Microsoft is actively encouraging owners of unused Xbox Series X and Series S consoles to trade them in, according to Engadget, which dug into what's driving the push and what owners should weigh before accepting.

Trade-in programs are a familiar lever in consumer hardware: they pull dormant devices back into the resale market, keep customers inside the ecosystem, and typically convert old hardware into store credit rather than cash. The relevant question for any owner is the same as always — whether the offered value beats what the console would fetch secondhand, and whether you're genuinely done with it.

The timing is the interesting part. A platform holder leaning on owners to part with current-generation hardware mid-cycle invites speculation about where Xbox's hardware strategy is heading, and Engadget's report frames the push as worth understanding before taking the deal. For anyone whose Series X has become a dust collector under the TV, it may still be a reasonable off-ramp — just read the terms first.