Xbox Series X restock: GameStop, Best Buy and Microsoft dates – get our tracker alerts

Xbox Series X restock
(Image credit: Microsoft/Future)

Xbox Series X restock dates in the US at GameStop, Best Buy, Microsoft and Target don't happen often

► Don't buy from other Twitter users – which are all scams. Only buy from the US stores Matt alerts you about. No one will legitimately sell Xbox Series X for just $550.

  • Next Best Buy Xbox Series X restock: Has been weekly so far on random dates
  • Last Best Buy Xbox Series X restock: Wednesday, July 14 at 3:10pm ET

The Best Buy Xbox Series X has been happening weekly for one month with the exception of the short 4th of July holiday which only one retailer in the US, Target, had a restock of the new Microsoft Xbox console. That's why Best Buy has suddenly become the most popular retailer for Xbox Series X stock – it's consistent. Note: it has done weekly restocks before and then skipped six weeks in a row in 2021, so it's never guaranteed at Best Buy anymore.

Unfortunately, every Xbox Series X restock has been on a different date and time in the last month. Thursday and Friday used to be popular with Best Buy, it has shifted to Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday during the latest restock cycle, and the time has extended from 9:38am to 6:05pm – so basically the whole day.


GameStop Xbox Series X restock

  • Next GameStop Xbox Series X restock: Unknown, but it's overdue
  • Last minor GameStop Xbox Series X restock: Thursday, July 15 at 11am EDT
  • Last Xbox All Access bundle restock at GameStop: June 23 at 2pm EDT
  • Only GameStop in-store Xbox Series X restock in 2021: June 16 at store open
  • Last major GameStop Xbox Series X restock: Wednesday, May 26 at 2pm EDT 

The GameStop Xbox Series X restock strategy is all over the place, with the last major online inventory launching back on May 26 (alongside a big PS5 restock opportunity). There have been other Xbox restock events since that date: on June 16 we saw the first and only major in-store restock at retailer stores – GameStop or otherwise – in 2021; on June 23, we saw an Xbox All Access bundle go live; and this past Thursday, July 15, the retailer briefly bundled the Xbox Series X console with an extra blue Xbox controller, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and $20 gift card and F1 2021.  

We're hoping for more – and better – Xbox Series X GameStop bundles in the near future, as the game retailer keeps trying different things with its Xbox inventory. 


Microsoft Store secret Xbox Series X availability

  • Microsoft has diverted Xbox console stock to its Xbox Insiders program
  • Beta testers (of new dashboards) get access to buying a console
  • It requires powering up your Xbox One console

The official Microsoft Store hasn't had a major restock in the US months through its website. Instead, the company is diverting some of Xbox Series X inventory to a pilot program designed to help its most loyal Xbox fans get the new Series X console. 

The Xbox Insiders Xbox Series X upgrade plan, first discovered by Bradon Hofer over at Gaming Target, is actually a great incentive for people who want to beta test dashboard tweaks and other system updates that Microsoft is developing for its consoles. And if you're stuck testing things out on an old Xbox One and wanting to upgrade to the new Xbox Series X, really you should be the first in line. 

Note: you'll need to power up your old Xbox One console in order to log into this particular Xbox Insiders menu. You access it online, nor can you find the menu on an Xbox Series X. This prevents Xbox Series X owners from ordering a second console from their brand new system.

Xbox Series X restock Insiders program menu

(Image credit: Brandon Hofer / Gaming Target)

Walmart Xbox Series X restock

  • Next Walmart Xbox Series X restock: Thursday, July 22 at 2:30pm EDT or 3pm EDT if it happens
  • Last Walmart Xbox Series X restock: July 1 at 3pm EDT

The last Walmart Xbox Series X restock date had some good news attached to it, and so did some of the most recent Best Buy restock dates: the Microsoft console was in stock for anywhere from 14 minutes (at Walmart on July 1) to 29 minutes (on June 24 and June 29) at Best Buy. Costco also had an Xbox bundle with a pricey SSD that stayed in stock for an entire weekend.

Why is that important? Well, if the Xbox Series X Walmart restock is this week, Thursday at either 2:30pm EDT or 3pm EDT (it's overdue), it may just sit there as demand shrank in June and July. We just need a restock opportunity to happen at MSRP.

We noticed is that the console was far easier to buy than prior weeks and months. This is a good sign. We just need a restock to happen, but it just sits there.


Target Xbox Series X restock: daily online locally

  • Target Xbox restock are online locally now almost every morning
  • Only a few zip codes have the Xbox Series X for sale – and only a few consoles at that
  • This is very different from the nationwide Xbox Series X restocks before

Every morning Target has the Xbox Series X in stock at random stores to be bought online (no, you cannot buy the Xbox in stores in the US at this time). The problem is that it's hard to issue Twitter alerts when it's usually select stores in a city and there are as few as five consoles as part of the Xbox restock.

Target has switched from a nationwide restock date to offering the Xbox Series X at a local level (again only to be bought online buy picked up in stores) and it has the Xbox consoles for sale as they come in every morning.


Xbox All-Access is often the silent restock

  • Walmart and GameStop had Xbox Series X in stock through All Access for weeks and no one noticed
  • The pay-as-you-go program does hook you into a 24-month contract

Stores like Walmart and GameStop often restock the Xbox Series X through the Xbox All Access bundle, which works a lot like a smartphone plan. You pay for the console over time, but you're also signed up for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (which is actually something you should look into buying alongside an Xbox anyway).

After 24 months, you save a couple of dollars with this Xbox Series X plan, but you're on the hook being required to pay for it for two years.

The Xbox Series X restock news continues to be a mixed bag. The console is readily available when there's a restock, but retailers in the US haven't made the new Xbox for sale except for a few restock dates in late June and the first half of July. Demand has fallen, but so has supply. At first, it may be difficult to buy Xbox Series X once things do become steady again (as more demand piles up), but as soon as those pent-up needs are met, it will just sit there in stock again, according to our analysis.

Matt Swider