Residents in Ontario, Canada woke up today to a huge Xbox Series X floating on Lake Ontario, and its massive surface is being used to give out free games. With the launch day for Microsoft’s next-gen consoles finally here, Xbox Canada has pulled out all the stops to create an eye-catching celebration.
The run-up to the launch of the Xbox Series X/S has been certainly not been a dull one. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing many to stay at home more this year, the video game industry has seen a surge in popularity. As such, the release of the next generation of consoles has seldom been met with such anticipation and hype. From the moment the Xbox Series X/S pre-order sites were opened, eager buyers were met with widespread crashes, as eager fans rushed to guarantee themselves a new next-gen console. Now, Microsoft and Xbox Canada are rewarding fans’ patience with an abundance of redeemable codes for free games. And not just anywhere, but on a whopping great big Xbox Series X on the shores of Lake Ontario… obviously.
The sculpture was first spotted yesterday by Reddit user RandyMcRant sitting dormant in the waters. It was not long, however, before the series X came to life, displaying clips from upcoming Xbox game releases and digital artwork for this new era of gaming. More exciting, though, is the steady release of redeemable codes for those quick enough to scoop them. The codes are for free merchandise and games from Xbox. They are tricky to catch though, appearing on the screen for the briefest of periods before fading or tumbling away. Xbox Canada confirmed on that the codes were redeemable for anyone with a new Xbox console, not just for Canadians, as the codes are not region specific. For gamers not local to the chilly shores of Lake Ontario, fear not. The Xbox is being live streamed through Xbox Canada’s Twitch page.
The release of the Xbox Series X/S is incredibly exciting. Unfortunately for some Xbox fans, though, there may be a little bit longer to wait before they get their hands on the next-gen platform. Deliveries in both Canada and the UK are facing delays, with Amazon emailing buyers to inform them that they have “low stock in fulfilment centers”.
While Xbox has not managed to secure quite as many launch titles as rival PlayStation, there is still plenty coming for fans to get excited about. Microsoft still has exclusive releases coming in the near future, including Halo Infinite, The Medium and Hello Neighbor 2. Perhaps one of these titles will be featured in a redeemable code on the side of Lake Ontario’s Series X for one lucky fan.
Source: RandyMcRant, Xbox Canada