What does $899.99 buy in the XBOX 25th Anniversary Collection?

Eight hundred and ninety-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents, for one games console. Microsoft attached that figure to the XBOX 25th Anniversary Collection in a post published to XBOX Wire on August 26, 2026, and wrote that general pre-orders would open the next day, Thursday, August 27, at 7 a.m. PDT, in select markets [1]. The release date is November 13, 2026, which as of September 3, 2026 is 71 days out.

Xbox is Microsoft's line of home games consoles, and the Series X is the higher-end model of the current generation. The first Xbox shipped in 2001, which makes this the twenty-fifth year, and the limited edition carries the full name XBOX Series X25 Limited Edition. The post is bylined to Jason Ronald, VP Next Generation [1].

Every console leaves with a number of its own

The colour has a name: translucent OG Green. OG is the common abbreviation for original, and green is the colour the Xbox logo has used from the start. The post pairs that translucent OG Green design with details and tributes hidden throughout the hardware, though it does not say what those details are or where they sit [1].

The numbers are firmer. Each console is individually numbered with a unique engraving [1], so two people buying the same model do not get the same object. How high those numbers run, which is to say how many consoles are being made, is not stated.

The game comes with it; the controller comes 24 days earlier

Every console includes a full-game download of Halo: Campaign Evolved [1]. A download, not a disc. Halo is the science-fiction shooter series that has represented the platform since the first Xbox, and the title here is easy to misread: the post says Campaign Evolved, not the similarly named Combat Evolved.

The controller is a separate purchase. The XBOX X25 Special Edition Wireless Controller arrives on October 20, 2026, in the same translucent OG Green with nostalgic design details, and its pre-orders are already running in select markets [1]. That puts it in hand 24 days before the console. What it costs on its own is not in the post.

The condition buried in "select markets"

Pre-orders opened in two stages. On August 26 some of the most dedicated fans were invited by email; the following day, Thursday, August 27 at 7 a.m. PDT, all players in select markets could go to the XBOX site or a participating retailer, while supplies last [1].

One restriction rides along with that. Pre-orders are limited to one XBOX 25th Anniversary Collection per customer [1], and the collection is the umbrella name covering the Series X25 console and the X25 Special Edition controller together [1].

Pricing varies by market, and the post directs buyers to their local Microsoft Store or an authorised retailer for region-specific pricing and availability [1]. Which markets those are is not enumerated. The Spanish-language official version published the same day repeats the $899.99 figure and the November 13 date without adding regional prices [2].

Two more figures never appear. Storage capacity and the controller's standalone price are absent from the body of both the English post and its Spanish counterpart [1][2]. The missing storage number is the awkward one, since it is part of judging whether $899.99 is steep.

The only move available now is to open a local Microsoft Store page or an authorised retailer and see whether stock remains [1]. Two dates hold the calendar: October 20 for the controller, November 13 for the console. Whether Microsoft fills in the storage figure before either of them is still unanswered.

Sources

[1] Microsoft. Pre-orders Begin Today for the XBOX 25th Anniversary Collection. XBOX Wire, August 26, 2026.

[2] Microsoft. Las preventas para la coleccion del 25o aniversario de XBOX comienzan hoy. XBOX Wire (Spanish edition), August 26, 2026.