We’re moving into mid-summer, and yet we still don’t know when the Xbox Series X will launch and the heavily-rumored Xbox Series S (codenamed Lockhart) hasn’t even been revealed yet. We’ll likely have to wait a while for more information, perhaps until August’s Xbox event, but in the meantime, reliable Microsoft insider Brad Sams has some rather interesting information about the company’s ever-shirting console release plans.
According to Sams, Microsoft’s original idea, before the world fell of its axis this year, was to launch the Xbox Series X in August. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series S would have been released a couple months later in October. So, it seems the plan was always to hold back on the Xbox Series S in order to give the XSX some uncontested time in the spotlight.
Sams also offers some educated speculation about what the Xbox Series S might look like. We’ve all seen that mockup that envisions the Xbox Series S as a smaller Gamecube-like version of the Xbox Series X’s “fridge” design, but that is probably not be what we’re getting. Apparently, Microsoft employees who travel with pre-release consoles are asked to disguise the hardware – for the XSX they had to hide the machine inside PC towers or speakers. Sams has heard that those travelling with the Xbox Series S have been disguising it inside an Xbox One X case, indicating it will likely look more like a traditional Xbox console. That would make sense, as the Xbox Series X uses an expensive-to-manufacture split-motherboard design, which you would probably want to avoid in a console designed around a lower price point.
Of course, take this all with a grain of salt, but Sams has been on the money many times in the past. So, when might we hear more? Again, the rumor is Microsoft will be revealing the Xbox Series S (and likely more details about the Xbox Series X) in August. In the meantime, they’ll be showcasing upcoming first-party software later this month.
