(Update) Xbox Series X is launching on Thanksgiving

Power your dreams

[Update: Microsoft was quick to shut this one down. Xbox’s Major Nelson sent out the following tweet that claims the Thanksgiving date was an error, and that Xbox Series X is still set for the vague window of “Holiday 2020.” That probably makes sense considering the logistical nightmare of trying to launch a new console on a major US holiday.]

An Xbox product page in some regions inaccurately listed the launch date for Xbox Series X as Thanksgiving 2020. We are committed to launching Holiday 2020

— Larry Hryb 🦉✨ (@majornelson) March 18, 2020

Two days after giving us a tech breakdown of the Xbox Series X, Microsoft has seemingly gifted us a launch date. 

According to the Xbox Series X website, the new console is launching on Thanksgiving. That’s Thursday, November 26, 2020. The date has been quietly added at the bottom of the Xbox Series X page. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom to find the simple confirmation of Xbox’s next-gen arrival.

However, there’s some regional differences in play. This is the Xbox site in India that lists Thanksgiving. Other regions like Australia and New Zealand also say Thanksgiving. But, the US site still lists “Holiday 2020.” (Also worth mentioning: Some countries don’t have a Thanksgiving; of the ones that do, seemingly only the United States and Brazil celebrate it on the fourth Thursday of November.)

Assuming the Thanksgiving part in fact means a November 26, 2020 launch, that opens the door to questions about how a major hardware release will work on a widely-observed holiday. Will there be midnight launches on Thursday at 12am when most stores traditionally close their doors for most of Thanksgiving? Will people buying it at brick-and-mortar stores have to wait until the next day when stores open for Black Friday (which will only add to the Black Friday madness). What about all the people who have it shipped to them when freight carriers are taking Thursday off? 

Thanksgiving seems like a weird day to launch a console. We’ll find out more about Microsoft’s official plans — including how this whole thing is marketed and released at retail — hopefully sometimes in the near future.

The New Xbox Series X [Xbox]