Xbox Series X stock issues could continue for months, says Microsoft exec

If you're still on the hunt for an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, you may be waiting a while. Xbox's CFO (chief financial officer) Tim Stuart has spoken out on supply shortages for the in-demand next-gen Xbox, and it seems like stock won't be forthcoming in the next few months.

The comments came at the Jefferies Interactive Entertainment Virtual Conference in mid-November, with Stuart stating that supply shortages would continue "as we head into the post-holiday quarter, so Microsoft's Q3, calendar Q1." That suggests we won't be seeing a jump in console stock until we're well into 2021 – April at the earliest, but very possibly even later in the year.

"We'll have supply cranking up over the next, what, four, five, six months," Stuart added. "And that's when I expect to see really that demand profile start to be met."

Check out our Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S reviews
Where to buy Xbox Series X: all the latest price, pre-order and stock updates
Where to buy Xbox Series S: all the latest price and stock updates

Victim of its own success

2020 has been a challenging year for next-gen console makers, for sure. The ongoing pandemic and lockdown / working restrictions threw up a host of unprecedented issues in production and distribution, and it's a wonder that Sony and Microsoft managed to hit their mid-November release dates at all. Even so, Microsoft has had to apologize for shoppers' frustrations.

But there's no denying that massive demand for these consoles makes things harder. Pre-orders sold out incredible quickly, and the few units trickling in to retailers every now and then are being swiped just as fast – often being put straight onto reseller sites for absurd amounts of money.

Stuart echoes this, saying that part of the problem is, "frankly, gaming is just exploding. It's a $200 billion a year industry [...] You wish you had supply to meet the huge demand."

What's certain is that stock will keep coming, even if it takes 6 months for that supply to start matching the demand Microsoft is seeing. With Halo Infinite delayed until 2021 anyway, though, these stock issues might mean that Microsoft can time the release of its flagship 'launch' game for when anyone trying to buy an Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S can actually do so.