Microsoft Announces Xbox One Launch Date

Microsoft has finally announced a piece of information we've been waiting for since the Xbox One was first revealed in May. We've known the console is arriving in November, but now we have an exact date.

This morning, Microsoft confirmed that the Xbox One will be available in the United States, Canada, and 11 other countries on November 22, 2013. At that point, all major third-party, next generation titles planned for this fall will be ready and available. This includes Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, and Skylanders: Swap Force.

First party launch titles include, Forza 5, Killer Instinct, Lococycle, and Ryse: Son of Rome. Dead Rising 3 from Capcom is also anticipated on day one. The Xbox One will be available for $499.99.

[Source: Xbox Wire]

Our Take
This is very surprising. Microsoft will be launching one week after the PlayStation 4, instead of earlier as many (including me) suspected. The company revealed yesterday that it had bumped up the CPU speed and was well into production, making the late launch date even more unexpected. It's great to finally have a release date, but ceding the timing advantage to Sony (in North America, but not Europe) makes me wonder what's going on over at Microsoft.