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Xbox Series X price hits $800 as Microsoft asks inactive owners to sell back consoles

Microsoft is emailing select Xbox Series X/S owners asking them to sell back their consoles — not because anything’s broken, but because chips are scarce and GTA VI is coming.

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The Games Desk · (2 hours ago)

Reported fromoutlets, credited2
Xbox Series X console on black background
Xbox Series X console on black backgroundPhoto via BGR

Microsoft is offering Xbox Series X and S owners up to $375 in Best Buy gift cards to trade in their consoles — but only if they’re not using them. The company confirmed the program in emails sent to select U.S. Users, framing it as a way to “free up console supplies” amid a worsening hardware shortage driven by surging component costs.

It’s not a public promotion. There’s no landing page, no press release, no opt-in portal, just targeted outreach to accounts Microsoft believes are dormant. And yes, it’s happening while the Xbox Series X now starts at $800 in the U.S., up from $500 at launch in 2020. In India, the Series X remains listed at ₹59,990, unchanged since mid-2025, though stock has been erratic across Flipkart and Amazon.in for months.

The $375 cap applies only to the non-digital Xbox Series X. The digital-only Series S trade-in value isn’t specified in the reporting. Best Buy is the sole retail partner named, no Walmart, no Target, no GameStop. Microsoft’s August 2026 price hike (up $100 on 512GB models, $150 on 1TB) was billed as a response to AI-driven demand for memory chips and NAND flash.

That same squeeze is now pushing Sony toward a PlayStation 6 with memory and storage alone tipped to cost $680, a figure that, if true, would make even the current $800 Series X look like a bargain. This isn’t a recall. It’s not a defect fix. It’s supply-chain triage: Microsoft is quietly converting idle hardware into refurbished inventory, bypassing traditional refurb channels.

The goal? Get more consoles into hands ahead of Grand Theft Auto VI’s November launch, a title expected to spike demand across both PlayStation and Xbox platforms. For buyers, that means more used units at lower prices. For sellers, it means cash, but no guarantee of replacement.

As BGR notes, Microsoft hasn’t disclosed production numbers, but the fact it’s soliciting trade-ins while hiking prices says everything about where supply stands. The offer is live now, but only for those who get the email.

Topicsxbox series x refurbishedxbox-series-x-pricemicrosoft account

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How this story was made

Written by the Hitechreports desk from the reporting credited above, with facts attributed to their original publishers. We do not test devices ourselves; anything about performance, battery life or cameras comes from the outlets that did. Prices are as reported at the time of writing. Editorial policy · Report an error

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Consoles, handhelds, PC gaming and the platforms and hardware behind them.

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