The Cyberpunk 2077 limited-edition Xbox One X is already one of the coolest custom consoles on the market, but both Sony and Microsoft have released a lot of great special-edition Xboxes and PlayStations over the years. Here are 10 of our favorite custom Xbox Ones and PlayStation 4 consoles from the last eight years.
Favorite Custom Xbox and PlayStation Consoles Throughout the Years
It’s hard to believe that the eighth generation of video game consoles is almost over. At the end of the year, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are still planned to launch, ushering in the ninth generation of console hardware alongside the Switch.
Over the course of the last eight years, since the launch of the Wii-U in 2012, both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have been through several hardware revisions, but more importantly, both companies have produced some really cool limited-edition consoles. Microsoft’s made some weird exclusives, and Sony’s got some eye-catching limited editions, but both of them have had a lot of fun with custom console designs over the years. In no particular order:
Sea of Thieves Xbox One S
In 2017, three special-edition Sea-Xbox One S units were made to celebrate Rare’s piratical adventure Sea of Thieves. All three were subsequently sold off via eBay to benefit Special Effect, a UK-based charity that works on “levelling the playing field for gamers with physical disabilities.” Note: this is a different and arguably much cooler design than the conventionally-available Sea of Thieves-themed wireless controller.
At time of writing, whoever ended up with these Xboxes hasn’t come forward with them. I imagine all three are sealed in a lucite block somewhere to accumulate collector value.
Batman: Arkham Knight PlayStation 4
This crisp, steel-grey metallic PS4 was part of a special bundle with physical copies of Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015. It’s a subtle but clean design, with a matching Dual Shock 4, and has become a collector’s item. Unfortunately, it’s only a 500GB PS4, but any Batman fan should be proud to have this on their shelf.
James Gunn’s Baby Groot Xbox One S
James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, owns the only Baby Groot Xbox One ever made. It’s a custom job that Microsoft sent to him in early 2018.
The story behind it seems to be that Gunn’s an Xbox fan. In 2016, he shared a picture on his Instagram of his custom Xbox controller, decorated in the colors of the Milano starship from Guardians of the Galaxy, and the official Xbox Twitter noticed. Two years later, Microsoft sent him a special rust-colored Xbox One S, complete with its very own Baby Groot statue. That’s not gonna fit in an entertainment center.
500 Million PlayStation 4 Pro
Back in August of 2018, to celebrate a total of 500 million consoles sold over the history of the PlayStation, Sony put out a commemorative-edition PlayStation 4 Pro. Wrapped in a translucent blue shell, the Pro also features a copper plate just below its controller ports with its serial number etched on it. It’s a slick-looking, classy take on the typical PS4 design.
Only 50,000 of these Pros were ever made, but you can still find a few of these on the secondary market. It’s not a bad purchase for PlayStation die-hards even now, as the 500 Million edition is the only model of the PS4 Pro to come standard with a 2TB hard drive.
Gears 5 Xbox One X
To celebrate the release of Gears 5, Microsoft put out a limited-edition bundle with this eyecatching cracked-resin shell for the Xbox One S, featuring a particularly frozen rendition of the series’s trademark Crimson Omen.
You can still find a few of these new even now, surprisingly, including through Microsoft’s monthly All Access plan.
Spider-Man PlayStation 4 Pro
Even now, almost two years later, I’m not sure how much I like the big white spider logo on Insomniac’s Spider-Man. It did lead to a cool limited-edition look for the PlayStation 4, which bundled a copy of Spider-Man with a bright red 1TB PlayStation Pro and a matching red-and-white Dual Shock 4. (Incidentally, if you haven’t played Spider-Man in a while, Insomniac’s put out a bunch of free Spider-suits.)
Black Panther Xbox One X
Marvel Studios and Microsoft teamed up in 2018 to raffle off five custom-made Xbox One Xs, via a now-defunct website, to promote Marvel’s Black Panther. Each of the Xboxes had a textured finish, with a stylized image of the Panther and his enemy Killmonger across the top of the unit.
Winners also received controllers decorated with the image of the Panther’s trademark face mask, which is just the thing if you want to feel like your gamepad is staring at you all the time. Cool console, but I have to admit, I feel like the controllers are judging me.
Destiny PlayStation 4
Both Destiny games got a special-edition PS4 bundle with a unique console design. Destiny 2‘s is a smooth glacier-white model that’s well worth picking up if you see it, but I’m giving my nod to the Taken King. Decorated with a Destiny-style space map and the banner of the Guardians, it’s got a certain Tolkien-esque quality to it that you’ve got to love.
Gold PlayStation 4 Slim
You get a lot of black, silver, blue, and metallic console designs, but not a lot of them go this glam.
There are actually two models of gold PS4 out there. One is a special run of 6,500 units from a Taco Bell contest in 2015. The other, for a gold 1TB PlayStation 4 Slim, was announced as a limited run in early June of 2017, and priced to move at $249, which was $50 cheaper than the standard PS4’s MSRP at the time. More importantly, it was only available for sale between June 9th and 17th. Both are now rare enough that you can expect to pay $500 or more for one on the secondary market.
Solo: A Star Wars Story Xbox One X
Another movie tie-in from Microsoft, these unique Xbox One X units were only available to winners of a particular sweepstakes. These were made to promote the Star Wars prequel Solo, with a white, yellow, and black finish and the image of the Millennium Falcon across the controllers and console.
Neither Microsoft nor Disney has disclosed how many of these units were ever made, but you can probably assume it was less than ten. One of them ended up with YouTuber JayShockblast, who did an unboxing video that September.
Hitman PlayStation 4
This one-of-a-kind Hitman PS4 is arguably even rarer than the similarly unique Baby Groot Xbox, because with GrootBox, at least we know who has that. Square Enix held a raffle in the summer of 2016 to promote the first episodic installment of Hitman, and the prize was this one-of-a-kind PS4. Its custom case is made to resemble Agent 47’s trademark briefcase, with a matching black-and-white Dual Shock 4.
The winner of the raffle was apparently comfortable with vanishing into history, and the raffle itself has largely been forgotten. This custom Hitman PS4 is out there somewhere, just like Agent 47, a forgotten legend in its own time. It’s a white whale for video game collectors to this day.
We’re not just looking back at the consoles of the past, but also at what’s coming up next. This has been a big week for video game news, and we’ve been covering it here at Prima. Check out some of our other stories:
- What does it mean when a game is Optimized for Series X?
- The PlayStation 5 release date got leaked. Again.
- The Medium is the spookiest game in the Series X lineup so far, and we love it
The Xbox Series X really ought to have a red model, since it used to be “Project Scarlett.” Hopefully, someone will get around to that eventually. What are some of your favorite special-edition custom consoles, and what kind of madness are you hoping to see from the eighth generation of hardware. Kick in your opinion via our official Twitter, @PrimaGames.
