Sorry for my ignorance but the last time I played a lot of video games it involved cartridges. I'm getting my son an Xbox Series S and I'm confused on how everything works.

He likes to play Fortnite and plays online with friends.

He also wants Madden and/or College Football. I assume these can be played online as well, although I've seen something online about a subscription being required.

He has an Epic Games account for Fortnite. He does not have an Xbox account, although his older brother does. (He is grown and moved out.)

Since we're getting a Series S, we'll have to download the games. I'd like to go ahead and buy them to take advantage of Black Friday pricing. Not sure how to do that. Maybe it's possible to set up an account online without hooking up the console?

An explanation would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, you can create an Xbox account and then you can buy the games now. These games will always be tied to this Xbox account so using an email/account that your son can carry forward will be good. Also, assuming you create a new email for this l, I might recommend making the age 18+. In the past the age restrictions were ridiculous and it would lock the kids out of too much stuff, especially some online gaming.

And yes, the Series S doesn't have a disc drive so you can't buy games at the store. But they do sell the digital codes for some games at the store and there might be black Friday deals on the codes.

And also, keep in mind that you'll need a Gamepass subscription to play online. You can just get the cheapest option, but all consoles (Xbox and PlayStation) still charge for online access.

To add to what I said above... Yes, you can buy the games now by logging into xbox.com, signing into that new account, and purchasing the games.

The games will always be tied to the account, never a console. He will be able to log into any Xbox and download the games so long as he's logged into his account.

Thank you for the information!

Follow up: He's 10. I want an account that can grow with him. I want him to be able to play, but I don't want him unfettered.

So if I set up an 18+ account, can I put restrictions on his activity?

Can the email be changed at a later date?

Yes, you should still be able to put restrictions on the account... I just didn't care for the restrictions it forced when I put the real childs age when I created the email and Xbox account.

I'm not sure if you can change the email address later because I've never done it. Pretty sure it's going to require it to be a MS email (outlook)... Not sure if the email and Xbox account/gamertag are linked forever.

You can also just buy a digital code for each game off Amazon, Best Buy, etc. I usually buy the code, print it with a picture of the games cover, and then wrap it for my boys' birthdays and xmas.

IIRC to play online against other people on the Series S you'll need an Xbox Live subscription which is currently running $9.99/mo.

Given his age, if I were you I'd look into the parental controls and look up current best practice for how to manage things like chat and interactivity and have a conversation with him about talking to strangers even online.

Click here for the Gamepass details: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-game-pass?xr=footnav

Scroll down to the bottom, hit the "Console" tab, and you can see the plans. The core plan gives you online play and a few free games. The standard is the same but you get a LOT more free games. Probably fine to start off with core for $10 per month and you can always upgrade.

Click here for Xbox Family App details: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/apps/family-settings-app

They have some cool stuff you can do. Me personally, I just found this sorta thing way too annoying. Too many notifications, especially in the summer time when I'm at work and my kids are blowing up my phone needing permission to add a friend etc. I much preferred the "these are the rules... I will be watching you and checking your account... you break the rules you lose the Xbox" type approach.

Important to note... I don't think you need Xbox Gamepass (it's no longer called Xbox Live) to play Fortnite online. It's one of a few "free" games that doesn't require it.

But if he wants to start playing games like Madden or Halo, you'll have to have a subscription. So that may be something you won't need until later one. And there are usually good black friday/cyber monday sales where you can buy 3/6/12 months of Gamepass at a discount if needed.