Xbox Series S bundles are starting to return to the shelves after the holiday sales wiped them out at the end of last year. While we're still a way away from November's offers, this week's discounts can save you a good wad of cash on Game Pass Ultimate memberships, with a single refurbished option still in stock in the US.
EE is carrying the UK at the moment, with its free controller offer - though if you want a special edition gamepad there are other bundles available. Meanwhile, Very is throwing down a fair £10 saving on a Game Pass subscription when bought alongside a Series S. It's also worth noting that there are plenty of Xbox Series X accessories currently on sale that will work just fine with Series S, which gives you plenty of options for jazzing up your console.
The Series S gives people the choice of a much more affordable current-gen console, so more casual gamers can still play the games they'd like to without seriously investing in something they might not use all that often. We're here to help in that regard, and all the biggest and best Xbox Series S deals can be found just below.
Xbox Series S deals in the US
Xbox Series S deals in the UK
What is the Xbox Series S price?
The Xbox Series S price is just $299.99 in the US and £249.99 in the UK. If you're going above that, make sure you're getting some games or accessories bundled in there.
Xbox Series S accessory deals
Backward compatibility is a big feature of new-gen consoles. Microsoft has been banging the drum of Xbox Series X backward compatibility for some time now, and that's the case for the Series S as well.
But what does it mean? Basically, you can use your old Xbox One accessories on your Xbox Series S. That makes a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. Rather than having to buy extra controllers, accessories, or subscriptions, you'll be able to carry them over to your new console. In fact, you can use everything from Xbox One external hard drives to Xbox One headsets on Series S.
Not only that, but the best Xbox Series X accessories are also compatible with the cheaper console, which means you'll be able to use top of the range Xbox Series X headsets. Need to stock up on some Xbox essentials? You'll find the latest Xbox Series S deals on controllers, headsets, and storage below.
How to save cash on the Xbox Series S price
Microsoft has an Xbox All Access payment plan, allowing you to pick up a next-gen console for a fixed monthly fee spread over two years.
Curiously, it doesn't just get you the console. Indeed, you're also receiving 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate baked into the Xbox Series S price. Because this is Xbox's version of Netflix for gaming (it provides you with well over 100 games to play, including some new releases), you're set with things to try right away. Especially when Xbox-exclusive games like Halo Infinite appear on Game Pass at no extra cost on the day of release.
As such, Xbox All Access is a sensible way of getting yourself Xbox Series S deals. Besides saving you plenty of cash in the long run, you're getting a little bit knocked off the price as well - it's a little bit cheaper than buying the console and two years of Game Pass separately even with all the Game Pass Ultimate deals available right now.
All the same, bear in mind that you won't find Xbox All Access in many stores besides Microsoft. Walmart fills that role in the US, and Game or Smyths provide it in the UK.
Is the Xbox Series S price worth it?
The Xbox Series S price is particularly cheap - but with the tech cuts from the Series X's spec sheet is that cash actually worth it? The key to answering this question lies in the feature set of the console itself. This is a digital-only console, so it's clear what Microsoft intends it to be used for - Xbox Game Pass.
Many current-gen games offer a free next-gen upgrade, too. Although you obviously can't use the disc version thanks to Xbox Series S not coming with a disc drive, that's helpful if you own the games digitally.
Once you take the massive roster of games available on the brand's highly popular subscription service into account, the true value of that low price point becomes even clearer. The Xbox Series S is currently the cheapest way to play current-generation games, and offers the best cash to game hour ratio out of all the consoles currently available.
Of course, if you're after true current generation power we'd recommend switching gears to the Xbox Series X. There are some significant shortcuts in the Series S that won't satisfy those looking to experience the latest and greatest in graphics and processing power. However, for everyday players looking to explore a wealth of content, the MSRP is well worth it.
Xbox Series S vs Xbox Series X: what's the difference?
This is where things get interesting - what are the Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S differences?
For starters, it's significantly smaller than the Xbox Series X. 60% smaller, to be precise. In addition, it doesn't have a disc drive and offers less internal memory (it runs on a custom NVME 512GB SSD powered by Xbox Velocity Architecture, which is about half the size of the Series X's 1TB SSD). It can't display games in 4K resolution either.
However, that's not your cue to panic. It's capable of DirectX ray tracing, 1440p resolution, and up to 120 frames-per-second. It also offers cool next-gen features such as variable-rate shading, ultra-low latency, and blindingly fast loading times.
In short, all this means that games will run better and faster on Xbox Series S than you'll be used to on the Xbox One X or PS4 Pro.
Just remember, it won't be able to match the more expensive Xbox Series X graphically - it's simply not as powerful. Games will still look great, of course, but they're limited at 1440p. That won't matter too much if you don't have a 4K TV, but it's something to bear in mind in terms of future-proofing. And hey, if you do eventually pick up a 4K TV, the Series S supports 4K streaming media playback.
Being able to ditch native 4K means that the Series S can be much, much cheaper than the X - it doesn't need all that technical grunt. And when the result is half the price, it's hard to complain all that much. Considering how many must-have games are slated for next-gen, including Fable, being able to get in on the action for less is tempting.
Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S
Xbox Series X
- 8-core AMD Zen 2 processor at 3.8GHz
- 12 teraflops processing power
- 1TB SSD
- 16GB RAM
- 4K resolution
- Up to 120fps
- 4K UHD disc drive
- Variable refresh rate
- DirectX raytracing
- Dolby TrueHD with Atmos
- HDMI 2.1
- 15.1 x 15.1 x 30.1cm
Xbox Series S
- 8-core AMD Zen 2 processor at 3.6GHz
- 4 teraflops processing power
- 512GB SSD
- 10GB RAM
- 1440p resolution
- Up to 120fps
- No disc drive
- Variable refresh rate
- DirectX raytracing
- Dolby TrueHD with Atmos
- HDMI 2.1
- 6.5 x 15.1 x 27.5cm
Want more power? We've also put together the best Xbox Series X deals, prices, and sales from across the web. Additionally, we've just dived into whether Xbox Game Pass is worth it in 2023 as well as the best Xbox accessories that really make the most of Microsoft's gaming machine.
