Head to Microsoft’s Xbox consoles page, and you’ll see just two offerings — and neither of them are the Xbox One X. As it turns out, that’s because the current most powerful console in the world is about to have a very short shelf life.
Update 17/07: Microsoft’s local team issued a statement earlier this morning:
“At Xbox, we’re making massive investments to forge the future of gaming—a future that puts the player at the center of the Xbox experience. We continue to build great games for Xbox One. We continue to build out Game Pass, now with more than 10 million members across Xbox console and PC. We’re previewing Project xCloud in 15 countries so gamers can play games with their friends on any device. And we’re working hard on the next-generation of console gaming with Xbox Series X—the fastest, most powerful console we’ve ever built which includes backward compatibility with thousands of Xbox games and all Xbox One accessories.
As we ramp into the future with Xbox Series X, we’re taking the natural step of stopping production on Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition. Xbox One S will continue to be manufactured and sold globally. Gamers can check with their local retailers for more details on Xbox One hardware availability.”
First launching in 2017, the Xbox One X pitched itself as the powerhouse console that gamers originally wanted from the original Xbox. But less than three years after its release, retailers are already pulling the console from sale. Press Start confirmed with two Australian retailers who have pulled the Xbox One X from their database. The “Shop All” link on the Microsoft consoles page also lists only the Xbox Series X and a Roblox bundle for the Xbox One S.
It’s likely going forward that the only consoles listed will be the Xbox One S, Xbox Series X, and whatever the lower-end, digital-only edition of the next-gen Xbox is called.
Listings for the Xbox One X are still appearing on Amazon at the time of writing, although other listings note that the console is “Discontinued” and out of stock. A search on Google shows that the only Xbox One X available is a refurbished model from a foreign retailer, with listings appearing instead for the Xbox One S. Neither of these confirm that the console is being discontinued by Microsoft per se, but coupled with Press Start’s reporting, it shows that local retailers will not be selling the console — which, as far as consumers are concerned, amounts to the same thing.
Microsoft had not issued a statement at the time of writing. Kotaku Australia has emailed for a comment, and I’ll update this post once a response is available.
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