, but one that also exudes a degree of premium quality you’ll see in only top-quality electronics. You may or may not appreciate the design, but you certainly wouldn’t be able to deny the craftsmanship. Taking certain aspects of the Xbox One X blueprint, Microsoft expands upon them here, maintaining visual motifs that set it apart from the less powerful Series S .

The power button sits isolated in the left-hand corner, while the eject and sync buttons are seen alongside the disc drive and a single USB 3.1 port on the opposite side. Once again, it’s a minimal yet impactful approach that Microsoft is aiming for, and every facet of the Series X oozes this sense of style. The remaining sides are left completely blank, with the exception of four small nubs that cushion the console if it’s positioned on its side. Be warned, it’s also a fingerprint magnet.

Be mindful of ventilation though; the fan resides on the top of the unit, indicating that a horizontal position is arguably the Series X’s ideal. On the rear of the unit you’ll find the console’s ports along the lower half, with the number reduced somewhat next to the Xbox One family of machines. Inputs include an HDMI 2.1 port, 2 USB 3.1 ports, an Ethernet port and a storage expansion slot.

Memory expansion is handled by bespoke SSD drives produced by Microsoft in partnership with Seagate. You’ll require a specific drive speed to handle titles that are optimised for Series X. They’re expensive, but the insertion and removal of such devices is no harder than plugging in a PS2 memory card back in the day. It’s far easier to expand your Series X storage than doing the same for the PS5, for which you’ll need a screwdriver and the confidence to rip the thing apart.

The controller is a small yet worthwhile improvement over the Xbox One peripheral. It feels more comfortable to hold thanks to a textured grip across the back and along the triggers. A share button has also been introduced, making the act of capturing your epic gamer moments far more simple. Those who use rechargeable battery packs will require a USB-C cable, which is now the standard input for the controller. Unfortunately, one isn’t included in the box.

Dolby Atmos and HDR are fully supported on Xbox Series X, receiving solid implementation in the majority of enhanced games I’ve tested and looking positively gorgeous on my Sony X900H LED. Automatic HDR has also been incorporated into backwards compatibility, applying the feature to titles which were never intended to support it.

The results can be mixed, but are ultimately impressive given it can be spread across three generations of hardware. More vibrant colours, realistic lightning and a sharper image overall across the majority of my library is a lovely little bonus, and will likely only improve as Microsoft hones it further in future updates. On my display I had to disable Dolby Vision when switching to a 120fps output, which is a worthwhile compromise given the performance gain.

So, what about the omissions? The infrared blaster and HDMI passthrough have been abandoned, largely because this is now a dedicated games console, rather than an “all-in-one media station”, like the vanilla Xbox One. I have welcomed the flat, angular design of the Xbox Series X, which has made inserting cables from behind a relative breeze; rather than having to fiddle hopelessly in the dark or having to lift the heavy unit out of its resting place.

Overall, the design of the Xbox Series X is likely to be polarising, especially for those who are used to more traditional consoles. To me, it’s clear that Microsoft is following a roadmap with this design, building creatively on what came before it to ensure the Series X is seen as its most powerful console yet. The monolithic nature of its design is purposefully impactful, making it the ideal older sibling to the comparably dinky Xbox Series S .

Specs and technology 

• Features an AMD Zen 2 CPU and 12 teraflops of computing power
• NVMe SSD allows for fast loading times and Quick Resume
• Capable of 120fps and 4K gaming performance with the right display

The Xbox Series X is the most powerful console Microsoft has ever made, both in terms of its specifications and the tech being employed to push games from the past, present and future to new limits. We’re still yet to see the Series X at the absolute peak of its powers, but the best titles look fantastic, and the console’s genius backwards compatibility tech can transform gaming experiences that once felt clunky and archaic into something that feels futuristic.

First, let’s start with the foundations. The Xbox Series X is powered by a custom AMD Zen 2 CPU with eight individual cores running at 3.8GHz, one of which is dedicated entirely to operating system and user interface functions. While its layout remains largely unchanged, syphoning off such concrete resources to the UI results in unfound levels of fluidity. Even with ample amounts of power, at times the Xbox One X continued to struggle with system navigation; conversely, the Series X decimates obstacles without hesitation.

As for the GPU , Microsoft once again teams up with AMD, with RDNA 2 architecture being implemented into the graphics processor. Boasting an impressive 56 compute units with 3,584 cores, it’s capable of pushing select games up to a 4K at 120fps performance, which is impressive even when compared to the latest PC gaming hardware.

The Xbox Series X is in possession of HDMI 2.1 port – which, technically, makes 8K output possible. However, you’ll likely only see 8K resolutions for media playback on streaming services such as Netflix and Disney Plus once support surfaces. You’ll also need a top-end telly or monitor to actually see the improvements.

You’re probably sick of hearing about teraflops as a nonsensical buzzword for the most powerful consoles on the market, so I’m delighted to report that Xbox Series X has 12.15 of the suckers. That’s roughly four times more than the Xbox One X. Given that the aforementioned console is still capable of pushing modern blockbusters to native 4K with a decent level of performance, this is a frankly astounding specification. 

Alongside the almighty teraflops you’ll find 16GB of GDDR6 memory, 10GB of which is being prioritised to games themselves. The remaining 6GB aims to focus on computing functions, like the user interface. In the future, it is likely that talented developers will be able to focus resource management to really help this console 

This is a machine that can play hundreds of games spread across the original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, providing automatic performance and visual improvements to the majority of them. Several years into this console generation, I still get a thrill from downloading an old 360-era favourite and seeing it run as smooth as butter.

Performance

• Currently has few flagship exclusives to showcase the console 
• Loading times on multiplatform titles outperform the PS5 
• Quick Resume is a brilliant feature, allowing instant switching between games

To test graphics and performance on Xbox Series X, I played a selection of games through native backwards compatibility and those with specific optimisations for the platform. Following the installation of an update, I’ve yet to find a game outside of those that support Kinect, which won’t play nicely with the Series X. It’s simply a case of inserting a disc or installing the application from your digital library before diving right in. 

The seamless nature of maintaining your existing console experience, but with so many quality-of-life improvements, is incredibly welcome – and this is evident in the loading times of every game we tested. Whether or not it has received a bespoke update to support the console, the Xbox Series X is capable of decreasing the time it takes to jump into games significantly, while simultaneously pushing resolution and performance. For context, the below metrics refer to loading from the title screen directly into gameplay. 

Backwards compatibility does have its disadvantages, however. If, in the past, a title hadn’t received an update to enable support for the Xbox One X, it can look particularly rough visually. While it’s smooth and satisfying to play, Watch Dogs 2 is a mess of aliasing artefacts and poor draw distances, since it’s working from the technological compromises applied by the original Xbox One hardware. 

Similar complaints can be levelled at games such as Alien Isolation and Wolfenstein: The New Order , which don’t reap all of the benefits of Series X simply as a result of their original state. This isn’t a deal-breaker, but something worth taking into account for those who plan to dig deep into their existing libraries. Those titles with dedicated updates are a different story entirely, with Final Fantasy XV being given a second lease of life with dramatically enhanced loading times and performance that’s now locked at 60fps. 

It’s a similar story with Monster Hunter World and NieR: Automata , which show that previous generation titles with unlocked frame rates are now able to go much further without making the Series X break a sweat. Games with locked frame rates can’t be changed on Series X, so it’s only possible to benefit from backwards compatibility to a degree before you hit a wall. Nevertheless, having access to so many games at your fingertips is a net positive, even if they could be pushed further with a bit of tinkering. 

Exactly what the word “optimised” means will vary depending on the title, but you can usually expect improved performance, visual fidelity and graphical features such as ray tracing and 120fps performance that simply weren’t possible on the previous generation of consoles.

Gears 5 is easily the most impressive example, taking a third-person shooter that already ran beautifully on Xbox One X and enhancing it even further. 

The Coalition has put its own personal touch into a new update that builds on the visual fidelity with increased detail across its characters and environments. Series X also allowed the studio to decrease latency in controls, resulting in a far smoother experience overall when actively reloading amidst hordes of locusts. The big takeaway is 120fps multiplayer for those with compatible displays, doubling the smoothness of the action in a very significant way.

Another flagship title is Yakuza: Like a Dragon , a series that’s been a PlayStation mainstay since its inception – but it’s now hopped into Microsoft’s open arms too. The eccentric RPG can be played in two modes, one that prioritises performance, and another that amps up the visuals to unprecedented levels.

Given its status as a turn-based RPG, the majority of my playthrough was spent at 4K/30fps, happy with the lower level of performance so the luscious cities of Yokohama and Kamurocho could really shine. But if you’d rather play at 60fps at 1440p, the option is there, and it marks the first time the engine has achieved such a benchmark on console. 

The reflections of streetlights in shallow puddles possess a luminescence on Series X that’s lacking in older consoles, while the increased resolution allows characters and buildings to pop with flair. Aliasing and jagged edges are vastly reduced on both modes, showing that serious effort has gone into making Yakuza shine. 

• Home screen is the same as previous Xbox
• Microsoft is working on an upgrade
• Lags behind PS5 in terms of navigation speed

The user interface for Xbox Series X is virtually identical to the previous generation, although the power of the console allows for everything to feel far more cohesive and satisfying during moment-to-moment navigation. You can transition between menus and applications within seconds, instead of having to wait for assets to load on Xbox One. It’s such a stark difference, and I found it hard to go back when revisiting older hardware. 

Microsoft still favours a tile-based dashboard, with your open and most recently played games sitting in the top row. It’s by no means a bad interface, but it’s pretty cluttered, and whether you like it or not there will always be a few adverts displayed on the home screen. You can change the background to either a static or dynamic theme, but the abundance of tiles means it’s always going to be at least partly obstructed, and I do wish for the more minimalist redesign Microsoft has reportedly been working on for some time. Still, it’s easy to hop into the Game Pass section of the dashboard, and that’s where I’d imagine most people will be spending most of their time browsing. 

Sharing screenshots and videos has been a part of the Xbox ecosystem for several years now, and the new controller allows you to capture them with a touch of a button. It’s seamless, and everything you take will be automatically uploaded to Xbox Live for saving and sharing after the fact. Or, you can do it directly from your console. 

There are still a few more hoops to jump through before sharing a screenshot than I’d like, and the experience lags behind the PS5 in terms of overall speed – but it’s a far cry from what came before it.

Accessing your games, engaging with online communities and even swapping games between different drives is a breeze, demonstrating the impact of the SSD. Quick Resume is a revolutionary new feature that’s changed how I approach gaming on Xbox platforms. 

It lets you seamlessly switch between a maximum of six games almost instantly, dropping you directly into the action without having to load progress or wait for an onslaught of logos to pass by. I was shocked by the fluidity of this feature, branding it as witchcraft after Quick Resume was able to recall the states for several games after having been unplugged overnight. 

