Microsoft Opens Xbox 25th Anniversary Console Preorders August 27
Microsoft will open public preorders for its Xbox 25th Anniversary console on August 27 at 10 AM ET / 7 AM PT, the company confirmed on Xbox Wire and in reporting from The Verge (The Verge; Xbox Wire). The translucent-green special edition launches November 13, paired with a matching controller in the same "OG Green" colorway drawn from the original translucent-green Xbox.
Under its commemorative shell, the unit is an Xbox Series X with 1 TB of internal storage (The Verge). Each console is laser-etched and individually numbered, a detail Microsoft first surfaced during Gamescom. A full-game download of Halo: Campaign Evolved is included with every unit.
The console and controller were originally announced at the Xbox Games Showcase in June, where Xbox CEO Asha Sharma also told FanFest attendees that anyone in the crowd holding a "fan" badge would receive one of the anniversary consoles for free (The Verge). The design is explicitly inspired by the look and feel of the original Xbox hardware (Xbox Wire, June 2026).
Ahead of the preorder date, some of Xbox's most dedicated fans received early-access preorder emails on August 26, granting them a head start before the public window opens (The Verge).
Microsoft has been widening the anniversary celebration across multiple waves. On August 25, the company announced a "Designed for Xbox" 25th Anniversary accessories and hardware collection pairing nostalgic translucent green with design details intended to honor 25 years of Xbox (Xbox Wire). The lineup includes an OG Green keyboard, mouse, earbuds, and mobile controllers (The Verge; The Verge). A day earlier, on August 24, Microsoft detailed additional anniversary plans including community-created designs, curated Game Pass collections, and the full FanFest Tour (Xbox Wire).
The staggered rollout is deliberate. By layering FanFest giveaways, a broad accessories line, curated Game Pass content, and community-designed gear ahead of the actual console preorder date, Microsoft is treating the 25th anniversary less as a single product launch and more as a multi-month platform for brand engagement. The early-access email tier for "dedicated fans" is a familiar tactic in limited-edition hardware: it rewards loyalty signals, generates social-media momentum in the 24 hours before public availability, and concentrates demand into a narrow preorder window where scarcity messaging does much of the work.
The laser-etching and individual numbering reinforce that scarcity framing explicitly. Numbered units create secondary-market value anchors and give buyers a sense of possessing something finite rather than a mass-produced product. That matters for a product whose internals are functionally identical to a standard Series X; the differentiation is entirely cosmetic and collectible.
The broader context here is that the anniversary console also serves a quieter strategic purpose for Microsoft. The Series X launched in November 2020, placing the current generation squarely in its mid-cycle years. A commemorative edition with bundled software and a distinctive industrial design keeps the hardware line in consumer conversation without requiring new silicon or a price cut. The matching accessories ecosystem extends that conversation beyond the console itself into peripherals that work across PC and mobile, broadening the addressable audience to Xbox-aligned users who may not own a Series X at all.
Halo: Campaign Evolved as the pack-in is a pointed choice. It ties the anniversary to the franchise most identified with Xbox's 2001 launch and, for lapsed players, lowers the friction of re-entry into the ecosystem. Whether the bundled title and the translucent-green nostalgia are enough to move units at what is presumably a premium over the standard 1 TB Series X will depend on pricing details that have not yet been confirmed in the available reporting.
Preorders open August 27 at 10 AM ET. The console ships November 13.
