Xbox One release date announced by Microsoft

New console will be available in 13 markets from launch

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox One will launch on 22 November in 13 markets.

The news was delivered by Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Marketing, Strategy and Business, who confirmed that the 13 markets will be: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and USA.

Mehdi promised that “many more markets will follow in 2014”. The launch will be ahead of the rival PS4 in the UK but behind the US launch.

“We are humbled and gratified by the tremendous interest in Xbox One from game fans everywhere,” said Mehdi. “We have sold out of our pre-order supply in the U.S. faster than at any other time in our history and we are on path to have the biggest launch of an Xbox ever.”

It was also confirmed that in another last-minute change to the console’s hardware, Microsoft have increased the CPU’s processing power from 1.6GHz to 1.75GHz. This boost is on top of the previously announced 6 per cent increase in the performance of the GPU.

November 22 is also the day that the Xbox 360 was first launched in 2005.

Sony’s PS4 will launch in the US on 15 November and in the UK on 29 November. Sony’s console will sell for £349 whilst Microsoft’s will retail for £429.

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Jamie Merrill plays on Forza Motorsport 5 on the Xbox One, at the Violin Factory in south London, ahead of the consoles release 22 November. (Sean Dempsey/PA Wire)