Microsoft's $500 Xbox Series X is available today at Best Buy in limited quantities — here's where and how to buy the next-gen console

• The Xbox Series X, Microsoft's next-generation video game console, is now available for $500.
• The Xbox Series X replaces the Xbox One as Microsoft's flagship system, and the company also released a cheaper Xbox Series S model with less powerful hardware.
• Best Buy announced a December 15 restock of the Xbox Series X, but the console remains hard to find; stock continues to appear online each week at multiple retailers.
• Microsoft sells Xbox consoles directly and is also offering a monthly payment option for the system via its Xbox All Access program.
• For more next-gen Xbox details, check out our full reviews of the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S.

Microsoft's new flagship video game console, the $500 Xbox Series X, launched on November 10. Preorders began in September and the console has been consistently sold out since its release.

Best Buy announced it will have more Xbox Series X consoles available on December 15, though the exact times are unclear. Most retailers have restricted Xbox Series X sales to online orders due to the coronavirus pandemic. Microsoft has been selling Xbox Series X online each week since release too, though new stock is rarely announced.

The Xbox Series X replaces the Xbox One X as Microsoft's most powerful gaming machine. The system is backwards compatible with all Xbox One games and controllers on release. Older games will see significant graphical improvements on the Xbox Series X, including support for 120 frames per second playback. The Xbox Series X is capable of playing thousands of games from the original Xbox and Xbox 360.

Xbox fans can look forward to "Assassin's Creed Valhalla,""Gears Tactics," and more than a dozen more games that have been specifically optimized for the new console. "Halo Infinite" was originally intended to launch alongside the Series X as well, but the game has now been delayed to 2021.

Below, we've broken down everything we know about how to buy the Xbox Series X. We'll update this article with more purchase options as they are posted.

Updated on 12/15/2020 by Kevin Webb: Added latest shopping details for the Xbox Series X.

Xbox Series X price and retailers

The Xbox Series X is now available for $500. The console was released on November 10. Preorders launched on September 22 at various retailers, including Microsoft, Amazon, Best Buy, Target, GameStop, Walmart, and Newegg.

Though the Series X is regularly sold out at most stores, new inventory has been available at different times each week. Best Buy announced that it will be adding new stock on December 15, though it's not clear what time inventory will be live throughout the day. Check the below links to see the current availability at each store.

In addition to regular purchase options from various retailers, Microsoft is also offering a monthly purchase option for the console as part of its Xbox All Access program. The plan costs $34.99 a month for 24 months, and includes the system and a 24 month subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. You can find more details here.

Microsoft launched another new Xbox console that is slightly weaker than the Series X with a lower price tag, too. The system, called the Xbox Series S, costs $300.

Xbox Series X specifications and features

Microsoft says the Xbox Series X is about twice as strong as the Xbox One X and more than eight times as powerful as the original Xbox One released in 2013. The Series X also boasts significantly faster load times thanks to a new solid state hard drive. The SSD enables new features like Quick Resume, which lets you save multiple games in a suspended state similar to rest mode.

Another new feature is "Smart Delivery"— a process that lets Xbox owners swap between the Series X and Xbox One versions of games, like "Halo Infinite" and "Gears 5," to get the best possible quality on both consoles with no extra cost.

Because of smart delivery, Microsoft says there won't be any games that are truly exclusive to the Xbox Series X for a year or longer. Every new Xbox release in 2020 will still be available on Xbox One, but the Series X versions will have improved visuals thanks to Smart Delivery.