Earlier this month, Microsoft confirmed that its pair of next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and Series S, will launch on November 10th in Canada.
The beefy Series X will be priced at $599 CAD, while the lower-cost, all-digital Series S will cost $379.99.
Ahead of launch, Canadian retailers will start taking pre-orders for both consoles on September 22nd at 11am ET/8am PT. Keep in mind that this only applies to online pre-orders, so you’ll need to check with your local retailer to see whether they are taking any in-store.
Additionally, it’s important to note that not every retailer has put up their online listings for the consoles yet. Therefore, we’ll update this story with the appropriate links as they go live.
For now, at least, know that Series X and S pre-orders will be available at the following retailers at 11am ET:
Amazon Canada
Best Buy
EB Games
London Drugs
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S
Games and accessories
Microsoft Store
Shoppers Drug Mart
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series S
Games and accessories
The Source
Note: most retailers only charge you once the item ships, but The Source will charge you as soon as the pre-order goes through. Therefore, prepare to spend several hundred dollars now if you’re looking to get a console from The Source.
Walmart
Given that we don’t know exactly when pre-orders will sell out, you’ll want to be quick on the draw. To save time at checkout, it’s a good idea to already have an online account for whatever retailer you plan on pre-ordering from. Make sure all of your shipping and payment details are up to date. Finally, log into your account ahead of 11am ET. Doing all of this ahead of time will ensure that all you’ll need to do at the top of the hour is add the consoles to your cart and finalize the transaction.
We are humbled by the record-breaking demand for Xbox Series X and S. Huge thanks to everyone for the excitement. 🙏
If you weren't successful today be sure to sign up with retailers for updates, and expect more consoles to be available on November 10. 💚
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 22, 2020
If you haven’t been able to get a console yet, Microsoft is promising that it will have more stock in the coming weeks. On Twitter, the official Xbox account noted that it’s seen “record-breaking demand for Xbox Series X and S,” but fans can sign up for updates from their retailers on restocks and “expect more consoles to be available on November 10th.”
Some food for thought
It’s important to note that Xbox All Access, Microsoft’s console financing option, is coming to Canada exclusively through EB Games. That said, the program will not be available come pre-order time, with Microsoft simply saying it will launch sometime before the consoles release on November 10th. Further, specific Canadian details like pricing have not yet been confirmed.
It’s also worth mentioning that Microsoft just announced plans to acquire Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion USD (nearly $10 billion CAD). Once the deal is finalized, this means that developers like Bethesda Game Studios (The Elder Scrolls), id Software (Doom) and Arkane (Dishonored) will be wholly owned by Microsoft. The timing of this news — a mere one day before pre-orders go live — was no doubt intentional, given that it’s now gotten many people actively talking about Xbox.
With all of that said, then, you may want to factor in the current unavailability of All Access — as well as the long-term prospect of Bethesda games on Game Pass — into your pre-order plans.
What about the PS5?
The simultaneous launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S pre-orders across all retailers is a markedly different strategy than the one employed by Sony with its own next-gen console, the PlayStation 5.
Last week, the Japanese tech giant revealed mere hours after its big PS5 Showcase that pre-orders would open the following day, only to suddenly announce right after that they were going live that same night. Making matters more complicated was the fact that retailers soon began to accept pre-orders at different times. This all came after Sony had specifically said it wouldn’t just drop PS5 pre-orders “at a minute’s notice.”
A few days later, Sony apologized for the PS5 pre-order situation, noting the process “could have gone a lot smoother” while promising to have more stock available between now and the end of the year. Overall, the company says it will have more PS5s available at launch than it did for the PS4 when it launched in November 2013.
We’ll have more on additional Canadian PlayStation 5 pre-orders as that information becomes available. The PS5 will launch in Canada on November 12th for $629 CAD alongside its $499 disc-less Digital Edition counterpart.
Which console(s) are you planning to pre-order? Let us know in the comments.
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
