All Xbox Consoles: Different Models & Generations In Order

All Xbox consoles developed by Microsoft have played a significant role in the video games industry since their inception.

As the popularity of video game consoles continues to grow, it’s important to explore the history of all Xbox consoles. With their innovative designs, powerful processors, cutting-edge technology, and exclusive titles, Xbox has captured the attention of millions of gamers worldwide who have been eager to experience the entertainment offered by these consoles.

To help you learn more about the amazing world of Xbox, this article provides a comprehensive guide to all Xbox consoles. You’ll find information on the entire history of Xbox, including the different generations and models, specifications of each model, release dates, and launch prices around the world. You’ll also discover Xbox’s best-selling games, along with a FAQ section that provides interesting facts about these consoles.

So, let’s delve into the different generations and models of all Xbox consoles in order and explore everything that these consoles have to offer.

First Generation: Xbox (2001 – 2009)

Xbox (2001)

The original Xbox was released by Microsoft in America on November 15, 2001, in black and green colors. Xbox was originally called DirectX box after Direct X Graphics Technology that was developed for PC gaming, then was shortened to Xbox and became the first console sold by an American company after 1996 when Atari Jaguar sales stopped.

After America, the next original Xbox release was done in Japan on February 22, 2002, followed by Australia and Europe on March 14, 2002.

The original Xbox had an internal power supply, a built-in ethernet port for Microsoft’s Xbox Live online gaming service, and four controller ports on its front.

The first Xbox became part of the sixth generation of consoles and competed with other big player consoles like Sony Playstation 2(PS2), Nintendo GameCube, and Sega Dreamcast but fell short on sales in comparison to PS2. It only sold 25 million units whereas PS2 sold 155 million units.

Even with the sales not on par with PS2, the original Xbox console surprised everyone with the successful sales on its Halo game where Halo 2 had 8.46 million copies sold and Halo: Combat Evolved with 5million copies sold. Another successful game was Fable with 3 million copies sold.

Second generation: Xbox 360 (2005 – 2016)

Xbox 360 (2005)

Part of the seventh generation of gaming consoles, Xbox 360 was released in 2005 in North America with black and white colors. Release in Europe and Japan soon followed in 2006. It was the second console released by Microsoft after Xbox generation one.

Xbox 360 was sold out upon release with way better sales performance than the original xbox. With 84 million consoles sold it almost beat Playstation 3 with 87.4 million console sales.

Xbox 360 introduced several concepts that were later adopted by later consoles like motion sensor games, Xbox Live online service launched in August 2007 for Xbox 360, wireless controllers with an integrated headset port, and achievement points that were used for unlocking extra content.

The best-selling Xbox 360 game is Kinect Adventures! with 24 million in sales followed closely by Grand Theft Auto V with approximately 23 million copies sold worldwide. Taking the third, fourth, and fifth positions as Xbox 360 bestselling game in order are Call of Duty franchise with Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops, and Black Ops II.

Xbox 360 S (2010)

Released in 2010 as a smaller edition of the Xbox 360 console only available in black color with 250 GB storage capacity. When the Xbox 360 S was released, Microsoft discontinued their Xbox 360 Arcade and Elite retail configurations.

Buyers could also get their hands on a budget Xbox 360 S which only had 4GB of onboard storage, whilst the others shipped with 250GB or more.

The Xbox 360 S was later discontinued before the release of Xbox One S – a newer gen console.

Xbox 360 E (2013)

The Xbox 360 E is the third edition of Xbox 360. Xbox 360 E was released in 2013 in black and white colors with a 500 GB storage capacity. It is also backward compatible to some degree allowing users to play Xbox 360 games within Xbox One console.

This was the last Xbox console to use a pop-open disc drive and other than that, it was designed to be quieter and cooler compared to the previous models and generations of Xbox.

Third generation: Xbox One (2013 – 2020)

Xbox One (2013)

Microsoft released the original Xbox One as part of the 8th generation of video game consoles. The next-generation Xbox One was introduced by Microsoft on November 22, 2013, and was available in black and white colors.

The original Xbox One’s lifespan was short, three years later and it was discontinued from the market because of the release of Xbox One S.

Xbox One is not backward compatible with games from previous generations and there were a few controversies around some features like the requirement to connect to the internet at least once every 24 hours to synchronize or users would be unable to play any games and the required use of updated Kinect system peripheral plugin that according to some critics can become a surveillance camera. Microsoft decided to ultimately remove the restriction in Xbox One to connect once in 24 hours and also enabled users to use the console without the updated Kinect.

