Microsoft is reportedly contacting Xbox Series X|S owners who appear to have stopped using their consoles, encouraging them to trade in the hardware through Best Buy. The outreach comes as rising component costs and higher console prices put pressure on Xbox’s affordability.
The emails, reported by Windows Central, target users who may have moved to PC gaming or have multiple consoles. The message encourages recipients to trade in hardware they no longer use, potentially returning those systems to circulation for other buyers. According to Power Up Gaming, the reported offer advertises trade-in values of up to $375 for an Xbox Series X and $200 for an Xbox Series S. These are maximum advertised amounts, not guaranteed payouts: the final value depends on the model, condition and retailer assessment.
The outreach follows a broader affordability initiative Microsoft announced in June. In its official Xbox price announcement, the company said participating retail partners would accept previously played consoles for cash or store credit and make those systems available to other players at lower prices. Microsoft also highlighted financing options and certified-refurbished consoles as ways to reduce the cost of entering the Xbox ecosystem. Microsoft attributed its price increases to rising component expenses, saying memory and storage costs had increased by more than 2.5 times and could double again by fall 2027. Industry reporting has linked pressure on memory supplies to demand from AI data centers, but Microsoft’s announcement does not identify AI demand as the sole cause of its hardware-cost increases.
Console availability also varies by region. Windows Central reports that new Xbox hardware has generally remained available in core markets such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, while supplies have been much more constrained in parts of Asia, mainland Europe, the Middle East and South America. These are the outlet’s reported market observations, rather than a comprehensive global inventory assessment. The trade-in campaign appears to extend Microsoft’s existing effort to make Xbox hardware more accessible, rather than introduce a new program. Encouraging owners to exchange unused consoles could increase the supply of lower-priced, previously owned systems while giving sellers a way to recover some of their original purchase cost.
Whether the targeted emails meaningfully improve availability remains to be seen. For now, they illustrate how Microsoft is trying to expand access to its consoles as component costs rise and new hardware becomes less affordable in some markets.