Of Course, Scalpers Are Already Selling The Halo Edition Xbox
With Microsoft's Halo Infinite set to be one of the biggest Xbox releases of all time, it only makes sense that the gaming giant wants to celebrate in style with some limited-edition merch. Remembering that Infinite was originally supposed to launch alongside the Xbox Series last November, there's plenty of hype for its imminent release.
Instead of just throwing out some controllers and headphones that make you look like Master Chief, Microsoft has rolled out the welcome wagon with a whole Halo-inspired Xbox Series X. The suitably glitzy reveal came at this year's Gamescom, but with stocks quickly selling out, scalpers have swooped in to make the most of the situation.
Where can you get the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X?
Complete with an armoured look and star pattern, the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X is immediately recognisable as part of the Master Chief family. Orders quickly went live Stateside with outlets including the Xbox Store, Walmart, and Best Buy offering preorders ahead of November 15.
Although the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X is due to ship for $550/£480, the fact preorders are largely sold out mean scalpers have turned to auction sites to flog their orders for astronomical sums. Posting on Twitter, user @roboplato shared eBay listings for the console with upwards of $1000.
In the United Kingdom, there were similar listings around the £900/$1,200 mark. All of these were within just two hours of the announcement at the Gamescom Opening Night Live showcase.
Sharing their shock at these ludicrous price tags, the twitterverse was typically unimpressed by scalpers trying to make a quick buck. One wrote, "Lol I can't believe I actually managed to preorder one. Scalpers are gonna sell these for crazy money", while another added, "And 1,000 is now... can you imagine when parents are searching that close to X-Mas?!? $1,500-2,000 easy. I dread this sh*t."
Will people pay scalpers for the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X?
Some pointed out that eBay's own rules frown upon presale and state that listings must emphasise someone is bidding on a presale. Added to this, orders should be shipped within 30 days of purchase - which would be impossible given the console's November release.
Of course, scalping is a mechanic we've seen time and time again as soon as anything goes on sale, or is removed from sale in the case of Super Mario 3D All-Stars. In recent months, we've covered how scalpers are trying to flog the divisive Nintendo Switch OLED, a shortage of PlayStation 4 consoles has led to scalping in Canada, and THAT whole Pokemon Happy Meal debacle.
Most of the above have been over-inflated stories, with sensible gaming fans refusing to stump up for these skyrocketing prices. Then again, with the Xbox Series X hard enough to find anyway - and with Christmas just around the corner - it's likely that desperate players will actually pay top dollar for the limited-edition Halo Infinite Xbox Series X.
Cue complaints from moaning parents that they couldn't get little Timmy one for Christmas because they were all bought by adults. Sorry Janet, should've got up earlier!