- Microsoft is rumored to be working on an all-digital Xbox Series S, codenamed Lockhart, and references to the device have been leaking in official documents.
- Previous rumors have suggested that the Xbox Series S will have 4 teraflops of computing power to the 12 teraflops of the Xbox Series X.
- Microsoft might announce the Xbox Series S at its first-party games event in July.
Sony’s Future of Gaming event earlier this month was packed with announcements, but none were more surprising than the reveal of the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, which will launch alongside the standard PS5 but will lack an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive. The designs of the two models are virtually identical (save for the drive), but the assumption is that the Digital Edition will be cheaper. And if Sony is launching two SKUs this fall, you’d better believe Microsoft will too, and right on cue, more evidence of an unannounced Xbox model leaked this week.
On Wednesday, a security researcher who goes by TitleOS shared screenshots from the XDK/GDK release notes for June 2020 that make mention of “Lockhart,” which is thought to be the codename for a less powerful alternative to the Xbox Series X. The notes also include a reference to “Anaconda” — the codename for the Xbox Series X.
More proof of Lockhart, this time from the XDK/GDK release notes for June 2020. pic.twitter.com/hulDoC9owv
— TitleOS (@XB1_HexDecimal) June 24, 2020
For those of you concerned about the veracity of the document due to the typo at the top of the page (“Lockhard”), Windows Central says that it has verified the screenshots. Aside from mentions and references like these, not much about the Lockhart console has leaked, though previous rumors have suggested that it would feature 4 teraflops of computing power compared to the 12 teraflops of the Xbox Series X.
A software developer jumped in and responded with a leak of his own as well, featuring more references:
https://twitter.com/bllyhlbrt/status/1276124300341370881
Perhaps the most salacious rumor we’ve heard in recent weeks concerned the Lockhart console, or Xbox Series S, as some have taken to calling it. A leaker going by eastmen claimed that the Xbox Series S will be smaller than the Series X with all the same features, but will sell at a much lower price point. In fact, he seems to think that Microsoft might sell the Xbox Series S for $200, which would undoubtedly be far cheaper than anything Sony will release this fall. As unlikely as it may be, there’s no question that it would give Microsoft a huge leg up.
At this point, it’s more a matter of when than if we’ll see a second Xbox Series model this fall, but we have no idea when Microsoft will officially announce the device. That said, we do know that Microsoft has a huge first-party games event planned for July to match Sony’s PS5 reveal in June, and now that Sony has laid its cards on the table with the PS5 Digital Edition, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Microsoft do the same next month.