The SSD is caching instances of each game into its storage, which the Series X is able to switch between in an instant. There’s no negative impact on performance or visuals as a result; you’re simply returning to a game as if it’s been freshly booted. Certain titles that rely on a constant internet connection don’t support the feature right now, which is understandable, but the fact that the majority of experiences both old and new support this feature out of the box is staggering.

Xbox Series X also comes with a 4K Blu-ray player, which is far more capable than what was packaged with the One X and One S. Testing a film that supports both 4K and HDR, the experience was smooth, responsive and the image on-screen looked positively gorgeous. 

Game library

• Slim number of high-quality exclusives
• Game Pass subscription is an absolute bargain

When it comes to the Xbox Series X and games, it’s all about Game Pass. Microsoft’s subscription service remains the best in gaming by some distance, even if there haven’t been too many new first-party titles to download or stream in the last 18 months or so. 

With a top-tier Game Pass Ultimate plan (£12.99/$16.99 a month) you have access to over 100 rotating games. Any Microsoft-published game (including Bethesda titles) launches on Game Pass day one and stays there, which is not a benefit Sony currently offers on any of its PS Plus tiers. Game Pass Ultimate also rolls in an EA Play membership, which includes a collection of EA’s most popular titles, and often time-limited trials for new games. 

While all of the above undeniably makes for a very good deal, I must point out that first-party Xbox games haven’t exactly been coming in thick and fast recently. Starfield was one of the only standout games of 2023 finally arrived, and while it’s a solid offering, isn’t able to bridge the gap with PlayStation with its offerings of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 , God of War Ragnarok , and Horizon Forbidden West .

Still, Game Pass has never just been about first-party games. Microsoft still regularly lands deals with indie publishers and AAA big hitters alike, while you could probably spend an entire year playing through the fantastic Persona series alone, which is now available on Game Pass.

The future of the service is unclear, but right now, no Xbox Series X owner should be without it. And if you’re playing catchup on the last few years, you have a veritable digital goldmine of Halo Infinite , Psychonauts 2 , Forza Horizon 5 and Sea of Thieves sitting there waiting for you. 

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Should you buy it.

You want the most powerful Xbox ever

The Xbox Series X crushes all Xbox consoles before it in terms of raw power, and is technically superior to the PS5, even if this isn’t necessarily always reflected by the performance of third-party titles.

You don’t need the flagship Xbox experience

The Xbox Series X isn’t the only Xbox in town these days. For considerably less cash you can pick up the Xbox Series S , which lacks true 4K performance and the ability to play physical games, but still supports features like Quick Resume and Smart Delivery.

Final Thoughts

The Xbox Series X offers plenty of major upgrades on its predecessor, including 4K graphics with support for ray tracing , super-speedy SSDs to pace through loading screens and features like Quick Resume that allow you to boot up a game right where you left it.

But if I’m completely honest, the new-gen experience we were promised by both Microsoft and Sony hasn’t quite materialised yet. We’re yet to see the hardware pushed to its limit, with Microsoft’s insistence on supporting previous hardware arguably holding back its potential. And while Microsoft has made steps to improve the first-party catalogue with major acquisitions, that’s yet to bear much fruit – the PS5 still leads that contest.

Game Pass is probably still the most appealing aspect of the Xbox platform, and I’ve never even considered cancelling it. But Microsoft still has some way to go to entice players over from the PS5 ecosystem.

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How we test.

In order to test the Xbox Series X, we played a number of games and compared its performance to rival consoles such as the PS5.

We’ve also made sure to check the latest firmware updates and design alterations to make sure this review is up-to-date for modern-day buyers.

Tested multipled games to gauge performance.

Compared performance to the PS5 and Xbox Series S.

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The Xbox Series X is technically capable of 8K output, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be playing the next Forza game in 8K. With so little 8K content and so few 8K TV owners out there, the functionality has not yet been unlocked on the Series X. Game developers, meanwhile, are still concentrating on 4K gaming and I don’t see that changing any time soon, especially given how difficult it is proving to be for the current consoles to even maintain native 4K visuals alongside high frame rates.

Yes. Microsoft has put a huge amount of effort into ensuring that the bulk of the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and original Xbox libraries are compatible with the Xbox Series X and S. Not every game will work on the console, but the vast majority do, and most of the time they automatically look and run better than they ever did on the older hardware.

Game Pass Ultimate isn’t exactly cheap, but this gives you access to more than 100 games, either on the console itself or over the cloud on a supported streaming device such as your smartphone or the Steam Deck . Every game Microsoft publishes is available to download on Game Pass from day one, and will stay there, which was the company’s big promise at the beginning of this generation. The downside is that third-party games are eventually removed from the service, so if you’re halfway through something that suddenly leaves Game Pass, you’ll need to purchase it from the Microsoft Store to continue playing.

Like the PS5, the Xbox Series X is very expensive and is rarely significantly discounted. Most of the console’s games are also playable on the older Xbox One, and so far we haven’t had many Series X experiences that feel truly next-gen. The console promises 4K/60fps gaming, but if you want to enjoy advanced lighting features such as ray tracing, you’ll rarely be able to do so without sacrificing performance.

Jargon buster

Matt has been writing for Trusted Reviews since 2022 as a freelancer. He was previously the Hot Stuff Editor at Stuff.TV, a Staff Writer for JOE.co.uk and a Freelance Contributor for Comedy Central.

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Xbox Series X review: A 4K beast in need of games

It’s basically a silent gaming pc in your living room..

The Xbox Series X is an apology for the Xbox One in almost every way. Microsoft's last console was weighed down by being $100 more than the PlayStation 4 at launch — even though it had less GPU power — and it featured a bundled Kinect camera that wasn't very useful. The company tried to course-correct with mid-generation systems, the Xbox One S and One X , but by then the damage was done. As of this year, the PS4 is estimated to have sold more than twice as many units as the Xbox One.

So with the Series X, Microsoft is trying to get everything right from the start. It's being positioned as the ultimate gaming console, with far more performance than its previous powerhouse, the Xbox One X. This new machine can deliver 4K gaming more reliably, push up to 120 frames per second, and load games far faster than ever before. It'll even play all of your old games with better performance and HDR! It's as if Microsoft is just begging gamers to love it.

Microsoft Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X is Microsoft’s ultimate gaming console, with the ability to deliver 4K games at 60 fps and beyond.

• Powerful hardware
• Near-silent fan
• An SSD speeds up load times
• Extensive backward compatibility
• Adds HDR to older games
• Launching without compelling games
• Few titles use ray tracing right now

And after playing the system for the past week, it's definitely something hardcore players will appreciate. It delivers most of what you'd want from a decent gaming PC, except it's in a convenient console box. But do you need one right away? Given that there aren't many compelling exclusives, that's a more complicated question.

Hardware: Putting the box in Xbox

Yes, the Xbox Series X is big , which seems to be the trend for this console generation. It measures 5.9 inches by 5.9 inches and stands about a foot tall, giving it an almost perfectly rectangular profile. It also weighs a hefty 9.8 pounds, over a pound heavier than the Xbox One X. We're used to Microsoft's recent systems being a bit boxy, but the Series is more like a shrunken computer case than something you'd expect to find underneath your TV. Once I got over the initial shock of seeing it in person though, I warmed up to it pretty quickly.

Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X feels strong and sturdy — though not as dense as the significantly smaller One X. The case itself is made out of thick plastic, with minimal design flourishes. Up front, there's a disc slot, a single USB port and a controller pairing button, while the small Xbox power button sits in the corner. The one bit of flair you'll definitely notice is the giant fan exhaust at the top, which features an array of holes (a tryptophobe's nightmare) with neon green accents alongside one of the largest electronics fans you've ever seen.

You can orient the console vertically — where it truly gives off PC tower vibes — or horizontally. I appreciated the small rubber feet on one side of the system, which made it clear that it was meant to sit on the floor in horizontal mode. (This may seem like an odd thing to call out now, but keep it in mind for our PlayStation 5 review.) The only downside with that position is that the circular vertical stand is left sticking up, as if the Series X is a Star Wars   Droid that's fallen and can't get up. In practice, that didn't bug me too much, but I've seen a few folks on Twitter wishing they could remove it entirely.

The Xbox Series X fit cleanly inside of my entertainment system when laying on its side. (Perhaps because it so closely resembles Logitech's large Hyperboom speaker, it seemed right at home alongside my Pioneer center channel speaker.) I just had to make sure to leave some open space for the fan to eject warm air. The Series X doesn't spew out as much heat as a gaming PC, but I'd bet it wouldn't be happy in a closed entertainment center. You've got to give all of your new consoles some room to breath, because they're pushing a ton of pixels.

So sure, the Series X just looks like a box. But it's what's inside that's truly compelling. The Xbox Series X is powered by a custom 8-core Zen 2 CPU running up to 3.8GHz and a powerful new 12-teraflop RDNA 2 GPU. That's impressive, but remember it's pretty much the same hardware that's inside of the PS5. The difference is that Microsoft’s console has a larger GPU to eke out a couple more TFLOPs of performance. While they both offer 16GB of fast GDDR6 RAM, Microsoft offers faster bandwidth than the PS5 for 10GB of that memory. The remaining 6GB, meanwhile, runs slower than Sony's console.

The Series X also features a speedy 1TB NVMe SSD, which is light years faster than the slow mechanical drives in the previous Xbox consoles. If you've moved from a laptop with a traditional hard drive to an SSD, it's pretty much the same leap. The Xbox Series X is able to move large data files much faster and with less latency, which is key for the massive textures 4K gaming demands. You can also expand the system's storage with Seagate's $220 1TB expansion drive , which fits into a rear slot on the console. That drive may seem expensive today, but that's not too far off high-end NVMe SSDs for PCs, and it'll deliver the same speeds as the internal SSD.

Additionally, you can use a standard USB 3.1 external hard drive for "cold storage" for Series X games, though you'll have to move them to the internal SSD or Seagate expansion drive to play them. Older backwards compatible games, meanwhile, can be played right from the USB drive, though load times will suffer.

While Microsoft clearly put a ton of thought into the Series X's overall design, the new controller is only slightly different than before. There's a circular directional pad that's satisfyingly clicky, a share button sandwiched below the two middle buttons, and some rough bumps along the underside of the handles to help with grip. It runs on two AA batteries, as usual, and holds a charge as long as existing Xbox gamepads, lasting three-ish days with regular use for me. The company basically lifted as many ideas as it could from the Xbox Elite Controller without changing the overall design of its standard gamepads. Xbox fans will be right at home here, but after seeing the amount of innovation Sony stuffed into the DualSense, it's disappointing that Microsoft didn't deliver anything truly special with its new high-end console.

Getting started: Waiting game

Setup is pretty simple: Settle on vertical or horizontal mode, plug in the power and bundled HDMI 2.1 cord, and turn the system on. You can use the Xbox mobile app to configure WiFi and other settings, though in practice that failed half-way through for me. While it worked fine to connect to my WiFi, the app lost sync with my console afterwards, so I had to complete the setup using my controller. That was easy enough, but it was disappointing to have one of the first "next gen" aspects of the system fail right out of the gate.

