The translucent Series X25 Limited Edition lands in November, with the matching controller reportedly opening pre-orders at Gamescom next week. It celebrates 25 years of Xbox three months after Microsoft raised console prices worldwide.
Microsoft is marking 25 years of Xbox with a see-through console.
The Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition and matching Xbox Wireless Controller X25 Special Edition are built around a translucent OG Green design pulled straight from the original 2001 Xbox. It’s the first time Microsoft has put a translucent shell on a Series X.
The console arrives in November. The timing around it is where things get awkward.
What the hardware actually is
The design work is genuinely thoughtful, which is worth saying before anything else.
Underneath the translucent shell it’s a standard Series X with 1TB of storage. The differences are cosmetic and nostalgic: the iconic X lights up green at startup, echoing the original Xbox boot sequence, with the 25th anniversary logo on the front.
Microsoft has said there are hidden surprises throughout the design, framed as a thank-you to the community. The controller carries the same translucent treatment.
Both were revealed at the Xbox Games Showcase in June, alongside confirmation that Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution would be full console exclusives rather than timed ones.
When you can actually buy it
Some of this is confirmed and some is not, so here’s the split.
Confirmed by Microsoft: the console launches in November 2026.
Reported, not confirmed: leaker eXtas1s claims the controller goes on sale October 20 at €79.99 and £74.99, which would translate to roughly $79.99, with pre-orders opening at Gamescom this month. Gamescom runs August 26 through 30, with Opening Night Live on the 25th.
Microsoft has not confirmed pre-order timing or controller pricing. The controller is being sold both separately and bundled with the console, and it isn’t clear the two share a release date.
The price problem sitting next to it
Here’s the context that makes an anniversary console land strangely.
On August 1, Microsoft raised Xbox prices worldwide for the third time in roughly 15 months. Series X models went up $150, putting the disc version at $799.99. The 2TB model was discontinued entirely.
The company blamed memory and storage costs rising more than 2.5 times, and said it expects them to double again by fall 2027.
So the celebration of 25 years arrives in the same season as the steepest console pricing in Xbox history, and Microsoft has signaled more increases ahead. A limited edition console is a nostalgia purchase by definition, and nostalgia is a harder sell when the standard model just got $150 more expensive.
What it’s competing with
November is also crowded in a way that matters.
GTA 6 launches November 19 at $79.99, historically the kind of release that drives console purchases. A limited edition Series X would want to land before that rather than after.
Microsoft has not announced pricing for the X25 console. Given where standard Series X pricing sits now, and that limited editions typically carry a premium, that number is the one worth watching. Gamescom next week is the most likely place to find out.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Xbox Wire (June 7, 2026), verified as the primary source for the Series X25 Limited Edition and Controller X25 Special Edition, the translucent OG Green design inspired by the original Xbox, the 1TB storage, the green illuminated X at startup, the anniversary logo and hidden design details, and the November release window
Xbox Wire showcase recap (June 2026), verified for Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution being confirmed as full console exclusives rather than timed
Vice (July 2026), verified for the eXtas1s leak claiming an October 20 controller release at €79.99 and £74.99, the reported Gamescom pre-order timing, the controller being sold separately and bundled, and the absence of a confirmed console release date
Xbox Wire (June 25, 2026), verified for the August 1 worldwide price increase, the $150 rise on 1TB models placing the Series X at $799.99, the 2TB discontinuation, the 2.5x memory cost figure, and the expectation of another doubling by fall 2027