Clever discount code trick drops Xbox Series S under £150 and cuts Xbox controllers to lowest price this year

a man holds an astral purple xbox wireless controller

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Aaron Brown

By Aaron Brown


Published: 14/03/2024

- 15:23

Microsoft is celebrating 22 years of Xbox in the UK with a generous discount

If you’re looking to treat yourself to an Xbox wireless controller — or a new Series S or Series X console, there’s an incredible deal around at the moment. Microsoft is celebrating the 22nd anniversary of its Xbox brand launching in the UK with exclusive discount codes.

For a limited time, you can use code XBOX22XSX to unlock 22% off a certified refurbished Xbox Series X console, use XBOX22XSS for 22% off a certified refurbished Xbox Series S.

Or use code XBOX22WLC for 22% off select Xbox wireless controllers.

That drops the cost of these hugely popular controllers, which can be used with Xbox consoles, Windows PCs, iPhone, and iPad from £54.99 by £12.10. That means you’ll pay just £42.89.

That’s the lowest price for an Xbox wireless controller all-year. For comparison, Amazon is currently selling the same Carbon Black version for £49.30— a 10% discount on the RRP.

For even more savings, head to digital retailer CDKeys to buy gift cards for the Microsoft Store at a discount. CDKeys sells a gift card worth £50 in valuegift card worth £50 in value to spend on the Microsoft Store for just £44.99.

So, if you load up your Microsoft account with enough credit to buy the certified refurbished Xbox Series S or Series X with the 22nd anniversary discount code — you’ll save even more.

If you want to buy the Xbox Series S, you’ll need to purchase 3x £50 and 1x £15 gift cards from CD Keys. That’ll leave you with enough credit buy the discounted refurbished Xbox Series S for £165.

But here’s the trick — buying those gift cards from CD Keys will only set you back £148.96.

That means you’ll get one of the latest-generation of consoles from Microsoft for under £150. Just remember to use XBOX22XSS at checkout to reduce the cost of the refurbished Xbox Series S.

Certified refurbished consoles from Microsoft arrive with the same one-year as its brand-new consoles. That's because the hardware is inspected and worked on by Microsoft's own Xbox engineers. Microsoft scaled back some of the capabilities of the Series S to offer a more affordable way to access the latest games, so you won’t be able to play in 4K Ultra HD resolution like the Series X and PS5. But the Series S is still capable of 120 frames-per-second, Dolby Vision, HDR (High Dynamic Range), and 5.1 surround sound.

It’s also compatible with the biggest streaming apps, including Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix, and Sky Go. It has a smaller 512GB hard drive, so you might need to invest in an external storage solution to install everything you want onto the disc-less console. But don’t forget that Microsoft offers its Netflix-like Xbox Game Pass service on all of its consoles, letting you stream titles from the cloud or download to play offline.

For a monthly subscription fee of £12.99, you’ll get access to every title from a Microsoft-owned studio, which following approval from the Competition and Markets Authority last year now includes Call of Duty creator Activision Blizzard. Save data is synced online, so you can pick-up and continue on a range of other devices, including some Samsung TVs, iPad, Android and iOS phones.

xbox series x console surrounded by some of the most important mascots from the xbox game library including halo, gears of war and sea of thieves

Xbox Series X is the flagship console from Microsoft this generation, with an optical disc drive to play games and watch Blu-rays and DVDs

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If you want to pick up the flagship Xbox Series X, you’ll need £330 in gift card credit to spend in the Microsoft Store. That means you’ll need to head to CD Keys and purchase 13x £25 cards and 1x £5 card. That’ll cost you just £297.26.

Remember to use XBOX22XSX at checkout to reduce the cost of a refurbished Xbox Series X.

​Obviously, you could use the gift card trick with the Xbox wireless controllers too, but because of the values available from CD Keys, you’d end up spending more money overall.

That’s because you’d need 2x £25 gift cards to add a controller to your shopping basket, which would cost over the £42.89 to buy a brand-new controller. However, if there’s anything else you’ve got your eye on in the store, this trick might still be worth a look as you’d end up with £50 of credit to spend with Microsoft.

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