Published on May 4, 2019
Updated on August 27, 2022

All Xbox Console Models & Generations in Order of Release

Microsoft has always been a PC software vendor since 1972, but in 2001 they also released their first console. They joined the console market at a pretty rough period, being around some high competition against Sony, Sega, and Nintendo.

Despite the everlasting competition and several drawbacks, the Xbox brand managed to become a household name in gaming, worldwide. Microsoft has sold over 150 million consoles since.

Table of Contents

Xbox (2001)

CPU: Intel Pentium III – 733 MHz
GPU:
NVDIA NV2A – 233 MHz
Memory:
64 MB DDR SDRAM
Hard Drive:
8 GB HDD
Optical Drive:
CD Rom, DVD Rom
Video Output:
S-Video, SCART (RGB)
Network:
Fast Ethernet
Audio:
5.1 Surround Sound, Stereo

Release Date: November 15, 2001
Code Name: DirectX Box
Generation: First
Status:
Discontinued
Release Price: $299
Units Sold: 24+ million (as of May 10, 2006)
Best-selling Game: Halo 2. 8 million

You can still buy the original Xbox from Amazon.

The original Xbox, Microsoft debuted in the home console gaming market, with a characteristic big size in black and green colors, was released on November 15, 2001. At the time, the sixth-generation console market was overwhelmed by PlayStation 2, GameCube and Dreamcast, leading Microsoft to rise through a very competitive marketplace, and people were wondering if the Xbox console would be an expensive mistake. They proved everyone wrong by selling 550,000 units of hardware in its first week.

The console’s prototype was put together at first as a side project, using Dell laptop parts and then Microsoft decided to redesign it. This led Xbox to use the PC’s x86 architecture, a build that was very rare for a console at the time. Microsoft engineers originally called the console “DirectX Box“, named after the DirectX graphics technology, that was developed for PC gaming and later was shortened to Xbox.

Xbox was the first console to have a built-in Ethernet port, combined with a broadband connection. It was the time were Xbox Live launched and Microsoft offered to players a unique, steady and reliable online experience, but only with a subscription.

One of the biggest hits for Xbox was Halo, a science fiction first-person shooter game, developed by Bungie, with smooth and balanced gameplay followed with its sequel in 2004 were more-than-enough reasons to buy an Xbox. Many other exclusive titles followed like Ninja Gaiden, Fable and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, which helped a lot the franchise to succeed.

Xbox 360 (2005)

CPU: Microsoft XCPU (Xenon), 3 cores – 500 MHz
GPU:
R500, Xenos chip by ATI – 500 MHz
Memory:
512 MB GDDR3 RAM
Hard Drive:
250 GB HDD
Optical Drive:
12x DVD
Video Output:
HDMI 1.2a in/out
Network:
Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
Audio:
Multichannel 5.1 Surround Sound

Release Date: November 22, 2005
Code Name: Xenon
Generation: Second
Status: Discontinued
Release Price: $399
Units Sold:
84 million (as of June 9, 2014)
Best-selling Game: 
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, 14.23 million

You can still buy the original Xbox 360 from Amazon.

The seventh-generation came in 2005, with Sega out of the hardware market, and now the market is all about the-all-known-three companies, Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. Each company released their consoles based on various strategies to attract the gamer.

The early builds of the Xbox 360 had many hardware failures caused by overheating. The three flashing red lights and the well known Red Ring of Death was a common inconvenience for the owners. These early models forced Microsoft to repair and replace every system and even extend the consoles’ warranties for all of the issues.

A series of massive exclusive hit titles like Crackdown, Gears of War, Dead Rising and Mass Effect helped to keep the people loyal on the console. The Xbox Live service and its subscription were expanded, redesigned and contained most of the Xbox 360’s console bundles, but the prices where aggressively high. That was a big disadvantage for Microsoft, especially when Sony announced that their players can enjoy the online experience without paying any subscription.

Microsoft redesigned Xbox 360’s hardware several times, alongside it with a bunch of peripherals like the redesigned wireless controller and headset followed by one of the biggest Microsoft’s releases, the Kinect. A device that is based on the webcam-style add-on peripheral, enabling users to control and interact with their console using gestures and voice commands.

