Xbox series X stock – live: Today’s UK restock news from Game, Currys, Argos and more

Welcome to Thursday’s Xbox stock tracking liveblog.

Today we’re tracking every UK retailer at once for any sign of Microsoft’s elusive black cuboid, to bring you live Xbox restock updates as they happen.

If you’re on the hunt for an Xbox, stick with us to be the first to know when the console drops. Ready? Let’s go.

Well that’s all from us, thank you for following the Xbox stock tracking liveblog. It’s been an eventful day, with stock still available at Currys in two bundles. The cheaper bundle ( £589, Currys.co.uk) includes the series X console and elite series 2 wireless controller while the pricier includes the Xbox series X as part of a bundle containing the Seagate 1TB expansion hard drive (£659, Currys.co.uk).

Continue to stay ahead of the game and be in with the best possible chance of finding the Xbox in stock by joining us again tomorrow when we’ll be resuming the search.

Lately, more retailers have opted to restock the Xbox in store rather than online. This helps avoid scalpers and get the console into the hands of legitimate customers.

Keeping track of the stock situation in physical shops is tricky, but not impossible. We rely on tips from shoppers, reports from Twitter, and intel from our shady network of spies embedded in every brick-and-mortar shop in the country.

Here are some tips for finding the Xbox series X in stock out there in the wild:

• The retailers rumoured to have in-store stock are Argos, Smyths Toys and Game. To a lesser extent we’ve heard of John Lewis & Partners, and Currys having physical stock.
• Enter your post code on the retailer’s online product page to check for local stock. If you can, scroll around to peek at other stores farther away from you.
• Xbox not in stock? Don’t lose hope. Many stores don’t log returns or uncollected Xbox pre-orders back into their stock systems. Pop into your local shop in person and ask a member of staff.

While we may not have seen any other restocks today, Currys still has stock of the Xbox series X as part of two bundles. The cheaper bundle ( £589, Currys.co.uk) includes the series X console and elite series 2 wireless controller. The high-end controller costs a whopping £150 alone.

You can also purchase the Xbox series X as part of a bundle containing the Seagate 1TB expansion hard drive (£659, Currys.co.uk). We’ve seen the expansion drive sell for around £190 in the past, so this is close to what you’d pay if you were to buy both products separately.

If you can afford it, we’d suggest the bundle with the extra hard drive is the best value option here. Expanding the Xbox’s capacity gives you more room for downloads, and modern games are taking up more and more space.

The post-Christmas console drops are few and far between. So let’s brush up on the fundamentals. Know your enemy and all that.

There are two next-gen Xboxes, the less powerful Xbox series S and the top-of-the-range Xbox series X.

All Xbox games old and new will run on both consoles, though on the less powerful Xbox series S the overall graphics quality will be dialled down. The Xbox series S does not have a disc drive, has half the storage capacity and can only play downloaded games. The Xbox series S is much easier to find in stock than the series X. It’s also cheaper and costs just £249 (Amazon.co.uk).

Here are the details, if you’re into comparing teraflops.

• CPU: Custom Zen 2 8-core CPU
• GPU: 4 TFLOPS, 20 CUS
• Memory: 10GB GDDR6
• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Resolution: 1440p at 60fps

• CPU: AMD 8-core Zen 2 @ 3.8 GHz
• GPU: 12TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz
• Memory: 16GB GDDR6
• Storage: 1TB custom WD SSD, optional 1T
• Resolution: 4K at 60fps

Earbuds might not be great for gaming, but that doesn’t stop us from using them while playing a bit of Fortnite. We’ve tested a range of the latest models in our review of the best wireless earbuds, primarily focusing on audio quality, but also checking out the various features and styles currently on the market.

Whether you’re a style-conscious pop lover, a fitness fan on a budget or a blasphemous earbud-wearing gamer, there’s something for everyone in our earbuds guide. Our top pick are the Sennheiser CX 400BT true wireless earbuds. Our reviewer said that they were a “top-notch” pair for those who don’t want to splash.

While your (and everyone elses) focus may be trying to grab the Xbox series X – the most advanced member of the Xbox family – demand for the less powerful Xbox series S is much smaller and so the console is easy to find in stock in a bunch of different places.

The Xbox series S is a brilliant games machine capable of playing all the same next-generation games as the Xbox series X. The console is backwards compatible with older Xbox games and has slightly lower grade components, meaning some of the fancier graphics options dialled down. It doesn’t have a disc drive either, so you can only play downloaded games. The hard drive is also half as big, so you need to redownload games more often.

There’s now an official Xbox series S + Fortnite + Rocket League bundle on the shelves too, costing £249.99. You can find it at Very, Game, Amazon and more.

The Xbox series X is often bundled with a gaming headset to bump up the price and stave off scalpers.

The console doesn’t come with its own headset ,but it’s compatible with all existing headsets for the Xbox One. The Xbox wireless controller (£54.99, Currys.co.uk) also has a headphone jack, so you can plug in your regular headphones to have game audio play through them rather than your TV, which is ideal if you’re sharing a room with somebody you don’t want to disturb.

If you need to upgrade or you don’t have your own headset yet, Microsoft sells the wireless Xbox series X headset separately (£89.99, Game.co.uk). Lots of third-party manufacturers make Xbox compatible headsets too. We’ve rounded up the best gaming headsets you can buy today.

If you stream Netflix on your Xbox, a virtual private network allows you to spoof your location and access movies and TV shows not normally available in your country.

You can’t install a VPN directly to an Xbox series X, but you can install one on your laptop and route your console’s internet connection through that. You can also install some VPNs on routers to cover all of your devices in one go.

Did you manage to grab an Xbox recently? Well have a gander at our round-up of the best Xbox series X games to decide what to play first.

Both the Xbox series X and the PlayStation 5 have endured a slow launch, with the global pandemic putting the brakes on development of many new titles. You’ll notice that many of the best Xbox series X games are upgraded and remastered versions of Xbox One games, but there are some genuine next-gen experiences to be enjoyed already.

Wondering what to play next? Here’s our list of the best Xbox series X games of 2021