Microsoft is offering some Xbox owners up to $375 to trade in their consoles, following through on a plan to make used hardware available at lower prices after rising component costs pushed Xbox prices higher.
The email, shared on X, targets owners who have not played recently or may have moved to Xbox on PC. Xbox Series S owners can receive up to $200 through the Best Buy program, with the value depending on the model and its condition. Those trading in their Series X may receive up to the advertised $375.
The email, which multiple users have reported receiving seemingly as part of a targeted campaign, reads: “Haven’t played on your console in a while? If you’ve moved on to Xbox on PC or another way to play Xbox games, it may be time to trade in your console to Best Buy.”
Trade-ins are part of Microsoft’s plan to make Xbox cheaper
Microsoft outlined the trade-in plan in its June announcement of Xbox price increases. It said it was launching several programs to “make Xbox consoles more accessible”, including trade-ins, financing and refurbished hardware. Under the trade-in scheme, players can exchange consoles they no longer use for cash or store credit. “Those consoles will then be made available at lower prices for players,” the company said.
Alongside trade-ins, Microsoft pointed to interest-free financing for up to 12 months and certified refurbished consoles sold through the Microsoft Store at discounts of up to $100. The initiatives claim to offer alternatives for players facing higher upfront prices, while trade-ins give owners who have stopped using their Xbox a way to recover some of its value.
AI demand is adding pressure to console costs
The plan comes as Xbox hardware gets more expensive. Microsoft said console memory and storage costs had “increased by more than 2.5x” and warned they could rise further. The August price changes brought the US 512GB Xbox Series S to $499.99 and the 1TB Xbox Series X to $749.99. Microsoft also said consoles are typically sold for less than they cost to make, leaving them particularly exposed to component cost increases.
The component crunch is affecting consumer electronics more broadly, with the rapid expansion of AI data centres driving intense demand for memory and storage hardware. That demand has helped push up costs for components also used in consoles, PCs and other devices.