Once the system booted up with the familiar Xbox One chime (and an impressive new launch sequence), I was thrust into the new Xbox user interface. And thankfully, it's nothing like the last one: I was able to fly through menus, load up store pages, and navigate my large library of games with ease. For once, it felt like I was racing to keep up with the speed of the system, instead waiting for it to catch up to me, like the previous Xbox One lineup. The new interface (which is also available on the earlier systems) looks great overall, with an emphasis on large images and simple navigation. The one downside is that it’s rendered in 1080p, instead of 4K like the PS5’s, but in practice that’s not something I noticed much. Though it could be an issue if you sit very close to the screen.

As with every modern console, I couldn't just get straight to gaming. My first task was to nab a required system update, which took around five minutes. Then I started downloading everything I needed to play. That included some new Xbox Series X enhanced titles, like Dirt 5 and Yakuza: Like a Dragon , along with older games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved (yes, seriously). And then I just had to... wait. Downloads over my WiFi connection came at a steady 100 Mbps, which was fast enough to install a 75GB title like Forza Horizon 4 in an hour or two, depending on whatever else was going on in my network.

I just queued up a bunch of games and let the system do its work overnight, but I'm sure kids and parents would be crestfallen when they discover how long it'll take to actually play something. (That's something Sony avoided a bit with the PS5, since it preinstalled Astro's Playroom on every system.) So here's a PSA for every parent out there: If you're gifting an Xbox Series X, or any modern console for that matter, be sure to set up the system beforehand, download the necessary updates, and install every game you're planning to give your child. And if possible, do it overnight while connecting to your router over Ethernet.

Okay enough table setting, how well does the Xbox Series X play games? In a word, spectacularly. In a preview version of Dirt 5 , there's an extra level of detail throughout its different cars and terrain, especially if you're racing through a wet and muddy roadway. It features three different modes for graphics: one focused on maintaining a solid 60 fps frame rate with a dynamic 4K resolution, another on delivering higher image quality in 4K/60 fps, and one devoted to delivering a blazing fast 120 fps experience. You'll need a modern HDMI 2.1 display with 120Hz support to run the latter mode, otherwise you won't even see it in the menu.

While testing the game on LG's 48-inch CX OLED, every mode looked fantastic. But I generally leaned towards the framerate mode, which maintained a steady 60 fps better than the image quality mode, which traded a bit of a performance dip for higher quality shadows and reflections. I was surprised to see 120 fps support in a launch Series X game, and that performed even more smoothly than the other two modes. With a higher framerate, the game is even more responsive when you're zipping along roads at high speeds. But I didn't think the loss of graphical fidelity was worth the extra frames — 60 fps was smooth enough for me.

I can't stress this enough, the leap from 30 fps performance on older consoles to 60 fps is a night and day difference. While a handful of games delivered that higher framerate on the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro, now it's practically a requirement. It's not subtle like the jump to 4K rendering. At 60 fps, gameplay just looks smoother, and everything reacts more quickly to your inputs. The jump to 120 fps takes that concept even further, but it's not nearly as transformative as the difference between 30 and 60 fps.

Gears 5 , which is optimized to run on the Series X, feels like a completely new game. The campaign and cutscenes now run at 60 fps with a dynamic 4K resolution, and they both look better too with support for ray-traced lighting and higher graphical settings across the board. I honestly had a hard time telling the difference between the game running on the new console and on my gaming PC with an RTX 3080. Notably, the PC version of Gears 5 doesn't even have that ray tracing feature yet.

On Series X, the game also loads levels in around 10 seconds, instead of the upwards of 30 seconds it took on the One X. That's purely the benefit of running off an SSD — the game doesn't support the full capabilities of the console's faster "Velocity" architecture just yet. But it's a reminder of just how big the leap can be when you move away from a mechanical hard drive.

Gears 5 also supports 120 fps in the multiplayer mode, which strips away some graphical fidelity to make room for more frames. It was the smoothest I've ever seen the game — rolling around enemies, mowing them down with shotguns and trading cover fire never felt better on a console. A higher frame rate also means less latency, which was particularly useful when aiming for headshots with sniper rifles. It's as if there's nothing getting in the way between your button presses and the game's on-screen response. The smoother the framerate, the more your gamepad feels like an extension of your body.

While I was mowing down baddies in a massive Gears 5 set piece, I also noticed something strange: the Xbox Series X is practically silent. It turns out, that giant fan, and the system's tower aesthetic, do a solid job of cooling things down without making much noise. Perhaps future games will make the fan kick up more, but I couldn't make it any louder than a pleasant whir no matter how hard I tried.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon also offers three different performance modes, focusing on 4K rendering, a high 60 fps frame rate, and a balanced normal mode, which runs near 60 fps while balancing graphical fidelity. Every mode looked good, though, as always, I leaned towards the higher framerates. Even on a new TV like the CX, the immediate benefits of more frames are far more noticeable than native 4K rendering.

I'll admit, I didn't have many games to try that truly took advantage of the system's capabilities. At the time of this review, I couldn't play upcoming titles like Watch Dogs Legion and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla . And of course, Microsoft's one intriguing launch title, Halo Infinite , is now delayed until next year . Some first party games, like Forza Horizon 4 , run more smoothly on the system, but there wasn't a huge difference in visual fidelity from the Xbox One X version. A handful of titles though, like Sea of Thieves , get a better upgrade to 4K/60FPS, over lower rendering or 30FPS.

Even if a game isn't optimized for the Series X, it'll still benefit from running on a speedy SSD and having the headroom of a modern GPU. Red Dead Redemption 2 , in particular, loaded a full minute faster compared to the Xbox One X. Getting into the game still took around 30 seconds, which isn't the lightning fast next-gen experience I was looking forward to, but at least it's better than the 90-plus seconds on the old console. Red Dead 2 also ran in 4K at a steady 30 fps, with no performance dips. I'm hoping Rockstar spends some time optimizing it for new consoles so we can see a 60 fps option and more graphical flourishes.

The Series X's backwards compatibility with Xbox One, 360 and even original Xbox games is another draw. That's a nearly 20-year library of titles to play, all of which will get some benefit from the new console's hardware. Again, faster load times is key, but Microsoft can also dynamically add HDR to older games, a unique feature I've never seen before on any hardware. It's not just like the faux-HDR settings you may have on your TV: It relies on AI to add lighting highlights where appropriate. That made playing games like Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved and Alan Wake transformative. Bright lights almost popped off my OLED screen, and it made me excited to try other old titles on the system.

It's occasionally buggy — sometimes Alan Wake would blow out lights through a window inappropriately — but the overall experience was still impressive. I hope Microsoft eventually adds the ability to tune those HDR settings though, something that's fairly standard with HDR-enabled games. And it'd be nice to turn off the feature entirely for those who want to preserve the original game experience.

As I tested out multiple games, I quickly learned how powerful Microsoft's Quick Resume feature can be. It lets you jump right back into a game from where you left off, rather than restarting it through their title screen. I was able to move from Red Dead Redemption 2 to my Gears 5 session in about five seconds. After that, it took just three seconds to jump back into Alan Wake . You’re limited to however many games it takes to fill up the system’s cache, and not every game fully supports Quick Resume just yet, so just make sure to save regularly. Microsoft attempted to deliver a similar capability with the Xbox One, but it was so unreliable I never used it. At least this time, it seems rock solid and genuinely useful.

And speaking of older games, you've got access to a ton of them through Game Pass, Microsoft's subscription service that grants you access to a large library of titles. That includes access to first-party games, a rotating set of popular games, select titles from EA Access and eventually Bethesda games. I've argued before that it's one of the best deals in gaming today, especially if you're paying for Game Pass Ultimate, which includes Xbox Live multiplayer for $15 a month. Xbox All Access, which includes Game Pass Ultimate along with a no-interest loan for the Series S or X, is arguably the best way to get one of the next-gen systems.

Game Pass isn't a requirement for Series X owners, but I'd strongly recommend it. That's especially true if you're a parent who doesn't want to go bankrupt buying your kids new games every week.

Of course, the Series X can do more than just play games. It can play 4K Blu-rays just fine, and it supports all of the streaming video apps you'd expect, including Apple TV . Thanks to its more powerful processor, navigating video apps felt faster than the One X, but that's clearly not a demanding task since even budget streaming boxes are fairly zippy these days.

So, do you need one?

As impressed as I was by the Series X, even I'll admit there aren't many compelling new games to make it a "must buy" $500 system. At least it's less of a niche upgrade than the One X, which only offered slightly faster GPU performance. If you've managed to survive with an original Xbox One, or the One S, you'll see some huge performance upgrades from the Series X. And I'd imagine Xbox One X owners, at least those demanding the best performance, will see a need to upgrade.

And here's the thing, if you've got an older 4K or 1080p TV, and you don't see yourself upgrading anytime soon, the Series X may be too much console for you. That's where the cheaper $299 Series S comes in . It'll run every new Xbox game, but it'll just aim for a lower resolution. And it still comes with all of the other advantage from the Series X, like backwards compatibility, automatic HDR, and a fast SSD. The big downside is that it only comes with 362GB of storage available from a 512GB drive, which limits the amount of games you can fit without spending more on an additional drive. And if you're spending $220 on Seagate's 1TB expansion drive , you might as well just get the Series X.

At this point, it's hard to compare the Series X to the PlayStation 5, mainly because we can't discuss everything Sony's system offers. But if you just care about impressive next-generation games, like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and the Demon's Souls remake,   it may be the better option for you. But that's not a real surprise — Sony's consoles have always excelled when it comes to big-budget exclusives. It's a shame Microsoft couldn't line up enough games to tempt away a stubborn Sony fan. But that's understandable, considering how difficult things are for developers, and everyone really, during the coronavirus epidemic.

The Xbox Series X is everything the Xbox One wasn't. It's fast in every way, it handles 4K gaming with ease, and it obliterates lengthy loading times. It's purely focused on delivering the best gaming experience possible, instead of being a half-hearted all-in-one entertainment device. The only problem is there aren't many compelling games at launch, which leaves Microsoft a bit flat-footed against the PS5. Still, even without many exclusive games, the Series X will run many existing games just as well as a modern PC. And for many gamers, that's enough.

Jessica Conditt contributed to this review.

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Choosing the Right Xbox: Series X or Series S

By Arthur Gies

Arthur Gies is an editor for Wirecutter's tech coverage. He's written about video games since 2008 and covers drawing tablets, iPad styluses and more.

The current generation of Xbox consoles presents what might seem like a confusing choice: the $500 Xbox Series X and the $300 Xbox Series S . The two are based on a similar foundation, and they will play all of the same games for years to come. But the Series X and Series S each target a different level of graphics performance, and they take different approaches to physical media: The Series X supports discs while the Series S is digital only. With that in mind, we’re here to help you figure out which Xbox you should buy—or if you need to buy one at all.

Everything we recommend

Microsoft Xbox Series X

The best xbox.

