2020, Video game console
WISE Score
The big Xbox: the same games as the Series S in 4K, a disc drive on the black model, and a $799.99 price tag.
The Series X and Series S are one console family with one library and one set of parental controls. The X adds 4K graphics, twice the storage and, on the black model, a disc drive for physical and used games.
For most kids, the extra $300 buys sharper pictures on a big TV and nothing new to play. It earns its price in a living room with a 4K TV, or for a family that wants to buy and trade discs.
The Series X fits the same kids as the Series S: about 8 and up with Family Settings in place, and best around 10 to 15, when online play with friends matters. A younger kid gets nothing extra from the 4K power, so the Series S or a Nintendo Switch is the better buy under 10.
Same library as the Series S, from Minecraft and LEGO games to M-rated shooters, all sorted by the content filters you set.
Game Pass makes it cheap to sample creative, puzzle and indie games alongside the big releases.
Xbox Family Settings gives a parent per-day screen time, content filters, purchase approval and friend-request approval from a phone.
Strong creative and problem-solving games are available, but the library leans toward action and the subscription rewards sampling over finishing.
Microsoft launched two consoles in November 2020, and parents usually see them written as "Xbox Series X/S." They play the same games, run the same Game Pass subscription and use the same parental controls. The Series X is the tall black one: more power, more storage and, on the main model, a disc drive.
The Series X: a tall black tower, with the disc slot on the front.
The Series X targets 4K at up to 120 frames per second, against 1440p on the Series S. It has 1TB of storage, more than twice what the base Series S leaves usable, and the Carbon Black model reads discs. Since August 1, 2026 it costs $799.99 with a disc drive and $749.99 for the white All-Digital model. The 2TB model is gone.
| Series S | Series X | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (US, Aug 2026) | $499.99 (512GB), $599.99 (1TB) | $749.99 (digital), $799.99 (disc) |
| Resolution target | 1440p | 4K |
| Disc drive | No | Black model only |
| Games | Same library | Same library |
The X earns its price in three cases: a big 4K TV in a shared living room, a family that wants to buy used discs and resell finished ones, or a kid who plays several 100GB games and would run out of room on a Series S. Otherwise the Series S plays everything for $300 less.
Xbox Game Pass runs from $9.99 to $22.99 a month, and online multiplayer in paid games needs at least the $9.99 Essential tier. The Xbox Family Settings app sets daily screen-time windows, filters games by age rating, approves friend requests and pauses play from your phone. Set it up before the first sign-in.
Game Pass Ultimate also streams games to phones and PCs, so the console is not the only screen it reaches.
Microsoft now releases many of its own games on PlayStation too: Forza Horizon 5 reached PS5 in 2025. That means fewer reasons to pick Xbox for one game, and more reason to ask which console your kid's friends play on, since most kids play online with whoever shares their console. For younger kids, the Nintendo Switch still has the deepest shelf of games made for them.
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