Microsoft is bringing back Xbox All Access, giving players in the UK and US the opportunity to upgrade to Project Scarlett when it launches in “holiday 2020”.
Xbox All Access allows subscribers to pay a monthly fee to get access to an Xbox One console, an Xbox Live Gold subscription, and an Xbox Game Pass subscription. In this case, players will be signing up for a 24-month subscription, with three different options available. For £17.99/$19.99 per month, players can get their hands on an Xbox One S All-Digital console, an Xbox Live Gold subscription, and 24 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate; for £19.99/$21.99 per month, players can get an Xbox One S console with the same extras; and for £24.99/$34.99 per month, players can get an Xbox One X console with the same extras.
The added incentive, however, is that players can upgrade their console to the next generation of Xbox, Project Scarlett, when it launches in Holiday 2020. To do so, players will need to have made 18 monthly payments to their subscription (12 months in the case of the Xbox One X subscription), and will need to trade in their console in good condition. The offer is available at GAME or Smyths Toys in the UK from Tuesday 5th November or at Amazon.com in the US from Friday 8th November.
There are a number of terms and conditions to look through of course, including a small fee when upgrading to Project Scarlett from an Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, signing up for a new finance contract for the new console (and we don’t know how much that will cost), and being in good stead with Swedish bank Klarna if you’re a UK player or Citizens One if you’re a US player (who are providing the finance for their respective countries). You can read the full T’s and C’s here (yes, I know it’s boring).
Speaking on the offer, Microsoft said:
“We realize buying a console is an investment and some players are waiting to make the jump to the next generation with Project Scarlett when it launches in Holiday 2020 alongside “Halo Infinite”. This is why as a limited time offer this holiday season, players in the U.S. and U.K. who purchase an Xbox One X with Xbox All Access through December 31, 2019, have the option to upgrade to the next Xbox console in as few as 12 months and once Project Scarlett has officially launched.
In order to participate in the upgrade program when Project Scarlett launches in Holiday 2020, players in the U.S. and U.K. will need to be in good standing with the respective financing partner in their market, purchase Project Scarlett with a new Xbox All Access purchase from the same retail partner where they joined the program, and trade-in the console originally purchased with Xbox All Access. Terms and conditions apply, including an upgrade fee for players upgrading from the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition to Project Scarlett.”
This is a smart move from Microsoft, clearly designed to boost console sales before Christmas which would otherwise be lessened by the impending release of Project Scarlett. A large number of players are likely holding off buying a console with next gen only a year away, instead opting to save their pennies for the new console, so offering them a way to get their hands on a console this year and then upgrade next year in an affordable manner is more likely to sway their decision.
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