The Xbox Series X has the most power of any current-gen console and has almost twice the storage as the Series S. Get the Series X if you’ll use it with a 4K TV (now or eventually), want the absolute best in graphics and performance, or want a disc drive for games and movies.

Buying Options

Microsoft Xbox Series S (512GB)

Less for less.

Games on the Series S are less likely to take advantage of TVs with 4K resolution, and it lacks a disc drive—a downside if you own a lot of physical games or movies or like to buy them used. But it’s smaller and lighter, capable of playing new-generation games, and a great value paired with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

Microsoft Xbox Series S (1TB)

A little more storage for a little more money.

The 1TB Series S has twice the storage, but otherwise, it's for the same audience as the original: gamers without 4K TVs or for people looking for a great, Game Pass-oriented value.

With better graphics, more storage, and a disc drive, the Microsoft Xbox Series X justifies its higher price—but whether those features are worth paying for depends on what kind of display you’re playing it on. If you have a 4K TV with high-end features such as Dolby Vision, 120 Hz, and variable refresh rate, or if you plan to get one, the Series X is likely worth choosing over the Series S. Both consoles offer impressively fast storage that improves boot-up and load times, but the Series X has more than 800 GB of storage available internally, nearly twice the available capacity of the Series S. Plus, if you have a collection of physical Xbox One, Xbox 360, or original-Xbox games that you want to keep playing, only the Series X has a disc drive.

On the other hand, if you don’t have a 4K TV (and won’t buy one soon), if space in your entertainment center is a concern, or if you don’t have or plan to buy many physical discs, the Microsoft Xbox Series S offers a lot of value and still gives you the chance to play the new generation of games to come. And anyone who mostly plays games from Xbox Game Pass —the monthly subscription service that provides access to hundreds of games, including new releases—probably won’t miss the disc drive. We also think that makes the Series S an especially budget-conscious choice for younger kids, since the less expensive console and monthly membership add up to more games than a kid can play, so you have no need to buy new ones all the time. The Series S might be a good option for some travelers and hosts, too: If you’re going somewhere for an extended stay, the Series S can easily fit in a carry-on piece of luggage, and if you have a guest room or vacation rental, a Series S adds a lot beyond a regular media streaming box.

The Xbox Series S comes in two variations: a white version with 512 GB of storage with an MSRP of $300, and a black version with 1 TB of storage, priced at $350. We recommend the cheaper configuration, though it’s sometimes difficult to find it new at online retailers.

The research

Xbox series x vs. xbox series s: what’s the difference, why should you get an xbox series x|s, the xbox series controller, xbox game pass, frequently asked questions.

The Xbox Series X and Series S offer a lot of the same experiences. But with a $200 price difference come some legitimate differences in their capabilities.

• Game selection and disc drive: The Series X and Series S can play the same new games, and both are backward compatible, which means they’re capable of playing virtually any game that you could play on an Xbox One (which, in turn, encompasses hundreds of Xbox 360 games and a handful of original-Xbox games). The Series S, however, doesn’t have a disc drive and therefore can’t play physical games.
• Resolution: Both the Series X and Series S can output a 4K video signal, so watching videos on a 4K TV should be the same on either machine. But if you plan to play games on a 4K display , you should choose the Series X. The Series X is designed for games with resolutions of up to 4K, while the Series S has less-powerful graphics hardware designed more for 1080p and sometimes 1440p visuals.
• Graphics-quality support: The Series X and Series S have the same basic graphics capabilities, including support for variable refresh rate, variable rate shading, and ray-traced visuals, though some games have already omitted ray tracing if you’re playing on a Series S .
• Base storage: While the Series X includes a 1 TB storage drive, which offers about 800 GB of usable space, the Series S has a 512 GB drive with about 360 GB of usable space.
• Expandable storage: Both the Series X and Series S include a slot that allows for expandable storage in the form of cards using the CFexpress connection standard. The only officially licensed memory cards (from Seagate) typically retail for $140 for 512 GB, $185 for 1 TB , and $360 for 2 TB . However, both the Series X and Series S still support external USB drives, as the Xbox One does, and any Xbox One–formatted drive will work right away on either new console.
• Size: The Xbox Series X is a tall block measuring about 12 inches tall and approximately 6 by 6 inches at the base. The Series S, meanwhile, is 11 by 5.9 by 2.6 inches—it’s the smallest Xbox ever, and it’s designed to be set vertically or horizontally.

If you don’t own a new console and want to play major new releases, it’s time to upgrade. Support for the Xbox One console is ending, and some of the biggest games of the year, including the high-profile Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 remakes, skipped that machine. Even major Xbox exclusives such as Starfield (video)  and Forza Motorsport are Xbox Series X|S exclusives.

Booting up the Xbox Series X or the Xbox Series S for the first time makes it immediately apparent how much things have changed. New Xbox consoles allow you to handle most of the process via your Android phone or iPhone and the newest version of the Xbox app, and you can even restore the settings, preferences, and game files from your existing console and cloud storage. The process takes just a few minutes, start to finish.

The most immediately obvious improvements in the Series X and Series S are in speed, as they create a snappier, speedy experience from top to bottom. And these changes are evident even before you make it to the console dashboard: Both the Series X and Series S take approximately nine seconds to boot from an unpowered, unplugged state to the console home screen, and returning from standby mode is only a couple of seconds faster.

Because of those fast boot times, we recommend that you use either console’s enhanced power-saving settings, which allow the machine to draw a fraction of the power it would require on normal settings while on standby. The Xbox settings screen conveniently demonstrates the console’s changes in power usage depending on your settings.

We also recommend using the power-saving modes partly because of another Xbox Series X|S feature: Quick Resume. This feature creates saved states for the games you’re playing, allowing you to load back into supported games exactly where you last were, even if you’ve turned off (or unplugged) your console. Quick Resume has gotten better and better over the past year, and the only games it seems to cause issues in are always-online titles that rely on a server connection. I’ve occasionally been surprised to find games that I haven’t played in weeks or even months waiting to be quickly resumed, and I’ve been able to pop back into each game exactly where I left off.

Games and saves on an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S are stored on hardware based on NVMe storage. This tech contributes to some of the most obvious improvements to the overall user experience and gaming experience on this new console generation, helping to produce a night-and-day difference in console startup, game boot-ups, and in-game load times.

If you’re coming from a previous-generation console, the differences in responsiveness and speed will be immediately apparent. In addition to the impressively fast boot times, switching apps is notably fast, and they load almost instantly (depending in part on your internet connection). If you’ve been using an Xbox One for years, the difference is, to be blunt, shocking—think of it like buying your first new phone in seven years. It’s that level of improvement.

Software improvements

Though the interface in the Xbox Series X|S is much faster, it’s very similar to that of the Xbox One. The Xbox Series X|S consoles offer full external-storage support, game-level support and customization for features like Auto HDR and FPS Boost, and robust variable refresh rate support (using low frame-rate compensation , in the best console implementation of this feature that we’ve seen). We also appreciate features likes automatic night mode, which adjusts the interface colors depending on the time of day and even reduces the brightness output of the console and its status lights, as well as little things like bonus animated dashboard backgrounds, including a special Xbox 20th-anniversary theme that’s enabled when you connect a limited-edition 20th-anniversary controller to your console.

Better graphics on old games, great graphics on new games

The Series X and Series S are both more graphically powerful than previous consoles in a variety of ways. In most titles, you can expect higher resolutions, higher frame rates, and more detailed characters and environments compared with the same games on the Xbox One or the PlayStation 4, all with better image quality. Effects should also be more pronounced and sophisticated, as the graphics hardware in these consoles can pull off greater amounts of fancy tricks such as smoke and fog with physical properties and lighting that creates shadows and reflections more like you’d find in the real world.

The Series X and Series S (and the PlayStation 5 ) support hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which allows for much more sophisticated visual effects and lighting . Note, however, that even though both consoles support ray tracing, those effects are absent in many games on the Series S. Forza Motorsport is a great example of both—it features ray traced reflections and shadows on the Xbox Series X, but these features aren’t available on the Xbox Series S.

The Series X and Series S also have similar, powerful CPUs—more than four times as powerful as the Xbox One and PS4. This opens the door to more sophisticated character and game behaviors, and just more stuff on screen at any given moment. The biggest improvements are most apparent in frame rates, which should hit 60 frames per second much more often than on the Xbox One or PS4, resulting in smoother-feeling and smoother-playing games. And when games can’t maintain consistent frame rates, support for variable refresh rates should help keep those games from feeling unresponsive. Examples in this regard include Dead Island 2 , Diablo 4 , and Elden Ring , all of which offer 60 fps modes on the Series X and Series S, something you can’t get on the Xbox One.

A number of titles originally released for the Xbox One have received frame-rate improvements on the Xbox Series X|S; Gears 5 , the entirety of Halo: The Master Chief Collection , and Ori and the Will of the Wisps have all received 120 fps updates for the two new consoles. Controls also feel more responsive, in part because the Xbox team has rewritten the software behind its controllers with a feature called Dynamic Latency Input .

You can still play your old games—and they’ll look better

For players with an existing library of Xbox software, the Series X and Series S both offer nearly blanket backward compatibility, so they can run almost the entire collection of Xbox One–compatible software, which in turn includes hundreds of Xbox 360 and original-Xbox games. (The exception is Kinect software and hardware. None of that will work on either new console.) What’s more, every Xbox One–compatible piece of software runs and looks better on the Series X and the Series S than it did on previous-generation consoles. The Auto HDR feature, which uses an algorithm to tweak a game’s picture to take advantage of modern televisions’ ability to show brighter images with better contrast, helps to produce a beautiful new sense of vibrance in games like Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 . In a few games, this feature results in image quality that looks a little funny, but you can disable it on a per-game basis.

Microsoft also offers, for selected titles, FPS Boost , which is a proprietary software technique that allows the Xbox Series X|S consoles to effectively double the targeted frame rate of backward-compatible games without the need for official patches from the original game developer. For some games, this means they’ll run at 60 fps (or thereabouts) for the first time on consoles. For others, it means 120 fps on supported televisions. Even a number of Xbox 360 games (a console that was released in 2005 and ended support in 2014!) have received improvements, including a 4K and 60 fps update for Fallout 3 .

Even when Microsoft isn’t delivering improvements at a system level, many game developers have continued to patch older titles with improvements for these new systems. And Xbox’s Smart Delivery feature seamlessly ensures that you’ll play the best version of a game available to you—which sounds obvious but unfortunately is not, as PlayStation multiplatform releases now routinely maintain separate installations of PS4 and PS5 versions.

The Xbox Series consoles come with a slightly reworked controller, which features a share button in the middle below the jewel icon, and textured grips and triggers. It’s an evolution of a great controller design, but if you have older Xbox One pads, don’t worry. Every Xbox One accessory released since 2013 (with the notable exception of the Kinect) works with both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Every first- and third-party controller, every fight stick, every driving wheel, every media remote, and every already formatted storage device is compatible with the newer consoles. Those controllers need a firmware update, however. After the update, previous-generation controllers also gain improved latency with the new consoles.

