We May Finally Know When The Series X Will Release
With the holiday release window of the Xbox Series X getting closer, it's no surprise that more details are starting to surface surrounding the console. However, a few recent leaks seem to have narrowed down the possible release date even further, perhaps to the actual date.
Microsoft very recently made a few huge announcements regarding the launch of the Xbox Series X. The first was delivered by 343 Industries, which told fans that Halo Infinite was being delayed until an unspecified date in 2021. With the news that its flagship launch title was being delayed, Xbox seemingly decided to throw fans a bone and confirmed that the Xbox Series X would be arriving in November. The only question that remained was exactly when in November.
The answer may lie in the bizarre series of controller leaks that have been puzzling fans. In recent days, Xbox Series X controllers have been popping up for sale in the wild, seemingly far ahead of their intended release date. These controllers have been white (instead of the standard black color fans have seen for the Series X) and the wording on the boxes seems to indicate that they're compatible with the unannounced Xbox Series S. To get to the bottom of this, one fan who managed to snag a white controller decided to do an unboxing and report their findings.
ResetEra forum user Jawmuncher shared a screenshot that seemed to depict the online user warranty page for the white controller in question. According to Jawmuncher, the screenshot was courtesy of a friend who had managed to purchase one of the controllers for themselves. The screenshot shows that the Microsoft Limited Warranty on the controller expires on Nov. 5, 2021. As pointed out by Jawmuncher, "[Microsoft] offers a 90 Day Standard Warranty with a 1 year Limited Warranty in the case of widespread product defect."
In other words, Jawmuncher posits that this particular Limited Warranty is set to expire exactly one year from the product's release date. This would theoretically put the related console launching on or around November 5 of this year.
Jawmuncher mentions, "The 5th is a Thursday so I imagine it might be a worldwide release date (5th in the US would be the 6th in Japan)." However, Jawmuncher is quick to point out that these new controllers are also compatible with devices that are already on the market, like the Xbox One. With that in mind, these controllers may still be intended to hit shelves before the new consoles do.
Whatever the case, other reports have seemed to confirm that these white controllers were definitely released too early. The Verge's Tom Warren said he was tipped off by someone who claims to have received a shipment of the controllers.
Warren tweeted, "Xbox Series X may launch on November 6th. A tipster tells me boxes of the new controllers have a do not open date of November 6th on them." The tweet was accompanied by a photo of a cardboard box that appeared to show just that: an orange sticker warning retailers not to open the container until Nov. 6.
How the person who tipped off Warren could have gotten this photo is unclear. It's likely that the anonymous tipster works in a retail store that is receiving early shipments of the controllers. Some people out there are obviously ignoring these big orange stickers, since some of these controllers have reportedly already made their way onto some online auction sites.
It's also worth remembering that there have been a few hints regarding another possible release date around the same timeframe. In an Xbox Wire blog post, it was announced that the game Yakuza: Like A Dragon would be a "day one" launch for the Xbox Series X. The fact that a Microsoft Store listing briefly showed a Nov. 13, 2020 release date for Yakuza: Like A Dragon made some folks believe that this would be the release date for the console. Maybe that was still the plan at one point and Microsoft has decided to move things up a week? On the other hand, maybe the white controllers really will hit shelves before the new console. Whatever the case, it's a mystery worthy of a Yakuza side quest.
Judging from these latest clues, it's looking more and more like the worldwide release date for the Xbox Series X (and maybe the Lockhart console, too) will be on or around Nov. 6, 2020. Of course, this has yet to be confirmed by Microsoft, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see some kind of official announcement on the matter soon. The fact that Microsoft has remained tight-lipped regarding the mysterious white controllers only seems to add credibility to the whole thing.