One of Microsoft’s least kept secrets of next-gen is the rumored second Xbox model that will live next to the Xbox Series X, which is thought to be called the Xbox Series S. Now even more evidence for the console in the wild has emerged thanks to a controller that went on sale apparently too early, effectively confirming the existence of a second console, as well as the name. This comes just when the launch date of the Xbox Series X for November was announced. Despite the leaks, Microsoft will not yet make an official confirmation of the console. In public, it has so far only talked about Xbox Series X.
The Verge has confirmed that the leaked images that make up the rounds of a white next-gen Xbox controller are in fact real. The text on the packaging states that the controller works with the Xbox Series X en the Xbox Series S consoles, the latter of which has not been announced. The controller will also work on standard Xbox One and PC, as well as iOS and Android for xCloud streaming. As the second console has not yet been announced, we have no official details on the differences between the Series S and Series X.
Next, another of these new Xbox controllers was found in the wild, as shared on Reddit in the embedded post below. It has the same packaging that refers to Xbox Series S. Both controllers were presumably sold in the Chicago area.
The persistent rumor is that the Series S console is the cheaper next-gen Xbox model, the one popularly known by its “Lockhart” names. This system is rumored to have 4 teraflops of GPU performance and 7.5 GB of usable RAM. After all, it will have the same CPU as the Series X, allowing it to run the same games with faster loading speeds, but with lower resolutions than on Series X.
The latest rumor is that Microsoft will officially announce the Series S during an event in August, so it may not be long before we know more about it. There are also rumors that the Series S will not have a disc drive, which would put it more in line with the disc-free PS5 that is underway. However, this console sports the same hardware as the model with disk drive, in contrast to the rumored Series S which is expected to be substantially cheaper than the Series X.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has told GameSpot that it will release extra next-gen Xbox SKUs, and Lockhart is expected to be one of them. “Of course, in the name ‘Series X’, it gives us the freedom to do other things with that name so we can create descriptors if we have to,” Spencer said in December 2019, all but confirming multiple next-gen Xbox consoles are coming.
For more on Microsoft’s next gen strategy, check out GameSpot’s editors below.
