Microsoft says there was a "record-breaking demand" for Xbox Series X and S

Xbox has said the demand for pre-orders of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S has been "record-breaking".

Sales for Microsoft's next-gen consoles officially went live yesterday, and Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S pre-orders were quicking selling out at several stores. Social feeds were full of people expressing their frustrations as websites struggled to keep up the demand, while those who managed to put an order through celebrated their successes.

Xbox said it's humbled by the demand and thanked everyone "for the excitement", before confirming that if you weren't successful at pre-ordering a console more will be coming: "If you weren't successful today be sure to sign up with retailers for updates, and expect more consoles to be available on November 10."

We are humbled by the record-breaking demand for Xbox Series X and S. Huge thanks to everyone for the excitement. 🙏If you weren't successful today be sure to sign up with retailers for updates, and expect more consoles to be available on November 10. 💚September 22, 2020

Ahead of the pre-orders going live, Xbox announced its acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Skyrim and Fallout company Bethesda. This also means Doom studio id and Dishonored and Deathloop studio Arkane are now a part of Xbox. Bethesda's catalogue of games will almost certainly be joining Xbox Game Pass, with the news that the studio's long-awaited upcoming title Starfield will also be coming to Game Pass on day one when it eventually releases.

Many were quick to wonder if this now opens the door to the possibility of seeing a Fallout: New Vegas 2 in the future. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, recently stated that Bethesda will run "semi-independently" following Microsoft's buy out.

We'll be keeping a close eye on retailers to keep track of when the consoles are available again, so be sure to check back with us frequently if you're still trying to secure yourself an Xbox Series X pre-order.

Here's what the Xbox acquisition of ZeniMax could mean for games like The Elder Scrolls 6, Starfield, and Deathloop.

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Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.