The internal storage of your Series X or Series S could fill up quickly if you download and play a lot of games and don’t want to delete and redownload them. The Series X’s drive, labeled as 1 TB, has 802 GB of available storage space at launch, accounting for both the actual formatted size of the drive and the system files and cache space allocated to the console’s operating system. The Series S, meanwhile, ships with 364 GB of available free space, and a modern Call of Duty could take up more than half of that .

The only add-on storage option that can run Series X|S–exclusive software directly is an officially licensed Western Digital or Seagate Storage Expansion Card . These are just as speedy as the consoles’ internal storage, but that performance comes at a cost: The 1 TB option currently has a retail price of $145; 512 GB and 2 TB options are also available. Unlike the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series X|S consoles do not allow you to install a standard PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive, but these expansion cards slot easily into the back of your console with no tools required.

If you’re willing to park your less-played games so you don’t have to redownload them, we’d recommend external solid-state drives. You can’t play current-generation games from an external drive, but they can be quickly copied to or from an external SSD to your console. We like our portable SSD pick, the Samsung T7 Shield , but you could also use a plain SSD attached via a USB-to-SATA cable. Digital Foundry has reported that backward-compatible games load almost as fast on an external SSD. USB hard drives like the Toshiba Canvio Flex are the most affordable option, but load times on last-generation games will be only somewhat better than on the Xbox One, and you can’t play Series X|S software on them.

Any drives you’re already using with an Xbox One console will work on your Series X or Series S. Plug them in, and any Xbox One, Xbox 360, or original-Xbox games you have installed on them will appear automatically and be playable, barring any required updates.

Xbox Game Pass (and Xbox Live)

An Xbox Game Pass subscription provides access to a huge library of games, from indie titles to major, full-priced releases. It’s the best deal in video gaming, but it can be a little confusing to know which tier to subscribe to for the features you want.

In September 2023, Xbox Live Gold, which was required for multiplayer access on Xbox, became Xbox Game Pass Core . In addition to online multiplayer, for $10 a month you’ll also receive access to a collection of 25 games, which occasionally sees removals and additions.

Xbox Game Pass (non-Core), doesn’t include access to online multiplayer, but the $11-per-month subscription gets you unlimited access to Xbox’s first-party titles and a huge number of third party and independent games as well.

Then there’s PC Game Pass, which doesn’t include multiplayer, because PC gamers don’t pay for that privilege. Otherwise, it’s all the great stuff about Game Pass, and it includes access to the EA Play library, all for $10 a month.

Then, finally, there’s Game Pass Ultimate, which for $17 a month includes online multiplayer access, Xbox and PC Game Pass, and also EA Play, which adds dozens of games from Electronic Arts, including additional recent titles. This is all extremely confusing, but we recommend Game Pass Ultimate unless you plan on buying dozens of new games every year (and maybe even if you are). Game Pass is a trove of hidden gems, providing access to many higher-profile, well-received indies, and has seen a number of bigger-budget day one releases in 2023, including Exoprimal , Lies of P , and many more. But all of Microsoft’s first-party games—that is, games paid for or owned by Xbox—arrive on Game Pass the same day they launch. This means membership gives you immediate access to every Forza title, every Gears of War game, every Halo title, and more. It also includes games from Bethesda Studios, the owners of The Elder Scrolls , Fallout , Doom , and dozens of other games and franchises, which Xbox acquired in 2021. We’re not sure whether this same policy will apply to games from the recently acquired Activision-Blizzard , the publisher of games like World of Warcraft , Diablo 4 , Call of Duty , and more. We expect to learn more in 2024.

Game Pass also includes a streaming component, which allows subscribers to stream any game on the service to Android and iOS devices and through browsers like Chrome and Safari. And current Xbox One owners can play the Series X versions of games like Halo Infinite and Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) via cloud streaming.

However, it’s important to keep an eye on the games that are coming to Game Pass while you’re subscribed, as there have been periods where fewer high-profile games come to or debut on the service. Numerous high-profile Game Pass titles, including Redfall and Starfield , were delayed from 2022 to 2023. Game Pass is a great deal as long as there are things coming that you’re interested in playing—if nothing intriguing is on the horizon, and you haven’t paid for months in advance, it makes sense to cancel your subscription until you see games you’d like to play.

This article was edited by Caitlin McGarry and Signe Brewster.

How much do the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S cost?

The Xbox Series X is $500, and can often be found with an included game like Diablo 4 . That price has fluctuated depending on various deals available at online retailers. The Xbox Series S, meanwhile, starts at $300 for the 512 GB version of the console and $350 for the black 1 TB version, though we often see the 512 GB model for much less.

Are the Xbox Series X and S backwards-compatible?

Other than Xbox One Kinect-based titles, the Xbox Series X and S are compatible with every Xbox One title, and hundreds of Xbox 360 titles are also available. Every Xbox One and 360 title features enhancements on Xbox Series X and S, though many have more pronounced improvements to frame rate and resolution.

Do the Xbox Series X and Series S support 4K? What about 4K/UHD Blu-ray?

Both the Series X and Series S support 4K resolutions, and video apps such as Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix can play back 4K titles (with HDR). However, the Series S is not designed to play games at 4K.

The Series X has a UHD Blu-ray drive, which can play both standard Blu-rays and UHD discs. It supports Dolby Vision in video apps such as Netflix and Vudu, but it does not support Dolby Vision for UHD discs. The Series S does not have a disc drive, so it can’t play Blu-ray discs.

Do the Xbox Series X and S support variable refresh rate?

Xbox Series X and Series S offer fully HDMI 2.1 compliant variable refresh rate support with low frame rate compensation , or LFC, which allows support of refresh rates below 48Hz.

Do I need a new HDMI cable?

The Xbox Series X comes with an HDMI 2.1 cable, and you should use it. HDMI 2.1 is required for features such as 4K 120 Hz visuals along with HDR. If you attempt to use a non–HDMI 2.1 certified cable with either console, you might experience problems such as a blinking black screen or even no signal at all.

Will my old Xbox accessories work?

Every officially licensed Xbox One controller will work with the Xbox Series X and S, and most accessories have also been updated to support the newer consoles. We recommend Google searching for specific devices and their supported status on the Series X|S, however.

Do the Xbox Series X and Series S support HDMI-CEC?

The Series X and Series S both offer support for HDMI-CEC with supported televisions and other AV equipment, which includes the ability to turn displays on or off or to be turned on when their respective video input is selected on supported TVs, as well as to control the volume of an attached HDMI-CEC audio device.

Do the Xbox Series X and Series S support Bluetooth?

The Series X and Series S do not support Bluetooth connectivity, though their controllers do support Bluetooth for PC or phone play.

Do the Xbox Series X and Series S support Wi-Fi 6?

The Series X and Series S support gigabit LAN connections and 802.11g/n/ac wireless connectivity but do not support Wi-Fi 6.

Do the new Xbox consoles support Dolby Vision?

The Xbox Series X and Series S both support Dolby Vision in compatible apps, including Disney+, Netflix, Vudu, and others, and in games on supported televisions, including at up to 120 Hz. Some games can use Xbox’s AutoHDR feature to output in Dolby Vision, while other games natively support the feature. However, the Xbox Series X does not support Dolby Vision for UHD Blu-ray playback.

Do the new Xbox consoles support Dolby Atmos or DTS:X?

Out of the box, the Xbox Series X and Series S both support Dolby Atmos for home theaters, in compatible televisions and home theater receivers. Dolby Atmos for headphones requires a license; many headsets that support Atmos include a license, but if yours does not, you can buy one separately. DTS:X and DTS Headphone:X are supported through the DTS Sound Unbound app on both the Series X and Series S consoles.

Meet your guide

Arthur Gies

Arthur Gies is a supervising editor for tech at Wirecutter. He has covered video games and hardware since 2008, has consulted on a number of popular (and not popular) video games, and wrote a book about the Gears of War franchise. He also has a BFA and MFA in drawing and painting, which comes in handy when he reviews drawing tablets and styluses.

Further reading

The Best Gaming Headsets

by Haley Perry

The HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 offers better sound than many more-expensive gaming headsets, has an excellent onboard microphone, and is comfortable enough to wear for hours.

The Best Game Consoles

by Arthur Gies and Haley Perry

Video game consoles are more popular than ever, but it can be hard to figure out the right one to buy. We’re here to help.

Choosing the Right PlayStation 5

The new PlayStation 5 launched on November 12, 2020. We break down the differences that matter and consider whether it’s worth the upgrade.

Set Up That Gaming Console Before You Wrap It

by Arthur Gies

Setting up a gaming console you plan to give someone for the holidays before you gift it will ensure that they can start playing the moment they unwrap it.

• Meta Quest 4
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Microsoft Xbox Series X review: You’re going to want a Game Pass subscription

“The Xbox Series X is an extremely powerful console, but it still struggles to deliver console-selling exclusives.”

• Gobs of potential
• More storage than PS5
• Accessible library through Game Pass
• Lacking big exclusives
• Difficult to fit in most A/V cabinets
• Next-gen potential is untapped

Timing is everything.

About our Xbox Series X review

Setup: hurry up and download, performance: plenty of power, in a big box, storage: 1tb isn’t what it used to be, the controller: if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, games and software: struggling with exclusivity, the promise.

When a console launches, it’s critical. Every component of a new system — from hardware to software — has to come together to meet the expectations of an eager and often hypercritical fan base. And when the Xbox Series X first launched in 2020, it didn’t have the art of timing on its side due to COVID-19 spoiling Microsoft’s big launch plans.

At first, the Xbox Series X felt like an athlete who spent the year practicing for the big game, only to find the rest of the team didn’t show up. It was a powerhouse that corrected many of the wrongs from the early days of the Xbox One. The future was undeniably bright, but, due to key software delays, it just wasn’t a system that was worth purchasing immediately – or any time in the ensuing months.

That’s changed in the years since the console’s release … but not by much. Major releases like Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 have helped give Microsoft’s powerful sports car a little more gas, but the Series X still struggles when it comes to delivering big exclusives that truly put its power to the test. Big gambles like Starfield and Redfall have yet to pay off some of Xbox’s pricier investments that were meant to reinvigorate its first-party efforts. Instead, Microsoft has doubled down on Xbox Game Pass to fill the gaps. When you’re fully bought in to the full Microsoft ecosystem, the Xbox Series X feels like the best console on the market today.

But that’s the catch — you’ll need to pay that monthly subscription fee to make the system feel worthwhile. Game Pass means there are plenty of games to play on the system , thanks to backward compatibility and optimizations to some third-party titles, but is it worth plopping down $500 on a new console when the same games already work on the old one or your PC?

Digital Trends originally reviewed the Xbox Series X over the course of a week, though we’ve since updated it to reflect the current state of the console (Note that this review focuses solely on the Series X , not the $300 Series S). After spending more time with it and watching its library expand, the Xbox Series X is still a tricky machine to recommend. It’ll either be your most or least used console depending on whether or not you’re willing to buy into the Game Pass ecosystem.

Our Xbox Series X review was first published on November 5, 2020 by Chris Morris. It has since been updated by Giovanni Colantonio, keeping it up to date with recent game releases and hardware updates. The most recent update was on May 3, 2024, to reflect new game releasess like Starfield , as well as developments in Microsoft’s multiplatform game strategy.

Gamers know to expect a day one patch, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. The initial download was less than 1GB, and that was separate from any required game updates. The controller also requires a patch.

The result is a setup process that will likely take 10 minutes to an hour of your time, depending on the speed of your internet connection. Certainly, it’s better to receive a patch than to not, but the conflict between major day one updates and the desire to load up a game the instant you turn on the console is an issue the blazing new solid-state hard drive can’t fix.

Otherwise, setting up the console is a breeze. Microsoft pushes using the Xbox app to do so. It really is a timesaver, letting you copy your settings, GamerTag, Wi-Fi password (assuming you don’t have a hardline internet connection for your console), and other information over quickly, drastically simplifying the setup.

Microsoft has shouted about its superior hardware at nearly deafening levels since it first teased the Series X (called Project Scarlett at the time). By now, you likely know the specs and buzzwords: 120 frames per second (fps), HDR, 12 teraflops of processing power, and so on.

Despite its performance, the Series X is surprisingly quiet. The cooling structure of the system is so efficient that you’ll sometimes wonder if the console is actually turned on. The Xbox One, in comparison, is like a jet engine.

The Series X is not, however, an easy fit in most home entertainment centers. Microsoft (like Sony) built its next-generation system to be a showcase item. The Series X is smaller than the PlayStation 5, but it’s still not built to fit easily into the average living room A/V cabinet. This is due to its width, the consequence of a shape more similar to a box than a slate. It could be an annoyance to some owners.

Once you have the opportunity to put the Series X to the test, you’ll find an extremely powerful machine that lives up to Microsoft’s performance promises. Games like Forza Horizon 5 and Microsoft Flight Simulator look stunning on Series X and will likely play better there than they will on your PC, unless you’re dealing with a high-end rig. But those experiences are still few and far between, even two years later. I imagine we’ll see the console’s hardware pushed to its limits more consistently as Microsoft scoops up publishers like Activision Blizzard , but for now, the power bump over the Xbox One hasn’t felt as impactful as it should be.

The Series X comes with acceptable, though not optimal, storage space. The 1TB hard drive (compared to the Series S’s 512GB) is on par with the Xbox One X. You’ll only have 802 GB available, though, after subtracting the amount used by the system’s operating system. That should be fine initially, but as this generation progresses and games require more space, it could be problematic.

Bumping system memory to 2 TB could have future-proofed the console, though it certainly would have affected the Series X’s $500 price (a key selling point for Microsoft).

Still, Sony’s PlayStation 5 is at a disadvantage. It ships with 825GB of internal storage and, like the Xbox Series X, not all of that will be available for installing games. According to prelaunch reports, about 667GB is available for games. That means the PlayStation 5 has 135GB less available storage than the Xbox Series X.

If 1TB isn’t enough, you can expand Series X’s storage. Players can hook an external hard drive to the system. Testing by Digital Foundry discovered that, at least for backward-compatible titles, an external solid-state hard drive was almost as fast as on-device storage .

The console also has a Storage Expansion Card slot that can double memory size, but at $220, it isn’t inexpensive to do so. The PlayStation 5 can be upgraded with a wider variety of third-party PCIe 4.0 SSDs, which can be purchased for as little as $200 (for 1TB of storage).

Controllers are our connection to the games we play, and they’ve become increasingly important over the past few generations. Microsoft has stuck close to the same design for the past two generations, and there aren’t any major changes this time around.

The Series X controller fits nicely in your hands and has been ergonomically tweaked to make it slightly more comfortable. It’s a bit more social than previous Xbox controllers thanks to the addition of the capture and share button, which allows players to record screenshots and video clips and quickly post them online.

It continues to use AA batteries, rather than internal rechargeable ones but is anything but a power hog. Still, the use of batteries feels a little dated. The PlayStation 5 controller ships with an internal rechargeable battery. Xbox Series X owners will have to pay for that upgrade as an add-on.

When we originally reviewed the Xbox Series X, the game library was anemic. The console launched with no major exclusives, with its biggest day one title being a next-gen rerelease of Gears Tactics . That slow launch would ultimately set the stage for the console’s entire life span so far. Even if the Xbox Series X has found its foothold with Game Pass in the years since launch, the lack of true console-selling exclusives only gets more glaring as time goes on.

The launch lineup undoubtedly looked amazing at the time. Gears 5 ran incredibly smooth at 120 frames per second (fps), which raised hopes for titles still to come. The issue is that we’re largely still waiting for Microsoft to capitalize. Outside of Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite , there’s virtually no single piece of software that’s as enticing as the PlayStation 5’s Horizon Forbidden West or Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart . That was supposed to change when Starfield and Redfall landed in 2023, but both games underwhelmed to different degrees. Significantly more games are on the horizon , but we’ll likely be halfway through the Series X’s life span by the time Microsoft finds a consistent cadence. And even then, there’s no guarantee that games like Clockwork Revolution will be strong enough to make players feel justified in their purchase of the console.

Microsoft’s long-term play is Xbox Game Pass — and it’s working to an extent. The subscription service is a tremendous deal, giving players access to a whole library of titles. If you asked me what the best console currently on the market is, I’d say Xbox Series X with a Game Pass subscription. However, remove the service from the equation, and it’s much harder to justify the $500 price tag — especially when you can still get Game Pass via your PC. You’re even able to play games like Halo Infinite through your Samsung TV . Plus, Microsoft has begun launching some of its best exclusive (like Pentiment and Hi-Fi Rush ) on other consoles . All of those options make the Series X feel like a very expensive way to do what your other devices can do. Granted, the console will give you much more stability over a cloud experience and there’s value in keeping everything in one Xbox ecosystem.

So how do games actually benefit from the Series X hardware? Reduced load times are the big draw, though I’ve found that the PS5 tends to feel faster on the whole. Loading from game launch to gameplay in Gears 5 (for a new campaign) still takes well over a minute. Watch Dogs: Legion , while unoptimized, took a bit less time. These are better results than an Xbox One X, but not the instant-play accessibility that was suggested. Forza Horizon 5 is much more impressive with hardly any loading at all in its massive open world, but there are noticeable stalls when firing up its photo mode. Still, load times are notably better than on old hardware, even if they’re not the fastest in the West.

Quick Resume, the touted feature that suspends games much like you suspend an app on your smartphone, is a strong selling point. On several occasions, I’ve had multiple games open at the same time and been able to seamlessly jump in and out of them. It feels like a magic trick and remains one of the Series X’s most impressive tech features.

The Smart Delivery feature, which ensures players get the best version of a game for their system, is a nice touch that will save frustration, but the fact that it’s not available for every game is annoying. It’s not even available for every Xbox Game Studios game, which is positively baffling.

The Xbox Series X is Microsoft’s bet on the future. It’s an insanely powerful system that, once the company’s internal teams begin to showcase its power, could wow the gaming world. The problem is that it’ been years now and we’re still waiting for that moment.

Microsoft feels it has something to prove in this console generation. The Xbox One stumbled out of the gate and never fully recovered. That’s not the case this time. While the lack of software is bothersome, it’s hard to fault the company entirely, as the pandemic put long-term strains on everyone in the gaming world

It still struggles to catch up to the hype …

Microsoft is making a compelling case for the value proposition of Series X with Game Pass. There’s a reason it’s touting the huge library of backward-compatible games and the Smart Delivery option. No, you won’t get a deep library of AAA exclusives that could keep you occupied for a year. And you may not get it for quite some time. But Microsoft argues that this is a perfect opportunity to play games you never got around to or are currently enjoying in an enhanced environment.

It’s not a bad argument, by any means, but it’s more sensible and practical than emotional. Console launches were once a chance to show off new gaming experiences that simply weren’t possible before. The Xbox Series X fell short in that department in 2020 and it still struggles to catch up to the hype years later.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Game Pass is coming to your Amazon Fire TV, even if you don’t own an Xbox
• Best Xbox Game Pass deals: Upgrade to Game Pass Ultimate for cheap
• From horror to cozy: Xbox adds more games to its June Game Pass lineup
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Microsoft makes a lot of great hardware, but one category it hasn’t explored is TVs. That means you'll be shopping outside the brand to get something good for your new Xbox Series X, as you won't find a single Microsoft TV available in 2024. Thankfully, there's no shortage of powerful TVs that play nicely with Microsoft's gaming console, including many from its closest competitor, Sony.

If you're ready to upgrade your game room or looking to purchase a new console, here are the six best TVs for Xbox Series X. All of these are perfect companions for your gaming sessions, as they offer great refresh rates, little input lag, and output incredible images.

Ever since I was young, I've been fascinated with both Myst and Riven. I never actually played either, mind you; I was more of a console kid. But even then, I always felt an indescribable draw toward the PC classics. From an outside perspective, they seemed so strange and alluring. At some point, I almost didn't want to play them. I was happy to leave them as an eternal mystery, puzzles that were better left unsolved.

I finally broke that mindset thanks to developer Cyan Worlds' new remake of Riven. The ambitious project takes the 1997 puzzle adventure and gives it a modern makeover both on PC and VR. That last part was enough to make me bite the bullet. If I already felt so engrossed by the Myst series from afar, I wanted my first real dive into it to be as all-encompassing as possible. After loading it up on my Meta Quest 3, I'm simultaneously kicking myself for waiting so long to try Riven and glad I did. The VR version is an astonishing adventure that everyone should experience.

We have the solution to Wordle on July 1, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We've placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don't ruin the surprise before you've had a chance to work through the clues. So let's dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday's answer. Yesterday's Wordle answer Let's start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday's Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don't play it daily, which was "BUDDY." So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn't that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck. Hints for today's Wordle Still can't figure it out? We have today's Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let's take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there's no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive -- you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter D. Today’s Wordle uses three vowels. Today's Wordle is a traditional saying or proverb that expresses a common experience or general truth.

Xbox Series X review – is it still worth buying in 2024?

Reviewed By: Meghan Coon

Posted in Reviews

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• Capable of 4K120
• Backwards compatible
• Xbox Game Pass is stellar
• Few exclusive games
• It hasn’t gotten cheaper

With Microsoft hinting to a new Xbox console coming our way, we’re going through our Xbox Series X review to help you decide if this is the right game console for you. 

Remaining the most up-to-date Xbox console currently available, is the Series X worth the price tag? Is it time to consider upgrading from the somewhat outdated Xbox One? We’re covering our thoughts on everything from the price, design and performance so you can make an informed decision based on our experience with the Xbox Series X. Let’s get into it.

