What to Expect from Xbox’s Black Friday 2025 Sale
As we approach Black Friday 2025, Xbox enthusiasts are gearing up for what promises to be a unique and somewhat complicated shopping experience. This year, Microsoft has implemented significant price hikes across its product range, impacting consoles, controllers, and subscription services like Game Pass Ultimate. While discounts will still be available, the starting prices for many items are now considerably higher, which could dampen the excitement for bargain hunters. Despite this, there are still opportunities for savvy shoppers to find worthwhile deals, particularly if they know where to look and which offers to avoid.
One of the most anticipated items during the Black Friday sales is Xbox Game Pass. Recently, the price for Game Pass Ultimate surged by 50%, making it less likely that Microsoft will provide direct discounts during the sales period. However, other retailers are already offering competitive deals, such as Amazon selling three-month codes for $59.99, significantly lower than the new standard rate of $29.99 per month. Last year’s Black Friday saw Woot offering a remarkable deal on Game Pass Ultimate for just $28.99, and while such deep discounts may not be repeated, keeping an eye on Woot and following deal alerts on social media could yield substantial savings.
When it comes to Xbox controllers, a modest $10 discount is expected from Microsoft, but this may not be enough to entice buyers given the increased MSRP of $64.99. Last year, controllers were available for as low as $35, and similar deals could resurface as the sale approaches. For games, particularly third-party titles, significant discounts are anticipated, with physical copies likely to see the best deals. Notable titles such as “Borderlands 4” and “EA Sports FC 26” are already discounted, and many more are expected to follow suit. Console discounts may be less impressive, with only minor reductions projected for the Xbox Series X and S, making it essential for shoppers to stay vigilant for flash sales and special promotions, especially from retailers like Lenovo and Amazon. Overall, Black Friday 2025 is shaping up to offer a mix of opportunity and caution for Xbox fans looking to score great deals amidst rising prices.
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Xbox’s Black Friday sale this year is shaping up to be… complicated. Microsoft has spent much of 2025 raising prices across the board, with consoles, controllers, games, and even Game Pass Ultimate all getting more expensive.
We’ll definitely still see discounts for Xbox fans during the big sale season; it’s just unfortunate that almost everything is starting from a considerably higher baseline than before.
Best Black Friday Deals for Xbox
That said, I’m
also
predicting that we’ll still be able to score some worthwhile
discounts come Black Friday
.
While Xbox’s official “Black Friday” offerings (yet to be announced) rarely deliver great savings, in my experience, you just need to know where and when to look for bargains, and which “deals” to avoid altogether.
To help with this, I’ve put together my predictions for what will be discounted this year, alongside some expert advice on the best places to find Xbox deals once the sales properly kick off.
Xbox Game Pass
Let’s kick off with the most obvious starting point: Xbox Game Pass. Unfortunately, Game Pass Ultimate recently saw another
major price hike
, jumping a massive 50% in the US, so I probably wouldn’t expect Microsoft to discount it
directly
this Black Friday or
Cyber Monday
.
But, not all hope is lost, as I’m certain you’ll still be able to find
good offers from other retailers
, and dodge the new $29.99 per month standard rate. Amazon, for instance, is already
selling three-month codes for $59.99
, down from $89.99.
That’s a great deal if you want to lock in coverage through the holidays. The max you can fill out your account with is 12 lots of three months (totalling 36 months), and currently costs $659.88, or $219.96 per year.
By comparison, at the new $29.99 monthly rate, three years of Game Pass Ultimate now costs $1,079.64. So there are already big savings to be had. It’s just a question of whether we’ll potentially see anything even better in the coming weeks.
Now that’s where things get interesting. For the best deal possible in the final months of the year, my advice is to keep an eye on
Amazon-owned Woot
. Last year, Woot dropped three months of Game Pass Ultimate to just
$28.99 during Black Friday
, over 50% off at the time.
Xbox Game Pass 2025 Price Tracker
Ultimate: $29.99/mo (up from $19.99)
Premium: $14.99/mo, the same as the old Standard subscription
Essential: $9.99/mo, the same as the old Core subscription
PC: $16.49/mo (up from $11.99)
It was a great deal, but considering it now costs $90 for three months of Ultimate today, this now looks like an absolute juggernaut of a discount.
It’s purely speculative that this offer could reappear, and I doubt we’ll see anything quite that generous in 2025, but anything even close to it would be worth shouting about again.
Woot is one of the best retailers for limited-time, doorbuster-style discounts, and since it’s backed by Amazon, it’s a safe bet. The only downside is that these deals sell out fast, so to avoid missing out, I’d suggest following
@IGNDeals on Twitter/X
for the latest updates.
Xbox Controllers
Predictably, I’m very much expecting Microsoft to once again roll out its usual $10 off Black Friday offer for Xbox controllers. This wasn’t a good deal last year, and won’t be a good deal this year either, especially since the MSRP is now
$64.99
.
