The Xbox Series X25 anniversary console is officially up for pre-order, so you know what that means: scalpers are cashing in.
Like clockwork, pre-order pages for Microsoft’s 25th anniversary console were bombarded by buyers when they went live yesterday, August 27, 2026. At $899.99 for that translucent green box and $79.99 for its themed controller, the price to celebrate Xbox’s birthday was already quite steep, but scalpers have still seemingly managed to find buyers willing to spend thousands.
In the 24 hours since pre-order pages went live, multiple listings have popped up on eBay and, in many cases, successfully sold the Xbox Series X25 console bundle for more than $2,000. One scalper selling the full package – which Microsoft said comes with the “XBOX 25” branded 1TB console and controller, as well as a copy of Halo: Campaign Evolved – managed to successfully close a listing for $2,800. Many, many others have managed to sell their confirmed purchases for around $2,500.
That’s a remarkable increase for an already pricey Xbox console, but the individual controller is getting hit just as hard. If you want to pick up one of the controllers (which also happen to have the original Xbox logo hidden in the back) from eBay, you could be spending as much as $185, more than double its retail cost. Many others are going for around $130.
“This collection is our way of celebrating the community that has made XBOX what it is today,” Microsoft said when detailing its X25 collection earlier this week. “Thank you for being part of this journey.”
Unfortunately, direct pre-orders for the release from retailers like Amazon and Best Buy seem to be largely sold out, at least for now. It’s also not a surprise to see scalpers hitting the X25 collection as hard as they are. Valve’s new Steam controller and Steam Machine were hit particularly hard when they launched earlier this year. Even the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 was hit by scalpers despite Rockstar Games confirming it will only release GTA 6 digitally.
The difference between the X25 release and things like Pokémon cards or the Steam Machine is there’s no guarantee that Microsoft has any plans to produce more Xbox anniversary consoles. This seems like an extremely limited release, giving scalpers the perfect opportunity to strike while the iron’s hot and make a quick buck. The company has also confirmed each console features its own unique engraving.
The Xbox 25th anniversary collection launches November 13, 2026, with its standalone controller set to arrive earlier come October 20. Target reportedly had some employees slicing open Pokémon card boxes to discourage scalping behavior earlier this month. One Disney store in London had to temporarily close after a few scalpers got “aggressive” toward others.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
