It’s been rumored for quite some time that the Xbox Series X won’t be alone in the next generation of Microsoft consoles. For months, there have been claims that a cheaper, less powerful model commonly referred to as the Xbox Series S (or Lockhart, the supposed codename for the console) is also coming out. As of now, Microsoft has yet to say anything official in response, but that might change very soon.
It’s now August, and now that Microsoft already highlighted its next-gen games with last month’s Xbox Games Showcase, speculation is pointing to another reveal event this month where the company finally breaks the silence on key details about the Xbox Series X itself. This includes the XSX’s hardware features, release date, and price, but it’s also believed that the Xbox Series S will be officially announced in August.
That claim received fresh fuel yesterday, courtesy of Tom Warren, senior editor for The Verge. On Twitter, he dropped a brief post teasing, “August is going to be an interesting month. Especially when... Microsoft announces *REDACTED*” That could mean anything, but what’s telling is that Warren replied to a comment that specifically mentioned the Series S and plainly stated, “there's more than 1 piece of Microsoft hardware rumored for August.”
While that implies an announcement for Lockhart, it’s possible that that might not be the only new piece of next-gen Xbox hardware announced this month. Back in July, a survey for Resident Evil 8 made mention of a “Xbox Series X Digital Only Console,” which suggests the Series S won’t be the only alternative to the standard XSX.
Again, all of this is still in the realm of speculation, but what’s been rumored so far regarding Lockhart especially has been in keeping with Microsoft’s core philosophy with the next generation of Xbox: giving players a greater degree of choice. This can be seen in how the company has, in many ways, placed less importance on a single new device like the XSX, instead emphasizing multi-platform releases for its first-party titles while pushing to make games playable on third-party devices through cloud-streaming.
With Microsoft trying to lower the barrier to entry as much as possible, it would make sense for that to apply to the console itself. As advanced as the XSX’s next-gen audio and graphical technology is, a lot of gamers can’t afford the 4K technology that the console is optimized for. And since Lockhart is rumored to boast the base specs as the Xbox Series X, it should be able to maintain a similar quality of gameplay on 1080p displays, and for less too. Assuming, of course, that the rumors are true.
The Xbox Series X will launch this holiday season.