Ending the biggest and probably the last guessing game regarding the pending new consoles, Microsoft announced that November 22nd will be the date that the Xbox One launches in most of the world.

Unlike Sony, whose PlayStation 4 is being released in stages, Microsoft is trying to get the Xbox One to most people on the first day. Buyers in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States will all be able to potentially pick one up on the first day.

The move sandwiches the Xbox One between PS4 launch times. In the US, the XBox One will fall a week behind the PS4’s November 15th launch date, but a week ahead of the November 29th launch for Europe.

Microsoft Vice President of Marketing, Strategy and Business, Yusuf Mehdi, noted that the November 22nd date is significant for the company, because it’s the same day that that the Xbox 360 was launched years ago.

There were a couple other minor surprises. The Xbox One will now have a 1.75Ghz processor which will be a bit faster than the originally planned 1.6Ghz model. Mehdi also confirmed that while all pre-orders are sold out, that the company was working hard to ensure that units would be available for purchase on day one even if someone didn’t pre-order, though likely in limited quantities.

"We are humbled and gratified by the tremendous interest in Xbox One from game fans everywhere," he said. "We sold out of our pre-order supply faster than at any other time in our history, and we are on path to have the biggest launch of an Xbox ever. We look forward to celebrating with millions and millions of gamers this holiday."