Last year, controllers dropped as low as $35 at multiple retailers during Black Friday, and we’ve already seen them hit that again recently at
Lenovo
. That’s a pretty excellent early deal, if I do say so myself. You can check out what controllers went on sale below, though that discount code has now ended.
If you want to pick up one of the
best PC gaming controllers
at that price now, it’s well worth it if the sale comes back, even before the official Black Friday sales kick off, as it’s unlikely we’ll get any better deals than this.
That said, I still expect we’ll see
every color scheme
go on sale closer to Black Friday, so it could be worth waiting to see if you can grab something a little bolder, and potentially at an even better price.
When it comes to deals to skip, I’d avoid paying anything over $45 for the core controllers during the sale season.
Xbox Controller 2025 Price Tracker
Core – $64.99
Color – $69.99
Special Edition – $79.99
Limited Edition – $89.99 (up from $79.99)
Elite Series 2 (Core) – $149.99 (up from $139.99)
Elite Series 2 (Full) – $199.99 (up from $179.99)
The only other Xbox controllers I’d be excited about this Black Friday are the
new special edition models
, such as
the “Breaker” series
. They dropped down to
$49.99 at Lenovo
earlier this month, which was a pretty great deal all things considered.
I’m also watching to see whether we’ll get another significant price drop on the
Xbox Elite 2 Controllers
. Ideally, the Core Elite model would fall around $90, while the full Elite 2 package would drop to somewhere between $110 and $120.
Xbox Games
When it comes to games, this should be a solid year for discounts, especially on third-party titles. Xbox hasn’t pushed physical releases much lately, given how deep it’s gone into its digital-first, Game Pass-heavy ecosystem, but that doesn’t mean deals will be scarce.
First-party games will probably get modest 10-20% discounts, usually digital only. Expect to see The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, The Outer Worlds 2, Doom: The Dark Ages, Avowed, Indiana Jones (and its DLC), and Gears of War Reloaded included. I wouldn’t hold my breath for Call of Duty Black Ops 7, but anything’s possible.
Third-party games are where the best savings will be, particularly for physical copies. Expect discounts in line with PlayStation’s across big releases like
Borderlands 4 (confirmed, and down to $47.99 already)
, your typical new SEGA game discount (
GameStop
has confirmed this to be Sonic Racing: Crossworlds for $45), and
EA Sports FC 26, which is already down to $34.99
.
Other top 2025 games likely to see further cuts include Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Split Fiction, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Civilization 7, and Elden Ring Nightreign. Each has already been discounted in other sales this year, so expect them to dip again.
What game would you like to see in the Black Friday sales? Let us know in the comments.
Xbox Consoles
Last year, one of the better offers for Xbox was the Xbox Series X All-Digital 1TB going for just under $400 at Amazon. That was decent, but not mindblowing.
Yet, considering this exact console now costs nearly $600 after this
year’s price hikes
, I doubt we’ll see anything close to sub $400 any time again soon. I’d expect maybe a $50-100 discount across the board on Xbox consoles this year, but don’t expect a miracle.
Still, if you’re hunting for the best deal, keep an eye on
Lenovo
. It tends to offer surprise Xbox console discount codes during Black Friday that quietly end up being the best prices around.
A proper
great
deal, at least by 2025 standards, would be around $250 for a Series S or $400 for a Series X. It’s also worth watching Amazon’s “Used – Like New” listings. They’ve been running
excellent resale discounts on almost-new hardware lately
, just with open packaging.
Xbox Console 2025 Price Tracker
Xbox Series S 512GB: $399.99 (up $20 from $379.99)
Xbox Series S 1TB: $449.99 (up $20 from $429.99)
Xbox Series X Digital: $599.99 (up $50 from $549.99)
Xbox Series X: $649.99 (up $50 from $599.99)
Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Special Edition: $799.99 (up $70 from $729.99)
For example, Amazon sold a PS5 Pro for $500 during Prime Day, a PS Portal for $125, and a PS VR2 Headset bundle for just under $190.
If similar offers show up for Xbox consoles during Black Friday, that could end up being the best way to save big this year. That goes the same for Xbox controllers, and even the pricey
Xbox ROG Ally X
as well.
Xbox Black Friday 2025: Summary of Predictions
The sale will likely start around
November 20-25
, matching major online retailers.
Microsoft’s own “Black Friday” deals are usually duds, so look elsewhere for better deals.
Game Pass probably won’t get a direct discount from Xbox, but other stores might offer savings.
Look for Xbox controllers to drop to around $35 for the core model.
Console deals will likely be hard to come by, though “like new” options at Amazon or short-term Lenovo promos could be worth watching out for.
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Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN’s resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him
@robertliam21
on Twitter/X or
Bluesky
.
