Microsoft just killed the Xbox One X to make room for Xbox Series X

Xbox One X
(Image credit: Xbox)

If you want an Xbox One X or Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, your time to buy is now. Microsoft is discontinuing both consoles to clear house for the Xbox Series X, the company's next-generation console launching this fall.

Microsoft, in a statement to The Verge, said "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." Regular Xbox One S units are still being produced and sold, and the statement suggests that will continue for the time being through the near future.

For those moving on, Microsoft has promised that the Xbox Series X will work with "all Xbox One games that do not require Kinect" in a blog post by Phil Spencer. And thanks to Microsoft's Smart Delivery system, folks who buy games such as Gears 5 and Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox One will automatically enjoy an enhanced Xbox Series X version at no extra cost.

Xbox gamers excited about the future of the console probably expected this day would come, and are likely more interested in next Thursday than today's news. Microsoft's revealing its big Xbox Series X games at a July 23 event, to counter Sony's PS5 event from June that made a big splash thanks to hot titles such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon: Forbidden West. 

As our PS5 and Xbox Series X lifecycles story explained, the current and previous generation of consoles lasted for around 7-8 years, beating the gaming PS2/Xbox/GameCube generation, which only stuck around for 4-5 years before getting replaced. 

We're hoping that it'll be at least 7 or 8, if not 9 years, before the Xbox Series X is packaged up and found in more secondhand shops than home entertainment system shelves.

Henry T. Casey
Managing Editor (Entertainment, Streaming)

Henry is a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.