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Xbox Series X and Series S
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in Microsoft's Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Series X and lower-end Series S are part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, which also includes Sony's PlayStation 5, released the same month.
- First released
- 2020
- Made by
- Flextronics, Flex, Foxconn
- Generation
- 9
- Units sold
- 35 million (as of February 25, 2026)
Overview
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in Microsoft's Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Series X and lower-end Series S are part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, which also includes Sony's PlayStation 5, released the same month.
Like the Xbox One, the consoles use an AMD 64-bit x86-64 CPU and GPU. Both models have solid-state drives to reduce loading times, support for hardware-accelerated ray-tracing and spatial audio, the ability to convert games to high-dynamic-range rendering using machine learning (Auto HDR), support for HDMI 2.1 variable refresh rate and low-latency modes, and updated controllers. Xbox Series X was designed to nominally render games in 2160p (4K resolution) at 60 frames per second (FPS). The lower-end, digital-only Xbox Series S, which has reduced specifications and does not include an optical drive, was designed to nominally render games in 1440p at 60 FPS, with support for 4K upscaling and ray tracing. Xbox Series X/S are backward-compatible with nearly all Xbox One-compatible games and accessories (including Xbox 360 and original Xbox games that were made backward-compatible with Xbox One); the newer hardware gives games better performance and visuals. At launch, Microsoft encouraged a "soft" transition between generations, similar to PC gaming, offering the "Smart Delivery" framework to allow publishers to provide upgraded versions of Xbox One titles with optimizations for Xbox Series X/S.
Critics praised the Xbox Series X/S for the hardware improvements over the Xbox One and Microsoft's emphasis on cross-generation releases, but believed that the games available at launch did not fully use the hardware capabilities. Xbox Series consoles are estimated to have sold over 35 million units worldwide as of February 2026.
Specifications
- Manufacturer
- Flextronics, Flex, Foxconn
- Developer
- Microsoft
- Type
- Home video game consoles
- Generation
- Ninth
- Released
- WW November 10, 2020; CHN June 10, 2021
- Units sold
- 35 million (as of February 25, 2026)
- Media
- Series X: Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, Compact Disc, CD, Digital distribution , Series S: Digital distribution
- Processor
- Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 , Series X: 3.8 Hertz, GHz, 3.66 GHz with Simultaneous multithreading, SMT , Series S: 3.6 GHz, 3.4 GHz with SMT
- Graphics
- Custom AMD Radeon RDNA 2 architecture , Series X: 52 CUs at 1.825 Hertz, GHz, 12.155 TFLOPS , Series S: 20 CUs at 1.565 GHz, 4.006 TFLOPS
- Memory
- GDDR6 SDRAM , Series X: 12 GB/192-bit & 4 GB/128-bit (16 GB total) , Series S: 8 GB/128-bit & 2 GB/32-bit (10 GB total)
- Storage
- Western Digital, WD SN530 NVM Express, NVMe Solid-state drive, SSD w/ custom ASIC supporting PCIe 4.0 x2 , Series X: 1 TB (Black, Halo Edition, SpongeBob Edition, 25th Anniversary Edition) / 2 TB (Galaxy Black Special Edition) , Series X All Digital: 1 TB (Robot White) , Series S: 512 GB (Robot White) / 1 TB (Carbon Black/Robot White)
- Video output
- All models: 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 4K resolution, 4K
- Sound
- Custom Project Acoustics 3-D Audio , Dolby Atmos , DTS (sound system)#DTS:X, DTS:X , 7.1 surround sound
- Connectivity
- Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11ac , Gigabit Ethernet , 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 , HDMI 2.1
- Online service
- Xbox network, Xbox Game Pass
- Controllers
- Xbox Wireless Controller (all revisions) , All previously released Xbox One-compatible controllers and accessories (except Kinect)
- Backward compatibility
- All Xbox One games and select Xbox 360 and original Xbox games
- Predecessor
- Xbox One
Models
- Xbox Series S
- Xbox Series X
Model names as listed by IGDB.
Games
108 Xbox Series X and Series S games are written up here, with trophies, patches and what still works online.
More from Xbox
- Xbox 2001
- Xbox 360 2005
- Xbox 360 Elite 2007
- Xbox 360 S 2010
- Xbox 360 E 2013
- Xbox One 2013
- Xbox One S 2016
- Xbox One X 2017
- Xbox Series S 2020
- Xbox Series X 2020
Sources
- Wikipedia overview and specifications
- IGDB model names
- Xbox_Series_X_S_color.svg
- Xbox Series X mit Controller (transparent background).png Der. Bellemer CC BY 4.0
- Xbox Series S with controller (transparent background).png AsmodeanUnderscore CC BY 4.0
The overview is adapted from Wikipedia and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence.
Checked October 2026.
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