Xbox Series X price and availability

Microsoft has always been impressive with its Xbox hardware ever since the early days, delivering competitively high quality performances with a smaller price tag than you would expect to have if you attempted to build your own gaming PC to meet the same abilities as an Xbox console. When we compared a new GPU and the latest Xbox, RTX 4080 Super Vs Xbox Series X , the entire Xbox console works out at nearly half the price of just the graphics card alone, the more affordable counterpart the RTX 4070 Super , a mid-range GPU, still having an MSRP of about $100 more than the Xbox. 

Xbox Series X

8.8GHz, 8 cores

Storage type

The Xbox Series X is currently available for $449 on Xbox’s official store with a $50 discount currently available, which remains relatively consistent with its MSRP, which was $499 as of its launch. In terms of Amazon, prices range from around $380 to $490 depending on the storage capacity you desire, or whether you want to buy second-hand. 

If you’re torn between which of the latest consoles you want, it’s worth mentioning that the Xbox’s MSRP is price matched to that of the PS5, which also launched with the price tag of $499 and is currently available via PlayStation’s official store at that price, making the Xbox Series X currently a little cheaper.

When compared to the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One, the Series X has several notable advantages making it worth the price, which we look at in more detail down below, with the biggest difference between the Series X and the Series S being that the X features a disc tray, unlike its Xbox Series S sibling. As well, one of the more incentivising pluses of an Xbox Series X is access to Xbox Game Pass. 

This is a subscription-based library of games accessible for Xbox users, which works a lot like Netflix but with games not films. In terms of pricing, this is an additional subscription fee to pay, either annually or monthly, on top of buying the console itself. But, it does allow access to the hundreds of games, which span many years and genres, with new and popular titles featured alongside older titles that have been optimized for Xbox players.

It definitely works out cheaper in the long run to have an Xbox Game Pass subscription if you are likely to enjoy playing many of the titles available. That being said, if you (like me) have spent over a decade accumulating disc copies of your favorite games from the original Xbox right through to the Xbox One, all of these discs are compatible with the Series X, meaning you’ll be able to save money by not having to repurchase your favorite titles. 

Xbox Series X design and features

The Xbox Series X has had a bit of a glow-up since its predecessor. The Xbox 360 and the Xbox One maintained a similar design, while the Series X has noticeably departed from the previous shape and size. Now a sleek cuboid, the Series X eradicates any issues that you may have encountered when storing the Xbox One. As someone with limited space to keep my Xbox near to my TV, I always found the design of the Xbox One difficult, having to keep it standing upright which ultimately ended up causing issues with the disc tray and fans.

The Series X is 15 x 15 x 30 (cm) in height, with the vents positioned on the top. The bottom has four rubber feet to prevent the console from slipping, and enables it to be stood up with a smartly-placed fan on top for optimized airflow of heat generated by the Series X. This new design looks smaller than the flat and wide Xbox One, it takes up less space, looks more modern with its matte-black finish and sleek, minimalist design. Microsoft have confirmed they currently have no intentions of releasing this console in any other colors.  

My favorite change that the Series X has over the Xbox One is the power button. The Xbox 360 featured a silver and green button, and then the Xbox One received a touch-button, which was not connected by the best wiring and meant (in my case) it began to exhibit faults and stopped working all together. But the Xbox Series X has returned to a fairly standard, discrete black button featuring the Xbox logo. You also have the expected eject button beside the disc drive at the bottom left of the front side of the console, a pairing button and a USB 3.2 port. The back face of the Xbox has a HDMI 2.1 output port, a power input port, two USB 3.2 ports, a storage expansion slot and a networking port. All of the rear ports have raised dots assigned to them (e.g. the power port has one raised dot, the storage expansion has four, the USB ports have three) so that while you’re blindly struggling with cables at the back of the console, you can be sure what port you are touching. 

One of the largest differences between this console and previous iterations, is the lack of the noise. Obviously, the frequency with which you clean out your console will obviously have an impact on the fans’ noise level, but straight off the bat the Xbox Series X is nearly silent. My previous Xbox One used to sound like a tumble dryer, just when turned on, and running games made it sound like a plane preparing for launch. When turning on, the Xbox recorded a noise level of about 32db and when launching Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, the Series X reached about 50db of sound at its highest, using IOS’ Decibel X: db Sound Level Meter. For context, the average person whispers at around 30db and a motorbike engine runs at around 95db, according to the CCD . 

In terms of how effective the fans are, the console matches my previous experience with the Xbox One’s heat generation, and does get a bit warm. That being said, with the fans kept free and unblocked, the generated heat did not appear to affect the Xbox’s performance when running graphically demanding games like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Valhalla for an extended period of time, of about 5+ hours. 

The other notable change for the latest generation of Xbox, is the change to the controller. I have grown quite fond of the Xbox One (and previous Xbox 360) controller shape, which felt lighter and easier to maneuver thanks to its design that feels better molded to the hand. The previous generations had glossy-black controllers which came with the consoles, while the new controller has seen a matte-black finish to match the console’s redesign.

The controller is less curved and looks slightly more blocky. With that being said, the buttons, triggers and joysticks have not been moved or altered in a noticeable way, making it easy to slip back into gameplay without having to familiarize yourself with a new controller. The redesign feels discreet enough to match the aesthetic of the new generation, without changing the player’s relationship with the iconic controller.

Xbox Series X gaming performance

When setting up the Xbox Series X, the process has been made a lot simpler and easier by using the Xbox app. Once your Xbox is set up and ready to go, it will either be an underwhelming or a comforting sight to find the UI and dashboard of the Series X is very familiar. There have been some minor changes, but the dashboard is basically the same as you would find in the Xbox One. For some, this may be a bit disappointing, if you’re the type of person who likes a lot of change when you are upgrading from one console to another.

In my case, I was pleasantly surprised to find the same dashboard I had grown used to since the Xbox One’s update in 2020 that converged its dashboard and UI layout with the new interface of the Series X. It made for setting up, downloading applications and launching games quick and painless, something that Microsoft centred a lot of attention on; allowing you to pick up essentially where you left off. 

With the recognisable tiled layout, there are the expected customizable pins for your favorite apps and games on the home screen. Anything not directly visible on the tiles can be located by pressing the Xbox button on the controller, which will present you with the same interface for messages, settings, and games as you will potentially remember from the Xbox One. You can navigate through the dashboard quicker, which is beneficial and comfortingly familiar, but at the same time it is slightly disappointing the Xbox Series X didn’t have anything new to add, to give it the feel of truly being a next-gen console.

The Xbox Series X has come armed with the new Quick Resume feature, which in essence allows you to pause your game, turn off your console, go to the shop, come back and resume your gameplay in a matter of seconds, as near-instantly as though you had never stopped playing at all. From the dashboard, you can quickly select the game you had been playing and hop straight back in where you left off, skipping any title or load screens you’d have to wade through when relaunching a game. This also applies to any games you have open. You can suspend your gameplay and be back  in the Sci-Fi setting of Starfield in less than 17 seconds.

Another fun feature of the Series X is backward compatibility. What this means is, not only are your old Xbox 360 discs compatible with the new console, the games also run faster and lack the frame rate droppage you’d expect when running an arguably outdated game. This also applies to Xbox accessories, so if you happen to have stockpiled controllers or headsets from Xbox generations gone by, you’ll still be able to use them when you need an extra controller for a friend. 

In terms of older titles on Xbox Game Pass, I decided to revisit the nostalgia of the 2000s with some Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, a game I owned when I had an Xbox 360. Aside from the nice throwback to the Xbox 360 launching animation, Banjo-Kazooie has experienced several optimizations which allow for smoother frame-rates, overall faster running and loading speeds and higher quality graphics, that make it feel more like a title from the last decade, than a game from 2008. 

In terms of performance in new games, the Series X’s custom RDNA 2 graphics processor targets 4K graphics at 60fps, but does boast capabilities of reaching up to 120fps at 4K. While there’s clearly some clever AI upscaling in play here through FSR, it’s still impressive to see a console reaching these heights at this price point. 

To truly experience the Xbox Series X at its peak, and if you have the budget for it, you’re going to need to invest in an ideally large monitor or TV that is capable of supporting 4K graphics, with a high refresh rate. But with native 1440p graphics, or upscaled to 4K, at 60fps, you still get a decent experience with high quality graphics and smooth frame rates without fps drops or display issues. It’s worth noting that opting for higher frame rates in certain titles can mean a sacrifice in graphics quality. 

The Series X is also armed with an 8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU, which works at a speed of 3.8GHz. With a faster processor and clock speed, the Xbox Series X has noticeably quicker loading times than that of the Xbox One. When running a title like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, my Xbox One would struggle, very loudly, for around 30 seconds before the title screen began to load. When launching The Elders Scrolls V on the Series X, that time was reduced to around the 5 second mark. This showcases the power of going from an older HDD to a dedicated NVMe SSD. 

When running Starfield on the Series X, we tested its framerate at 4K graphics. During open-world exploration, the graphics remained fairly consistent without any display faults, lag or screen tearing, that I noticed, and the framerate remained consistently around the 30fps mark, occasionally dropping to 28fps during combat or in graphically “busy” areas, i.e around fire or smoke. A framerate of 28fps doesn’t sound as impressive as 120fps, which the Xbox Series X does have the capability to reach in certain titles, but during my Starfield gameplay the graphical prowess of the Series X meant the resolution  This was with the graphics settings maxed and monitored using Xbox Game Bar’s overlay. The game is capped at 30fps on console after all. 

A game I was excited to put to the test was The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. Having played this on my Xbox One, where it comfortably managed 1080p at 30fps, I was eager to see the graphics upgrade the Series X promises. Capable of running at 1440p 30fps with Ray Tracing, which offers a crisp framerate of up to 60fps, the quality of the display is pretty good, but you do lose some of the clear and defined details in your gameplay. Changing the graphics settings to Performance mode is where we see The Witcher 3 in 4K at 60fps, which feels like an entirely different game to that I remember playing on the Xbox One. The Performance mode reduces the somewhat off-putting, vibrant colors that aren’t entirely realistic, as well as softens the lighting and brightness for a more lifelike and immersive playthrough. 

Lastly, I took a look at the remake of 1999’s Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. One of the most popular games available on Game Pass, this title has been optimized to the standard of recent blockbuster-titles, so you no longer have to sacrifice modern graphics for the quality of the late 90s. When compared to gameplay on the PS5, which managed 4K at a framerate of about 115fps, we found the Xbox Series X kept a higher framerate, just reaching the enticing 120fps while maintaining 4K graphics.

The lowest we saw the Series X getting was a drop to 100fps, mostly during combat, which is hard to call disappointing. For reference, when running my copy of Outlast, an action-reliant horror game produced for the Xbox One, the game ran at a maximum resolution of 1080p, with framerate aspirations of around 60fps. So for a classic horror game, from days gone by, it was a great experience to play a twenty-year old game at a high framerate while maintaining up to 4K graphics. Not to mention, it’s available at no extra cost if you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription.

Should you buy the Xbox Series X?

