If you have a functioning Xbox Series X and a GameStop membership, the meme stock retailer will give you “up to” $420.69 in store credit for the four-year old console. The week-long trade-in deal is an April 20 shitpost but also very real and possibly the best deal available for anyone currently looking to hop off the Xbox Series X train amid boycotts and a new multiplatform push that’s seen some of its biggest exclusives ported to PlayStation 5.
GameStop posted the time-limited trade-in deal online over the weekend, and while many people thought it was just a joke, some have already reportedly successfully sold their Xbox Series Xs back to the company for the stated amount, which is nearly $80 over the current trade-in price currently listed on GameStop’s website. The caveats, of course, are that the $420.69 requires a Pro membership, which is $25 a year, and it’s only for store credit, which requires you to spend the cash at GameStop.
“It’s legit, doing it right now,” claimed one X user. A store employee on the GameStop subreddit reported customers coming in for the deal as well. “I didn’t think this was real until a customer came in to trade his series x today, went PRO, pros actually do get $420.69 in trade credit,” one wrote. According to them, part of the impetus for the marketing stunt is that GameStop is currently running low on used Xbox Series X units and can still sell them for well over the new trade-in value. A pre-owned Series X is currently listed at $494.99, which also seems like a joke.
Still, roughly $395 in store credit for an old Xbox Series X (the max value minus the cost of a Pro membership) isn’t bad for anyone whose launch console has been collecting dust ever since they finished the single-player Halo Infinite campaign. Even those who more recently enjoyed console-exclusive RPGs like Starfield and Avowed might be ready to eject now that Microsoft is bringing more and more of its first-party games, including Forza Horizon 5, to PS5. The remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, recently made official by Bethesda and likely out any day now, is rumored to be multiplatform as well.
The GameStop deal was also announced on the heels of Microsoft being added to the pro-Palestinian human rights movement BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) over the tech giant’s partnership with the Israeli military, to whom it provides Azure cloud and AI services amid its ongoing invasion of Gaza that has left more than an estimated 50,000 dead. Former Microsoft employees Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal interrupted the company’s 50-year anniversary celebration earlier this month to criticize its involvement in the alleged war crimes and were promptly fired.
BDS has specifically called on people to boycott Microsoft’s consumer-facing gaming division, including massive franchises like Candy Crush, Minecraft, and Call of Duty, as well as services like Game Pass and hardware platforms like Xbox. It’s unclear how many fans have used the BDS announcement to finally pull the plug on their relationship with Xbox, but it’s likely a much easier choice for anyone whose Xbox Series X has already been mostly powered off this console generation. GameStop’s 4/20 “blaze it” promotion is just an added incentive. The deal runs through April 26.
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