The Xbox One debuted in 2013, and all told, it had a seven-year run. Microsoft recently confirmed what console hunters have suspected for a while: Xbox One production officially ended in 2020, as Microsoft shifted focus to manufacturing Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S systems.
This decision stands in stark contrast to Sony, which hopes to produce a million more PS4s before the end of 2022, as the company simply can't supply enough PlayStation 5 consoles for PS5 restocks.
Information comes from The Verge, which received a statement directly from Microsoft:
“To focus on production of Xbox Series X/S, we stopped production for all Xbox One consoles by the end of 2020,” said Cindy Walker, who works as a senior director of Xbox console product marketing.
In retrospect, this explains why Xbox One consoles have been so hard to come by for the past two years, whereas PS4s have been relatively easy. Back when the Xbox Series X debuted, a ton of customers bought the Xbox One X instead, presumably by accident, since the two products had such similar names. But since then, Xbox Ones have been pretty much impossible to find, unless you wanted used models.
However, if you haven’t been able to find an Xbox Series X and wanted an Xbox One as a consolation prize, there’s some good news. Microsoft’s decision to discontinue the Xbox One made it possible to produce more Xbox Series X and Series X consoles instead. While Series X consoles are still almost impossible to find, Series S stock has more or less stabilized. While the Xbox Series S lacks a disc drive, it’s otherwise a better console than the Xbox One in every way, featuring higher resolutions, better frame rates and much faster load times.
The downside is that discontinuing the Xbox One doesn’t seem to have fixed the Xbox Series X restock shortage. Even by focusing all of its attention on current-gen Xbox consoles, Microsoft has not been able to meet the heavy demand for the Xbox Series X. Xbox boss Phil Spencer discussed some of the complicated logistics in an interesting New York Times interview, but the bottom line is that every step of the supply chain is compromised in some way. From chip shortages on the manufacturing end, to ruthless scalpers on the retail end, the console market is just a mess right now.
The good news is that even if you don’t have an Xbox Series X, you can play its games on other platforms, thanks to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s cloud gaming features. But if you’ve been hunting for an Xbox One all this time, it’s probably time to just pick up a Series S instead. In the meantime, see how the Xbox One's spirit is living on in the Xbox Series X console.