Xbox 360 S (2010)

CPU/GPU: Custom ATI-designed, combo single chip
Memory:
512 MB of GDDR3 RAM
Hard Drive:
250 GB HDD
Optical Drive:
DVD
Video Output:
HDMI 1.2a in/out
Network:
802.11b/g/n, Fast Ethernet
Audio:
5.1 Channel Surround Sound

Release Date: June 14, 2010
Generation: Second
Status: Discontinued
Release Price: $299

On June 14, 2010, Microsoft released a new and redesigned slim model of  Xbox 360.  A  slim, lighter and freshly looking design with a glossy black finish and a smaller power brick were more than enough for players to give a second chance on the Xbox 360 brand.

The S model was built with a more powerful processor and motherboard in order to reduce the hardware failures and thermals issues that the original Xbox 360 had.  The console was replaced with physical power and eject buttons with touch-system and offered HD-DVD drive, Ethernet, WiFi connection and two additional USB ports.

Xbox 360 E (2013)

CPU: IBM custom designed Xenon – 3 cores
GPU:
ATI Xenos – 10 MB eDRAM
Memory:
512 MB GDDR3 RAM
Hard Drive:
250 GB HDD 2.5′ SATA
Optical Drive:
HD DVD
Video Output:
HDMI, Up to 1080p
Network:
802.11b/g/n, Fast Ethernet
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Release Date: June 102013
Generation: Second
Status: Discontinued
Release Price: $199

You can still buy Xbox 360 E from Amazon.

The last version of Xbox 360 was released by Microsoft on June 10 of 2013. The Xbox 360 E was slightly smaller, lighter and quieter than the S model, and it was built for players who were unwilling to spend money for the upcoming Xbox One. The design is similar to the Xbox One console with its inter-cooler design, the black matte color, and the gloss finish.

The designers rolled back to the physical power and eject buttons and removed the AV connector making it an HDMI only video connection. The Xbox 360 E model also offered two USB ports, Ethernet, WiFi support and a Kinect port.

Xbox One (2013)

CPU: AMD 8 Core APU – 1.75 GHz
GPU:
AMD RadeonGCN architecture, 853 MHz
Memory:
8 GB DDR3
Hard Drive:
500 GB HDD
Optical Drive:
Blu-Ray/DVD
Video Output:
HDMI 1.4 in/out, 4K support
Network:
Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 
Audio:
7,1 Surround Sound

Release Date: November 22, 2013
Code Name: Durango
Generation: Third
Status: Discontinued
Release Price: $499
Units Sold:
39.1 million (as of March, 2018)
Best-selling Game:
Call of Duty: Black Ops III, 7.24 million (as of October 16, 2016)

You can still buy the original Xbox One from Amazon.

On November 22 of 2013, Microsoft released the next Xbox console that introduced us to the next generation. The Xbox One was promoted by Microsoft with an increasing emphasis on the Kinect system, and television integration within the built-in apps and voice commands.

The Xbox One rolled back to the PC’s x86 architecture set, using AMD’S custom Jaguar accelerated processing unit, which features two quad-core modules capped at 1.75GHz. The system uses AMD’s Radeon HD 7000 series graphics card in order to be capable of running at 4K resolution with 7.1 surround sound. The console is also able to monitor internal temperatures and adjusting the cooling where necessary.

In June 2015, Microsoft offered to the players backward compatibility with numerous Xbox 360 titles via software emulation. As of the Xbox original titles, in 2017 at E3 Microsoft announced that the Xbox One will support them as well.

Some of the best exclusive titles of Xbox One that kept the sale numbers high at the time was Titanfall, Dead Rising 3 and Forza Motorsport 5. As of today, the Xbox One is still second in place with 40 million consoles sold behind Sony’s PS4, which has shipped over 90 million consoles worldwide.

Xbox One S (2016)

CPU: AMD 8-core APU (2 quad-core Jaguar modules)
GPU:
AMD Radeon 914 MHz
Memory:
8 GB DDR3 
Hard Drive:
1TB HDD
Optical Drive:
UHD Blu-ray, DVD
Video Output:
HDMI 2.0 in/out, 4K support
Network:
Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11n, Ethernet
Audio:
7.1 Surround Sound

Release Date: August 2, 2016
Generation: Third
Status: Released
Release Price: $299
Units Sold: N/A

You can buy Xbox One S from Amazon.

