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The Xbox Series S is back in stock at Amazon

Microsoft's entry-level console is easier to get than the Series X and the PS5.

John Falcone Senior Editorial Director, Shopping
John P. Falcone is the senior director of commerce content at CNET, where he coordinates coverage of the site's buying recommendations alongside the CNET Advice team (where he previously headed the consumer electronics reviews section). He's been a CNET editor since 2003.
Expertise Over 20 years experience in electronics and gadget reviews and analysis, and consumer shopping advice Credentials
  • Self-taught tinkerer, informal IT and gadget consultant to friends and family (with several self-built gaming PCs under his belt)
John Falcone
2 min read
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Andy Hoyle/CNET

Heads up, holiday shoppers: The Xbox Series S is currently in stock at Amazon. In a way, that's not news: Unlike the newer Nintendo Switch OLED and the more powerful Xbox Series X and PS5, the Series S has always been comparatively easy to obtain since its November 2020 release. (The PS5 and Xbox are getting a big bite at the apple today when Walmart will have them, initially only for Walmart Plus members, later this afternoon.)

But we're highlighting it here because -- even as folks continue to pay huge premiums for the chance to snag a PS5 -- we've found the Xbox Series S to be a great little gaming box when paired with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Yes, plenty of gamers shake their heads at this $300 console because it doesn't deliver "true 4K" gaming. That's true, as is the fact that it packs a relatively paltry 512GB of storage (a proprietary expansion card costs a whopping $220). It doesn't play disc-based games or movies, and if you're awaiting upcoming PlayStation exclusives like Horizon Forbidden West or God of War: Ragnarok, you won't find them here. 

But as someone who's owned a Series S for the past 11 months, I think the benefits far outweigh those caveats. Of course, the Series S offers all those other big cross-platform games of the season -- the latest entries in the Battlefield, Madden, Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto series, to name a few. And thanks to Game Pass, I have access to dozens of other great games at no extra charge, including the Xbox-exclusive Halo Infinite when it hits on December 8. Not too shabby. 

Published earlier, updated to reflect new availability.