The Xbox Series X has suffered with supply shortages ever since it launched in 2020. Thankfully, it looks like there are going to be plenty of Xbox Series X units available for purchase this holiday season.
Anyone who tried acquiring any significant gaming hardware this year can attest to the difficulty in actually doing so. From the Xbox Series X, PS5, and even Nintendo Switch, to PC components like graphics cards, gaming hardware has been in very high demand, but due to ongoing chip shortages and the worldwide pandemic, supplies have had difficulty being met. Furthermore, while places Amazon, Target, and Best Buy will restock Xbox Series X consoles occassionally, these units are often snatched by bots and resold on third-party platforms for inordinate prices. When Microsoft released the limited edition Halo Infinite-themed Xbox Series X, the same results occurred.
According to a new tweet from an industry insider, there will be many more available Xbox Series X units in these final months of 2021. Christopher Dring, Head of GamesIndustry.biz, shared on Twitter, "Word on the industry bongos is that Xbox Series X supply will improve quite a bit for the year-end run-in, just in time for Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon." Dring adds that Microsoft plans on using the aforementioned games and Xbox Game Pass to help drive the hardware sales going into the holidary season. There are no current metrics or sales data available for how many consoles will actually be produced, just the notion that it will be a lot.
The natural next question is what does PS5 supply look like during this time, which someone in the replies asked Dring. Their answer is a succinct one, that also illuminates a trend about the current stance of the two consoles: "Well, PS5 supply has been much better than Xbox supply. It's just demand is still outstripping supply that nobody notices!" It is a measure of the PS5's success, that despite already providing as many units as it possibly can, the demand is still so high the console feels sparse. In an attempt to provide as many consoles to buyers as orderly as possible, Sony is letting consumers register to buy PS5 consoles.
For those who haven't been able to get an Xbox Series X yet, this should be some reassuring news. With Forza Horizon 5 and Halo Infinite dropping in the coming weeks, the demand for the console will likely only grow, as both games are shaping up to be juggernauts for this season. It would be great to see Microsoft implement a registration process to try and get an Xbox Series X like Sony has done, but where the demands of the two consoles are not quite the same, perhaps it is not quite necessary yet. Regardless, if the hardware shortage is expected to continue into 2022, this may be the best time to get an Xbox Series X for the forseeable future.