The Xbox One S was released on August 2, 2016. The console was redesigned to be 40% smaller than any previous model without having a power brick. With a white aesthetic look coupled with minimal black accents, physical power, and eject buttons.

The Xbox One S adds the high-dynamic range (HDR) support in the system for TV streaming and not for gaming along with a 4K Blu-ray drive. The console runs the games up-scaled to 4K but it’s not giving the true 4K detailed experience as the Xbox One X does. The console’s GPU received a 70% boost up to 914MHz and hard drive sizes moved up to 1 and 2TB.

A new controller came with the release of the Xbox One S console with a new extended Bluetooth support and a textured grip for comfy handle. In 2017 the Xbox Design Lab came up on the Xbox official site which allows you to create and customize a controller with the design and colors of your own taste.

While the Kinect made a huge success on the Xbox 360 consoles, the numbers fell down dramatically over the years. Microsoft decided to stop manufacturing Kinect back in October of 2017.

Xbox One X (2017)

CPU: AMD 8-core APU – 2.3 GHz
GPU:
AMD RadeonGCN architecture  1.172 GHz
Memory:
12 GB GDDR5
Hard Drive:
2TB HDD
Optical Drive:
UHD Blu-ray, DVD
Video Output:
HDMI 2.0b in/out, 4K support
Network:
Wi-FiIEEE 802.11n, Ethernet
Audio:
7.1 Surround Sound

Release Date: November 7, 2017
Code name: Scorpio
Generation: Third
Release Price: $499
Status: Released
Units Sold: 
N/A

You can buy Xbox One X from Amazon.

The Xbox One X was released on November 7 of 2017. This is the first Xbox console that offers a realistic 4K gaming, running on 60 FPS, being capable of delivering six teraflops of performance and still run the same games and software as the already existing Xbox One systems do.

In terms of design, the Xbox One X has a slick minimal design with pure matte black color, looking similar to the Xbox One S but a lot smaller making it the smallest Xbox console ever released. The console uses an 8 core AMD processor at 2.3GHz and a 12GB of shared GDDR5 Ram. As for its GPU, AMD’s Radeon graphics card is used again with the Polaris architecture, capped at 1172MHz.

The console was made for 4K enthusiasts, with its high-end specs and what’s its capable of, but Microsoft made it clear that the Xbox One X is able to expand gaming for those who don’t own ultra high definition displays too. The console has also backward compatibility with all the Xbox One titles ever released.

Xbox Series X | S (2020)

CPU: AMD Zen 8-core – 3.8GHz
GPU:
Custom RDNA 2 – 1.825GHz, 52 CUs, 12 TFLOPs
Memory:
16 GB GDDR6
Hard Drive:
1TB NVMe SSD
Optical Drive:
4K UDH Blu-ray
Video Output:
HDMI 2.1

Release Date: November 10, 2020
Generation: Fourth
Release Price: $500
Status: Announced Officially
Units Sold: 
N/A

The Xbox Series X released in November 10, 2020, and promises extreme specifications, similar to PlayStation 5’s. 4K (8K ready) gaming with 120 FPS? I’m not gonna lie, this is “impossible” even for a beast gaming PC, let alone a console that costs 10 times less.

But of course, games are optimized differently for consoles, leaving out a lot of the “details” that make rendering very hard for GPUs, while keeping the visual result almost identical. Offering 12 Teraflops of power, the Series X is almost double in capabilities than Xbox One’s best edition.

1TB of SSD storage space is also a big upgrade, as it’s going to be the first time Microsoft uses an SSD for optimal gaming performance. The “box” design of Series X has been criticized a lot – both negatively and positively – but what is important (at least to me), is that this design also offers amazing cooling capabilities.

As we all know, heating is a big issue with consoles and high-performance AAA games, so Microsoft has put a lot of R&D into many components of the console, in order to ensure top cooling performance, that’s also optimized to be as quiet as possible.

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Babalon, Mother of Abominations

16-hours / day in front of the screen entrepreneur, of which 6+ are spent on gaming. MMOs, CCGs, RPGs and many more, Steam-addict & achievement-w***e. Currently wasting life on BDO & Gacha Games.