Overall, the Xbox Series X has impressive graphical prowess and is a powerhouse of a console, offering high framerates without sacrificing resolution. The redesign gives the Series X a sleek and modern finish, veering from the previous designs of the Xbox 360 and Xbox One, while remaining aesthetically pleasing and on-brand. The redesign also sees fan placement changes which help to combat the heat generation of the Series X, which is unchanged from its Xbox One predecessor. The controllers have also seen a redesign but have not changed drastically, so if you are familiar with Xbox accessories, slipping back into gaming shouldn’t be difficult. 

Yes the Series X has a comparatively high price tag if you’re on a strict budget, but it is a powerful machine capable of delivering up to 4K graphics for nearly half the price of graphics cards capable of producing the same quality, making it a cheaper investment than building your own gaming PC. It also works out cheaper in the long run with its exclusive access to the Xbox Game Pass subscription, which gives you hundreds of titles for a monthly fee, games which have been optimized for the best experience for Xbox players. 

The Series X also supports any discs you may have collected over the years, reducing the cost of repurchasing your favorite titles to be compatible with the new console. Waiting for Prime Day or Black Friday may be a great idea if you’re not in a position to spend nearly $500, but I would suggest this console to anyone wanting to upgrade their hardware to a console that I would say is great value for money. 

Xbox Series X two years later — is it worth it?

Two years after its release and the Xbox Series X is basically the perfect Xbox Game Pass partner

Two years have flown by since the Xbox Series X launched, punctuated by events such as the rise and decline of the coronavirus pandemic, a war in Ukraine, and the ever-onward march of technology. Back in 2020 when I reviewed the Xbox Series X, I declared it to be the one Xbox to rule them all.

I stand by that verdict, but I have more thoughts to add. 

On the whole, the Xbox Series X had a fairly unremarkable launch. It lacked much in the way of killer exclusive games, though the same could be broadly said for the PS5 , yet it wasn’t blighted by any major bugs or problems to take the shine off. Rather, the worst bit about Microsoft's new flagship console was trying to find an Xbox Series X restock that stuck around for more than a hot minute. 

Luckily the big black box of a games console is much easier to find these days, albeit not at a discount price. The Xbox Series X has a smaller, less powerful and notably cheaper sibling in the Xbox Series S , which is seeing success as an affordable way to get into Xbox gaming with some visual compromises. 

A very capable console  

The Xbox Series X has evolved as time has matched forward, with new features and optimizations turning it into a more capable and energy-efficient machine . Yet at the same time, there are no standout exclusives for our pick of the best Xbox Series X games that make it a must-buy if you already have a powerful desktop PC, say one of our picks for the best gaming PC .

As much as I love my PS5, mostly for its exclusive games, the Xbox Series X is my console of choice.

 This is due to Microsoft’s continuation of making first-party games available on Windows PCs, Xbox consoles old and new, as well as via Xbox Cloud Gaming — at least in some cases. If you have an Xbox One or Xbox One X and a fast internet connection, you arguably don’t need a next-generation console given you can stream games from the cloud to your console, albeit with slightly less graphical fidelity and more latency. 

But for people like me, who lack robust internet speeds and have a slowly aging gaming PC, the Xbox Series X has grown into a serious gaming machine. As much as I love my PS5 , mostly for its exclusive games and some of the proprietary tech it offers, Xbox Series X is my console of choice. 

The Xbox Wireless Controller is a familiar gaming friend; the interface is easy to navigate; and there are all manner of neat features like Quick Resume to make getting from booting up the console and into a game very fast. I find the Xbox Series X to be one of the most reliable game consoles in delivering a consistent gaming experience.

It might not delight as often with some clever haptic feedback like the PS5 does with its DualSense controller . But it facilitates seamless gaming that transports me from flicking away at a controller on my sofa into a virtual world in mere moments. 

A lot of that is thanks to the speedy PCI 4.0 SSD, which delivers superfast loading times, to the extent that it’s quietly revolutionary to my gaming experience. Going back to a gaming laptop where most of my games are on a traditional hard disk and I really notice the irritation of long load times. And the Series X’s 1TB of storage is great compared to the smaller 825GB for the PS5 (of which 667GB is actually usable). 

Storage drain and triple-A pain  

But the ever-growing size of modern games still means you’ll fill up the onboard SSD pretty quickly, especially if you’ve got an Xbox Game Pass subscription that encourages you to try a myriad of titles. 

The Xbox Series X still lacks a mighty exclusive game such as God of War Ragnarok or Horizon Forbidden West.

Expanding that storage comes in the form of a proprietary plug ‘n’ play SSD made by Seagate, which is neat. But as it’s a custom job it’s also very expensive, sailing past $200/£200/AU$300, which is difficult to swallow; Black Friday deals often see the SSD get sliced in price, but it’s still far from an impulse buy. 

Not that there’s always a huge amount of new compelling games to download onto my Series X. Thanks to Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 , the console has two flagship semi-exclusive titles, both of which are best played on a Series X. And the likes of Psychonauts 2 and some other double-A standard games add to the mix. But overall, the Series X still lacks a mighty exclusive game such as God of War Ragnarok or Horizon Forbidden West (yes both can be played on the PS4, but are really PS5 games). 

Having said that, as I mentioned, the Series X is just a good place to play games, old and new. And as I’m currently hacking, slashing and magicking my way through Elden Ring , I'm very grateful for those fast loading times, Quick Resume and a very familiar near-perfect controller. 

So in a way, the Xbox Series X is at a similar point to where it was last year. But 2023 could change all that. 

Xbox Series X in 2023: Out-of-this-world promise 

The potential behemoth that is Starfield is on the way, which looks to take Bethesda’s RPG DNA and evolve it with a huge mix of hard sci-fi . It’s one of my most anticipated games of next year.

Bethesda also has Arkane, which is working on Redfall , a co-op game that’s looks like a cross of Dishonored, Deathloop and Left 4 Dead with vampires thrown in for good measure. Both games will come to the PC, as well as the Series X and Series S, but they still look great and tease some intriguing experiences. 

Then there's a barrage of other games, which will also be coming to Xbox Game Pass from day-one of their release: Hollow Knight: Silksong, High on Life, The Last Case Of Benedict Fox and more. So there’s a lot to look forward to in the next eight months or so. 

And beyond that there’s Fable 4 , The Elder Scrolls 6 and Avowed , all of which could be Xbox and PC exclusives, potentially making the Series X an essential gaming machine if you don’t have a high-end PC. 

Xbox Series X bottom line

In the here and now, 24 months after it was finally released, the Xbox Series X really stands as the true partner to Xbox Game Pass. 

The PC experience of using Game Pass still needs some work in my opinion. And cloud streaming via Xbox apps or dedicated TVs isn't quite there yet to replace console gaming. Game Pass on the Series X guarantees a stable performance and experience, delivered through an easy interface and setup for a wonderful controller, as well as other peripherals such as the Xbox Wireless Headset . It’s a joy. 

So if you want the best place to play a lot of Xbox games across multiple generations, as well as a machine that’ll run every title on Game Pass without any problems, then the Series X is a must-have. 

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Roland Moore-Colyer a Managing Editor at Tom’s Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he’s also got an interest in cars. When not at his desk Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face. 

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Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Reveals Demo Release, Available Today, and Okami Collaboration

Ahead of the game's full release on july 19..

Capcom announced a Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess demo during its Next livestream, along with a surprise: it'll be available today.

The demo, Capcom said, will allow you to play part of the main story, and there's no limit on playtime or the number of times you can play. It'll be available on all the platforms Kunitsu-Gami is releasing on: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, PS5, PS4, and Steam.

It's time to walk the path. A demo for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess arrives today on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, PS5, PS4, and Steam. Experience a unique blend of action and strategy in this new IP from Capcom for yourself! #Kunitsu_Gami pic.twitter.com/W5HGHLDZ9K — Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami) July 1, 2024

And that's not all: Capcom also unveiled a collaboration with its beloved 2006 hit Okami. The collab will include Okami-themed costumes for Kunitsu-Gami's main character, Soh, and the Maiden Yoshiro, as well as special weapons and music.

Capcom added that if enough people work together and complete the bonus unlock compaign between between today and 7:59 p.m. PDT on July 17, 2024, the Okami collab items will be available as part of a free update for everyone who buys a copy of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess when it releases on July 19. You can see the details of the bonus unlock campaign below.

We first learned about Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess just about a year ago at the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase , and got a good look at gameplay in March at the Xbox Partner Preview . Interestingly, as we noted at the time, it seems to be a real-time strategy game, blending third-person action with tower defense-style tactics mechanics.

According to Capcom, "The game takes place on a mountain covered by defilement. During the day, purify the villages and prepare yourself for sundown. During the night, protect the Maiden against the hordes of the Seethe. Repeat the day and night cycle until you cleanse the mountain of defilement and return peace to the land."

For more, check out our roundup of the biggest game releases of July , including Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

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Xbox Gaming Coming to Amazon Fire TV: Play More Games, No Console Needed

• Ashley McKissick, Corporate Vice President, Xbox Experiences and Platforms Engineering

At Xbox, we’re committed to bringing the joy and community of gaming to everyone.  Today, we’re announcing a collaboration with Amazon where Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members in over 25 countries can play games directly from the Xbox app on select Fire TV devices via cloud gaming, giving people even more choice in how they play their favorite games.

In July, the Xbox app will be available on the Fire TV Stick 4K Max (2023) ($59.99) and Fire TV Stick 4K (2023) ($49.99). For people new to console gaming, or for those looking for another way to play, it’s a great low-cost, convenient, and portable option to enjoy a huge library of incredible games.

To get started, players just need a Fire TV Stick, a Bluetooth-enabled wireless controller, and an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership to gain instant access to hundreds of phenomenal games, including Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, Starfield, and Forza Horizon 5, among others.

Plus, Bethesda Game Studios’ beloved Fallout games are also available with Game Pass Ultimate, including Fallout 76 and Fallout 4 . Fallout fans will be able to play these games on select Amazon Fire TV devices alongside the acclaimed Fallout TV show on Prime Video, which released in April.

Once downloaded, the Xbox app is designed to offer a smooth and seamless experience. Here’s how it works:

• Simply install and launch the Xbox app from your Fire TV device.
• Sign in with your Microsoft account to play. If you’re an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate member, you’ll have instant access to hundreds of cloud-enabled games.
• Not a member? No worries! You can join Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for one low monthly price , or check out  Fortnite  without a membership.
• Connect a Bluetooth-enabled wireless controller. Controllers like the Xbox Wireless Controller, Xbox Adaptive Controller, PlayStation DualSense, or DualShock 4 controller are all compatible.
• Start Playing!

Over the past several years, we have been on a journey to deliver cloud gaming to more devices and to more people around the globe. We are excited to add Fire TV to our growing family of cloud gaming devices and eager to welcome new players into this experience.

Stay tuned for additional details. You can read about Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) on Fire TV devices at Amazon’s blog here , and to learn more about Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta), visit xbox.com/cloudgaming .

Editor’s note: This post was edited to indicate that the Xbox app will come to select Amazon Fire TV sticks in July 2024.