Xbox One S (2016)

Released on August 2, 2016, the Xbox One S design was made to be 40% smaller than the previous models but 7% faster than its predecessor. Compared to the black console, the Xbox One S color came in white with minimal black accents.

The Xbox One S console also offers three hard drives, 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. The Kinect port was also removed from Xbox One S but users can still purchase a Kinect adapter if they want one.

The Xbox One S was quietly discontinued in Q4 of 2020.

Xbox One X (2017)

The Xbox One X or also known as Project Scorpio before its global launch was released on November 7, 2017 but was only sold for three years and got discontinued before the release of Xbox Series X/S. The choices of color for the Xbox One X console were robot white and matte black.

The Xbox One X is a small Xbox One console but still boasted 1TB of storage space and a remarkable processing speed of 1,172MHz. This powerful ability leads to the development of 4K and HDR technology in which users can experience their games in high-definition quality.

Fourth generation: Xbox Series X and Series S (2020 – Present)

Xbox Series X (2020)

Microsoft released the Series X release on November 10, 2020, alongside Xbox Series S featuring a tall, rectangular design in carbon black color. The launch was said to be the biggest Xbox console launch with almost instant sold-out stocks of Xbox Series X and selling the most number of consoles within 24 hours worldwide.

The hardware is similar to that of a prebuilt gaming pc and Xbox Series X also has backward compatibility for all consoles except for Kinect Games.

A few of the exclusive games for Xbox X and S are Halo: Infinite, Forza Motorsport, State of Decay 3, and Fable. Some games are still expected to be delayed due to the pandemic.

There were controversies about the Xbox series X console emitting smoke but videos were late on debunked.

Xbox Series S (2020)

The smallest Xbox console ever and a cheaper alternative to the Series X, Series S was also released on November 17, 2020, together with Xbox Series X. The Xbox Series S comes in a robot white variant with a large black cooling fan.

The Series S also borrows the same hardware configuration as that of a prebuilt pc but with better processing speed, 3.4GHz compared to its predecessor which is 914MHz. It uses the same ports and has an identical Bluetooth Xbox controller but has only one storage option which is 500GB solid state drive. If that isn’t enough for you, then there is an option to buy an expansion card with up to 2TB of space.

Because of its lack of disc drive, Xbox Series S can only play digital versions of games. Users would need to download the games to the console. Frequent travelers not wanting to bring the additional load of the physical copies of games would find the Xbox Series S a better choice.

Best Selling Xbox Games By Console

Best Selling Xbox Game: Halo 2 (8.46 Million Copies Sold)

A first-person shooter video game, Halo 2 is set in the year 2553 about an interstellar war between humans and aliens called the Covenant. The player can either be Master Chief, an enhanced super soldier, or an artificial intelligence construct in which both characters are trying to prevent the activation of the Halo rings by the Covenant.

Halo 2 was released on November 9, 2004, and received several awards such as Outstanding Technical Achievement for its graphics, VGX Award for Best First-Person Action, Xbox Live Arcade Game of the Year-Multiplayer, and others.

Best Selling Xbox 360 Game: Kinect Adventures! (24 Million Copies Sold)

Released worldwide in November 2010, Kinect Adventures! became the best selling game on the Xbox 360. Kinect Adventures! was developed by Good Science Studio and utilized the Xbox 360 motion camera to track your movements.

Reviews of Kinect Adventures! weren’t exceptionally high, scoring just a 6/10 with most reviewers. Kinect Adventures! was also a game that shipped as a pack with certain Xbox 360 consoles as a pack which helped boost the sales.

Best Selling Xbox One Game: Grand Theft Auto V (8.72 Million Copies Sold)

Grand Theft Auto V (GTAV) released in 2013 and became the second best selling game of all-time with 160 million copies sold worldwide on all platforms. Even now, GTA5 remains popular and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Grand Theft Auto V being re-released in the future on a future console.

Best Selling Xbox Series X/S Game: Currently unknown

The total sales for games on the Xbox Series X & S are rising daily, there is no clear winner at this point, though the official Microsoft website states that the top paid Xbox games are Elden Ring and Dying Light 2, followed by NBA 2K22 and Cyberpunk 2077.

Xbox FAQs