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55 responses to “All Xbox Console Models & Generations in Order of Release”

  1. Lucy Lou says:

    Just today MS laid off 1,500 game division employees. Will this be the end of Xbox?

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      That’s just hard to say Lucy!

      Layoffs, rumours about Xbox cutting distribution of physical games..

      The future certainly looks bleak for the Xbox as we know it.

      They’ve been focusing on Game Pass too much, short-term revenue versus loyal players.

  2. John Anderson says:

    I had the original xbox, never upgraded from that. Recently thought it might be fun for kids I have now. Please, what modern versions will still play original games? Thanks!

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      Hey John!

      All versions of the Xbox One, as well as the Series X (Series S can only play digital games, so you would have to rebuy the ones you own), will play original Xbox and Xbox 360 games.

      Keep in mind however that the full catalogue is not supported, there’s roughly 600+ Xbox 360 games (out of 2,100+) and 60+ Xbox games (out of 1,000+) that will work on modern Xbox consoles.

      Other than that, keep in mind also that most original Xbox games will run properly on an Xbox 360 console, so you might consider it since it’s quite cheaper, and used games go for as low as 0.50$.

  3. Kit says:

    This was an informative guide. With the approaching closure of Xbox360 Marketplace and Gold Memberships for that console, I’m looking to purchase a new Xbox console, but I am unsure if I should go for the Xbox Series X or Xbox One. I just really want to play Xbox360 games as that’s all I have, such as the toys to life games, Halo, Force Unleashed, etc. What would be the best option?

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      Thanks Kit! Between the Series X and Xbox One, the Series X is the better choice from any way you look at it.

      It’s essentially a better version of Xbox One, like how a PC would be. Everything that runs on Xbox One, runs on Series X too, many times also taking advantage of the extra hardware.

      The only thing you can’t use, is the Xbox One Kinect, or games made for it (and there’s really not much you are missing out here).

      Keep in mind that even though a big number of Xbox 360 games are backwards compatible with Xbox One / Series X, it’s not all! The biggest number of original Xbox and Xbox 360 games can only be played on their respective consoles (with many more original Xbox being supported on Xbox 360 for that matter).

      With a Series X and an Xbox 360 you can cover almost the entirety of the Xbox catalogue, so I’d place my focus there!

  4. mahmood ahmadi says:

    I have a question should I go for a ps4 slim or Xbox One s ?

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      It depends what is your end goal Mahmood! In 90% of cases though, I’d say always go with Xbox, and that’s true for all 4 generations of Xbox consoles.

      Xbox One S & PS4 Slim are quite weaker than their better counterparts (Xbox One X & PS4 Pro), so you will miss out on the better graphics and performance, as well as 4K and HDR support. Of course, it’s even better to go for PS5 / Series X since they support the full PS4 / Xbox One library, but it’s at least double the money, so back to your initial question!

      Xbox One S will offer you the chance to play a huge amount of original Xbox & Xbox 360 games on top of Xbox One games (700+ of them are backwards compatible), and what’s more, Xbox games tend to be far, far cheaper than PlayStation games in the used market. So from a value standpoint, you can get a lot more out of your Xbox (and let’s not forget Game Pass).

      If you are not playing physical games however, and prefer digital ones, then by all means go for the Xbox Series S, instead of the Xbox One S. The price difference shouldn’t be too big, and you can still benefit from the huge catalogue of Xbox games.

      The only case where I would suggest PS4 as a better alternative, is if you’re after more of the exclusives, since they’re far more than Xbox One, or you’re a big fan of JRPGs or Japanese developers in general, since they are far easier to find on PS4.

  5. A. L. Wilson says:

    TY I really needed this breakdown and history so I can make an educated purchase. I have never owned an XBox
    I had a couple PlayStation in the earlier days of consoles Ps 2 and 3 I was annoyed by the lack of backward compatibility of my favorite titles. when the ps3 came out. I was in my 40;s at the time. I am now 63 and am retired so I am looking forward to purchasing an XBox this time around and there are a couple games specifically I am dying to play on a console as opposed to my phone. {Ark Survival Evolved} . And with the rest of my days not commited to work anymore I see many happy hours in front of our 65″ flat screen Taming Dinos and racing at speeds Nascar would blanche at. I looked at all those models and then the backwards compatibility lists and thought o crap which one should I buy! So having this organized and all the specs laid out took the nightmare guess work out of the purchasing decision. So REALLY Thank You.

