Should you buy an Xbox Series X or S on Black Friday? Here's everything to factor in

An Xbox isn't the best purchase this Black Friday, I'll get that out of the way straight up. The consoles have seen serious price rises in the last year, and the majority of discounts will only be improving on these new rates rather than launch MSRPs. Considering this tech is now five years old, there may be better value in alternatives in the PC space.

Game Pass access (though now just as expensive by itself) is Xbox's main draw, but if it's only streaming you're into, then you may not even need to buy a Series S or X this year. Cloud streaming can now be done on Fire TV sticks, Meta Quest headsets, and even some TVs, so you don't really need an Xbox console to play Xbox games.

Still, if you're set on making the most of this year's Black Friday Xbox deals, it's time to decide which device you're going to be targeting.

Should I buy an Xbox Series X this Black Friday?

Undoubtedly, the Xbox Series X is the premium option if you want to have a truly next-gen console experience that lives up to the likes of the PS5. For Black Friday this year, you have three options to choose from. There's the classic Series X that comes in black, features a 1TB SSD, and a disc drive. Then, there's the Robot White all-digital Series X which has the same storage but omits the Blu-Ray drive. Finally, there's the Special Edition which comes in black with lovely green highlights, sports a 2TB drive, and a disc drive. All Series X consoles have 12 teraflops of graphical processing power and can output at true 4K.

The option to have a disc drive may be appealing if you already own some physical Xbox One games. You can still keep and use all of your game discs due to the superb backward compatibility that Xbox offers. This can be a big deal, especially if you've built up a big physical game library over the past generation.

If you are already an Xbox fan then the Series X is going to be the most tempting option, as it'll give you the objectively best ways to enjoy the games. The SSD is astoundingly quick in this console, and the Quick Resume feature is something PS5 can't even do despite its M.2 port. Modern games don't struggle to run on it either, which can occasionally be the case for the Series S.

Having said all that, the price could be a turn-off. At its standard retail position, the full console comes in at a ludicrous $649 in the US (£499 in the UK) after Micro$oft's price increases in 2025.

Buy an Xbox Series X on Black Friday if:

• You want the most powerful Xbox console
• You have a big physical Xbox game collection
• Your budget is healthy
• You want to buy physical games for the current generation
• You don't own other gaming platforms
• You want lots of storage space without buying an expansion card

Don't buy an Xbox Series X on Black Friday if:

• You're on a tighter budget
• You aren't fussed about 4K or the most powerful machine
• You aren't tied to physical games or need a disc drive
• You already own a PS5 or PC
• You're only interested in the occasional Game Pass game
• You always find yourself with a reliable internet connection

Should I buy an Xbox Series S this Black Friday?

If you're willing to forgo some of the premium console benefits of the Series X, there is always the more budget-friendly option, well it was budget-friendly at launch anyway. Now the cheapest option comes in at $399.99. The Series S, often dubbed "the GamePass Machine", allows you access to hundreds of great games, not to mention all the exclusive, first-party games without breaking the bank - which is especially welcome if you've already splashed out on another gaming platform and want a secondary one.

The Series S now has its own options too. If you want the cheapest version, the launch edition comes in Robot white and has a 512GB SSD. The second model to arrive on the shelves was the all-black 1TB Series S, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Most recently, a 1TB model in Robot White was launched.

The larger options are more expensive, which might defeat the point of going for the budget option. 512GB is not an awful lot of storage space, but you can always use one of the best Xbox Series X hard external drives to give it a boost.

Buy an Xbox Series S on Black Friday if:

• You have a more limited budget
• You're OK with all-digital gaming
• You're mainly interested in utilizing Game Pass
• You don't have any existing Xbox physical games
• You're not chasing the absolute best in power
• You're happy to add a storage solution externally if you go for a launch edition

Don't buy an Xbox Series S on Black Friday if:

• You want the most powerful Xbox console
• You need a disc drive for games or TV and movies
• You have a healthier budget and can splash out a bit more
• You're interested in physical games as well as Game Pass henceforth
• You need lots of storage

Then again, you could put more money into upgrading your PlayStation set-up instead. If you want buying advice for that, have a look at our Black Friday PS5 deals page, or our Black Friday Nintendo Switch deals for more.