Xbox Live is currently down on Xbox Series X|S launch day, affecting many excited early adopters. Xbox Series X|S launch day has been a heavily anticipated event for weeks as it marks the first day next-gen consoles arrive in consumer's hands, and as such there's likely a heavy load on Xbox servers at the moment as everyone begins to explore what the new device has to offer.
Xbox Series X|S launch day is exciting, but it feels a lot more tempered than previous console generation launches, mostly due to the fact that between it and PS5, there simply aren't many brand new launch titles for fans to really test out the hardware on. Xbox Series X|S was particularly affected by this absence thanks to the delay of Halo Infinite, though that did little to slow down the console's momentum, as its pre-order sales have remained strong and stock has been impossible to find for those who missed out. With reviews of the Xbox Series X|S coming in with a lot of positives, there's a lot to like about Microsoft's next-gen offering.
As of this writing, however, a widespread Xbox Live outage is preventing users from signing on. That's a huge deal for Microsoft and Xbox Series X|S, and will certainly affect the console's reception today. A lack of launch titles means many early adopters will be looking to try out the console's online capabilities with what's available, and the Destiny 2 expansion just launched as well, which means even more fans will want their online services running smoothly today, even if they're playing on Xbox One. A tweet from Xbox Support acknowledged that Microsoft is looking into the issue right now, which is causing players to be unable to sign into their Xbox Live account on "various platforms."
It will be interesting to see just how long it takes Microsoft to fix this issue, which is affecting both current- and next-gen players alike. Xbox Live is a crucial element of enjoying Microsoft's devices, and the Xbox Series X|S is no exception. The timing couldn't be worse for Microsoft, which has a cushy two-day lead over the PS5 in terms of establishing its presence in consumer homes. If most of that time is spent putting out fires, it will certainly be time wasted.
Screen Rant will continue to monitor the status of Xbox Live as the day progresses, and will update this article when the service is up-and-running for fans. For now, early adopters can still marvel at the Xbox Series X|S hardware, while Xbox One owners can perhaps take a step back and really enjoy the aesthetic of what is now, officially, a senior member of the Xbox family.
Source: Xbox Support