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There was a ton of new games announced during its Xbox Games Showcase 2026 this year, but my nostalgia-loving interest was piqued with the unveiling of the XBOX 25th Anniversary Collection, a brand-new Xbox Series X that harkens back to the early 2000s.
The upcoming limited edition Xbox Series X features a transparent green chassis, much like the original green Xbox, which was everywhere in the early 2000s. It's set to launch in November 2026, alongside a matching X25 Special Edition Xbox controller, to celebrate the brand's big 25th anniversary. Pricing and availability haven't been revealed quite yet, but with hardware prices continuing to climb, I recommend having your expectations in check, as it's likely going to cost far more than the $299 / £299 price of the OG Xbox.
Xbox's next-gen VP Jason Ronald shared on Xbox Wire on June 7 that, "For the first time, we’re bringing a translucent design to XBOX Series X, drawing inspiration from the original XBOX and OG Green so many players remember", and the new limited edition console definitely harkens back to the gorgeous green piece of tech I remember from my childhood.
While I personally owned (and still own) the Crystal LE Xbox, I vividly remember the transparent green version lining the game shop shelves. So much so that I long associate its retro-futuristic chassis with the original console more than the plain all-black equivalent. Back then, though, the original green console launched with just an 8GB hard drive, but this new inspired Series X has 1TB worth of storage, which my teenage self wouldn't have been able to comprehend back in 2001.
While the storage matches up with any old Series X you can find out in the wild right now, Jason Ronald states that the old-school Xbox logo on the console lights up green as a "nod to the original Xbox start up" which sets it apart from the rest. That same logo is also found on the brand-new Xbox Series X controller.
The controller features the old-school logo and even the classic ABXY-style buttons of the original "Duke" controller, but there are more classic callbacks to be found. According to Jason Ronald, the pad also sports the classic white and black bumpers found on the original controller, and the transparent battery pack also showcases the first Xbox logo for another sprinkle of nostalgia.
The X25 Special Edition controller will be available to purchase separately, or part of a bundle with the new limited edition XBOX Series X25 console when pre-orders go live. Talking of which, we only have the vague "November" window to go off of for the time being, as no official pre-order or launch date has been announced. That being said, the original Xbox launched on November 15, 2001, so it's very likely that it'll launch on or around that time if Xbox wants to keep this 25th anniversary and retro-theme going strong.
- View all LE Xbox Series X controllers at Xbox
Check out our guides to the best Xbox Series X headset, the best Xbox Series X hard drive, and the best Xbox Game Pass deals while you wait for this new limited edition console.
