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A 'sizable' Xbox Series X restock is now available at GameStop (Update: Sold out)

You can get the console via Microsoft's All Access financing option -- which is actually a great deal for most gamers.

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)
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John Falcone
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Update, 9:44 a.m. PT: This availability appears to have sold out in under 3 hours. 

The Xbox Series X is currently available at at GameStop.com right now (Wed., April 21, 7:31 a.m. PT). The site is experiencing some glitches, but we found it working after repeated tries. The availability makes good on the earlier pledge from GameStop's Twitter feed that a "sizable drop of Xbox Series X consoles" would become available this morning. It's the latest availability for Microsoft's top game console, which is -- next to the PS5 and various PC video cards -- among the most difficult item in the electronics world to locate on store shelves. The "catch," such as it is, is that these will be bought through the Xbox All Access program. 

See it at GameStop

Here's what that means -- and why it's really not a catch at all. Instead of buying the console outright, you buy it on a "subscription" program for $35 per month for 24 months (subject to credit approval). That includes a 0% APR interest rate. (Read more about Xbox All Access here.) In addition to the hardware, the subscription includes Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which otherwise costs $15 per month. That subscription (which also includes Xbox Live Gold and EA Play) gives you access to an "all you can play" list of more than 100 games, including triple-A titles like Outriders, Doom Eternal, Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K1, all the Battlefields and dozens of others, with more added all the time. See how Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Live Gold compare. 

At the end of the 24 months, you completely own the Xbox hardware, and you've paid a total of $840. That sounds like a lot, but you've actually saved $20 versus the $860 you'd otherwise spend for that combo ($500 console plus $360 for two years of Game Pass Ultimate). And that doesn't include any savings you'll also realize by not stretching these purchases on a regular high interest rate credit card.

Long story short, if you're buying an Xbox Series X and you plan on doing any gaming beyond single-player silver discs, you'll almost certainly get a lot of value out of Game Pass Ultimate. If that's you, this GameStop offer is a good deal, and well worth pursuing.

Prefer to seek out an Xbox or PS5 with no strings attached? Check out restock options at other retailers:

Watch this: PS5 vs. Xbox Series X: the ultimate comparison

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