Microsoft is marking Xbox's 25th anniversary with a limited-edition Series X console finished in translucent green, a direct callback to the platform's original color identity.
The Xbox Series X25 ships with a matching controller, both wrapped in a see-through green shell that leans into the translucent plastic aesthetic that defined late-1990s and early-2000s consumer electronics. Microsoft has not disclosed how many units will be produced or at what price. The original Xbox launched in 2001, putting the 25-year mark squarely in 2026 and giving the company a clean hook for the limited run.
Nostalgia hardware sells, and Microsoft is well aware of it. Translucent cases had a genuine cultural moment at Xbox's launch - Apple had just popularized the look with the iMac, Nintendo was shipping the Game Boy Color and N64 "Funtastic" lineup in candy-colored see-through shells, and the original Xbox's green-and-black palette became one of gaming's more recognizable identities. Packaging that aesthetic into a modern box is a low-cost way to generate press and move units to collectors who very likely own a Series X already.
It's a solid birthday cake for a platform that spent much of its first decade being told it was losing the console wars - though "limited edition" almost always ends up meaning "priced for resale the afternoon it sells out."