Microsoft drops Xbox Series S price to $249.99 for the holidays - The Verge

Microsoft is dropping the terms of its Xbox Series S console to $249.99 for the holidays. The caller promotional terms starts contiguous and includes peculiar holiday-themed packaging. It’s portion of a bid of Black Friday deals from Microsoft that includes up to $300 disconnected the caller Surface Laptop 5, $200 disconnected prime Surface Pro 9 models, and up to 67 percent disconnected Xbox integer games.

While we saw the Xbox Series S driblet arsenic debased arsenic $249 successful a constricted connection that lasted conscionable hours astatine Woot earlier this year, Microsoft’s authoritative promotion means Best Buy, the Microsoft Store, and different retailers volition each beryllium offering the console astatine this promotional price. Target is adjacent bundling a $50 acquisition paper with its own Xbox Series S deal.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer hinted astatine vacation deals for the Xbox Series S successful a recent Decoder podcast. “During the holidays you mightiness spot immoderate terms promotions,” said Spencer. It’s not wide precisely however agelong the Xbox Series S volition stay astatine the $249.99 promotional pricing, though.

While the Xbox Series S volition spot a impermanent terms cut, the larger, much almighty Xbox Series X volition stay astatine its regular retail terms of $499. Microsoft’s discount connected the Xbox Series S for the holidays is the other of what its main rival, Sony, is doing. Sony hiked the terms of the PS5 successful Europe, Japan, and different markets conscionable a fewer months ago.

The PS5 terms has jumped 10 percent successful Europe, 12.5 percent successful Japan, and astir 6 percent successful the UK successful a determination that Sony blames connected precocious ostentation and adverse currency trends. The terms of the PS5 successful the US has not changed, though.

While Spencer initially said Microsoft wouldn’t rise its Xbox prices successful effect to the planetary system and Sony’s rises, helium did hint that holding prices connected subscriptions, games, and consoles mightiness not past agelong aft the holidays.

“We’ve held terms connected our console, we’ve held terms connected games and our subscription. I don’t deliberation we’ll beryllium capable to bash that forever,” admitted Spencer during a recent Wall Street Journal tech conference. “I bash deliberation astatine immoderate constituent we’ll person to rise immoderate prices connected definite things, but going into this vacation we thought it was truly important that we support the prices that we have.”

Here are Microsoft’s afloat Black Friday deals: