Xbox Series S gets a Lunar New Year makeover, but good luck getting one

The Year of the Tiger is almost here, and to celebrate the Lunar New Year, Xbox has released a brand-new, limited edition console. The new Lunar New Year Xbox Series S is unlike any other. With its red and gold coloring and traditional art all over the console and controller, this version of Xbox is bound to gather a lot of interest — but only a select few people will own this unique device.

Image: Xbox

To call this new version of the Xbox beautiful would be an understatement. Xbox teamed up with Bu2ma (pronounced Bu-er-ma,) a Chinese cartoon artist, to make a console that stands out in every way possible. Both the console and the controller fittingly feature traditional Chinese art including a majestic (if slightly chonky) tiger. The body of the console is almost all red, although the vibrant coloring is topped off by metallic gold Chinese lettering.

The Lunar New Year Xbox was announced in an Xbox News blog post and on Twitter. The company spoke about the reasoning behind this console’s color scheme. “Inspired by the traditional Lunar New Year lucky colors, red and gold, the custom design represents wellbeing and fortune, offering goodwill toward all gamers,” said Cary Chen, Head of Xbox Greater China.

The console looks amazing, but there won’t be many of them to go around. Xbox has only prepared 15 of these custom Lunar New Year consoles, and there is no doubt that many people will try to get one.

How to get the Lunar New Year Xbox Series S

Xbox/Twitter

In case you were readying your wallet and mentally preparing to spend a fortune on this beautiful console, your bank account can rest easy — the Lunar New Year Xbox is not for sale. Instead, it can be won in one of three different sweepstakes, although unless you’re in China, your chances are going to be very, very slim.

Citizens of China are going to participate in giveaways hosted on social media platforms WeChat and Bilibili, starting January 25 at noon China Standard Time. Assuming you’re not from China, there is just one way to win the special edition console: Enter the official sweepstakes via Xbox’s Twitter account.

In order to try and win one of just fifteen consoles, you will have to follow the official Xbox account and retweet the giveaway tweet with #LunarNewYearXboxSweepstakes. The sweepstakes are available to everyone within reach of Xbox Live, aged 18 and above (the full list of countries can be found here.) Some additional terms and conditions apply, which you can check out directly on the official Xbox website.

The international sweepstakes has already started and will end at 10 PM Pacific Time on Thursday, February 3, 2022. The chances of winning are ultra-slim, but there is no harm in trying to get one of these gorgeous consoles — after all, there is no other option to get the special edition console unless one of the future winners chooses to resell theirs. We shudder at the thought of how much that would cost.