'Haven't Played Your Console in a While?' Trade It in, Xbox Tells Customers Amid Stock Shortages

Xbox is sending emails to customers reminding them that they can trade in their Series X and S consoles if they’ve been collecting dust. The email has reportedly been sent to customers in the U.S. who haven’t used their console in some time.

The past year or so has seen console prices skyrocket thanks to the 'RAMpocalypse' sparked by generative AI companies such as OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and Microsoft itself gobbling up components. As these AI companies vie for dominance and hoard all the RAM, prices soar for the end user while hardware is harder than ever to get hold of.

Valve’s Steam Frame VR machine was originally supposed to launch for $750, for example, but thanks to the crisis created by AI companies, it ended up costing over $1,000. Meanwhile Nvidia graphics cards are way more expensive than they used to be.

Console price rises and shortages come at the worst time for both Sony and Microsoft, with November's launch of GTA 6 expected to spark a surge of interest in all things gaming. Given the game launches on console only, Rockstar's epic is sure to lead to a dramatic rise in PS5 and Xbox Series X and S sales. The only problem is, will Sony and Microsoft be able to meet demand?

With this in mind, you can see why Xbox would want people to hand over dormant consoles to new players. Here's what the email, verified by Windows Central, says:

“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.”

This initiative was actually announced in June, when Microsoft said these consoles would be refurbished and resold at lower prices to make machines more readily available for customers. "We are working with retail partners on new programs to provide previously played consoles at lower prices," Microsoft said at the time. "Players who are ready to upgrade or no longer use their console will be able to trade it in with participating retail partners for cash or store credit. Those consoles will then be made available at lower prices for players."

The console hardware situation looks like it will get worse before it gets better. RAM manufacturers have reportedly sold their allocated memory capacity for 2027 already. The highest-end GPUs are near-impossible to get hold of unless you're willing to pay exorbitant amounts to a third-party seller.