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      Thanks for your kind words A. L.!

      Xbox has done a great job with backwards compatibility, and a big number of titles from the original Xbox, and the Xbox 360, can be enjoyed in both the Xbox One & Xbox Series systems.

      However, the best choice is definitely the Xbox Series X model, since it’s far more powerful than both the Series S, and Xbox One X, and can also unlock higher framerate or better resolution support for many of the old (and of course new) titles. The Series X can definitely last you a very long time, and you will have access to the best versions of any supported game!

      Enjoy retirement mate 😁

  6. keinver says:

    im still happy with my xbox E. NICE article babylon

  7. Danie erh says:

    Hello i wish to ask if someone can help me with a link were i can download some free games for my xbox 360 if there’s any? Am new to it so headsup will highly be recommended

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      Hey Danie, apart from browsing popular free to play games through the Xbox Store, the best thing you could do is get a trial of the Xbox Game Pass! It’s packed with a ton of games you can enjoy for as long as you are subscribed, and new ones arriving all the time!

      It’s definitely the best value for money you can get on your Xbox, as you can essentially try almost any popular game in any genre!

  8. Danny Suarez says:

    Can the series x play physical 360 games?/ or possible to transfer save files and just download the game instead? Like Dead Space 1-3, Resident Evil 5?

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      Yes, and yes!

      There is full backwards compatibility, and you can also export save files from your old Xbox, to Series X or S.

  9. Destinee says:

    Can I play a guitar hero game from Xbox one on the Xbox series X

  10. Jeffery says:

    I have a question can a Xbox 360 game be played on a Xbox series x my son has both so I was just wondering

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      Hey Jeffery,

      The Xbox Series X can actually play games from any of the previous Xbox consoles, even the original one!

      That’s a heavy selling point when comparing it to the PS5 in my opinion, that can only play PS4 games.

  11. BOZO55505 says:

    Nice article!

  12. John S. says:

    Anyone have an idea of when and upgraded/new Xbox series X might come out?

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      No idea, but probably around the 2nd year mark?

      Maybe even longer, since 90% of people are still trying to get their hands on the original Xbox Series X or PS5!

      • BoB ROSS says:

        I been using this article as a cross of list because I collected all the consoles I have the PS1 PS2 PS3 PS4 PS5 Xbox Xbox360 Xbox360 S Xbox360 E Xbox one and the Xbox one S all I need is the Xbox one X and the series X?

  13. Fluff says:

    This article was really helpful. Thanks!

  14. Hadlow says:

    A dumb question, but can the 2020 Xbox play regular dvds?

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      Of course! DVD, Blu-ray, and any older Xbox game discs as well 🙂

      You can play any game from Xbox, Xbox 360 or Xbox One on your Xbox Series X / S, which is a great gift from Microsoft!

  15. Yourmom says:

    By the way u are missing an Xbox it is the Xbox s series so create it on there so u don’t confuse people

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      Thanks for the obvious remark Yourmom.

      We will update the Xbox Series X to reflect the differences with Series S.

  16. Your mom says:

    I am rich and jacked up on G fuel so I will get the Xbox series x

  17. ShadowGamer says:

    Hey, quick question, is it possible for the xbox 360 s (2010) to come in white, as we recoeved a similar model today from someone we know?

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      It is!

      I own one myself 😀 I got the “red button” after 3 years of use though :/

  18. Cj Taylor says:

    I don’t like the 2020 xbox it doesn’t fit the reg xbox

  19. Ch Adrees says:

    Relase date of serries x

  20. Knowsmorethanyou says:

    You forgot about the xbox one elite, yikes

    • Avatar photo Babalon, Mother of Abominations says:

      Since you “Knowsmorethanyou” do you care to elaborate?

      Are you referring to the Xbox One Elite controller?!

      The “Xbox One Elite” console bundle you may find in some stores, doesn’t have any major differences than the original, aside from the Xbox One Elite controller that it came with, an SSD upgrade, and a matte finish. Apart from these, it’s identical to the Xbox One.

  21. Margaret says:

    Looking for a Xbox 360 s

  22. Helena Presnell says:

    Looking for a XBOX ONE in a Green Box Black Console.

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