It’s been a wild 24 hours for Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox consoles. Following a leaked render and alleged pricing of the Xbox Series S, Microsoft quickly revealed the more affordable console, and soon confirmed a November 10 launch date via an official trailer. Now, the company has dropped another bombshell by announcing the pricing and availability details of both the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S consoles. Ready yet? Cool, let’s get into the details.

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The Xbox Series X costs $499, while the Xbox Series S will set buyers back by $299. Pre-orders for both the consoles begin on September 22, while the global launch will happen on November 10. If you live in India, you’ll have to pay Rs. 34,990 (~ $476) for the Xbox Series S, while the Xbox Series X costs a bomb at Rs. 49,990 (~ $681). That’s a huge premium over what the new consoles cost in the US market, and I am royally miffed about it. But Microsoft is also offering another way to purchase the consoles that will appeal to gamers, and it is called Xbox All Access. So, what is that?

What is Xbox All Access?

Well, Xbox All Access offers you the Xbox Series X or its cheaper sibling as well as 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. With Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you get more than 100 high-quality games to play on consoles as well as PC, including next-gen Optimized games. Additionally, Microsoft has announced that EA Play membership will also be thrown in as a freebie with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which offers 60 of EA’s console and PC games like FIFA 20, Titanfall 2 and Need for Speed Heat, as well as titles from other well-known franchises such as Battlefield, Mass Effect, Skate, and The Sims.

Moreover, Microsoft is also bundling in xCloud with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate starting September 15, which means you can play over 100 console games from the cloud on your smartphone or tablet. So, here’s a quick breakdown of everything you get with Xbox All Access:

  • The console itself
  • Access to over 100 games in the Xbox Game Pass library that can be played on both console and PC
  • Free EA Play membership
  • Free xCloud access 

You can find more details about Xbox All Access here.

How much you pay?

Xbox Series S will be up for grabs at $24.99 per month with the Xbox All Access financing plan, while the Xbox Series X runs slightly higher at $34.99 per month. Microsoft says Xbox All Access is available in 12 countries now and will be offered by outlets such as GameStop, Target, Walmart, Telstra and SK Telecom to name a few. Unfortunately, the list doesn’t include India, but Microsoft has plans to expand the availability of Xbox All Access to more countries in the foreseeable future.