The Xbox Series S is finally official, after a torrent of leaks revealing the design and price seemingly forced Microsoft's hand to make a proper announcement.
While we've known about the Xbox Series X since the end of 2019, the long-rumored Series S, also known as Project Lockheart, has proven more elusive. But a leak from Thurrott finally showed the world what Xbox's new entry-level console is all about.
- PS5 vs. Xbox Series X: How the consoles stack up
- Here's what Microsoft has in store for the Xbox Series X
- Plus: Xbox Series X leak just revealed an unbelievable price
First off, we have images of the Series S for the first time. Unlike the cuboid-shaped Xbox Series X, this is a more standard rectangle, sporting a large black mesh circle on its side that is quite reminiscent of the buttons on the Xbox Adaptive Controller. The body is a classic all-white color scheme, though we'd expect it to be available in black also like previous consoles.
This was for a time just a set of convincing rumors, but now Xbox has confirmed both the existence of the Series S, and its price of $299 on Twitter. Xbox UK also tweeted the same announcement but revealed the U.K. price will be £250.
The low price and the claim that this is the "smallest Xbox ever," will make it an attractive choice for gamers lacking space to keep a full size Series X by their TV, or the funds to afford Xbox's premier next-gen machine.
A video shared by WalkingCat on Twitter shows just how compact the Series S is. The leaked clip, which sounds like it comes from an Xbox introductory video to the console, shows how the whole console fits inside the Xbox Series X with plenty of room to spare.
pic.twitter.com/VMkQY9271KSeptember 8, 2020
If you don't want to pay $299 up-front, then the Series S will be available for $25 a month through Xbox All Access. This is the company's subscription-style system that lets you use a console without having to buy it outright.
That's as far as the officially confirmed rumors go, but there is still more to these leaks.
The price of the Xbox Series X is apparently set at $499 ($35 a month with Xbox All Access), which sounds about right compared to some of the wild figures we've seen from earlier leaks. The PS5 has been rumored to cost more, perhaps up to $599 for the version with a disc drive, which means the Xbox could have a strong price advantage even if you pay full price up front.
As for release dates, the big day for both consoles will apparently be November 10. That's around the period the gaming world had expected, and is just in time for the Black Friday shopping period. Maybe don't expect any big discounts on these brand new Xbox consoles though.
Xbox hasn't commented on the Series S' hardware yet, but we're expecting a device with around 4 teraflops of graphical output (compared to the Series X's 12 teraflops) that targets 60fps at 1080p (instead of 60fps at 4K like the Series X). While it won't look as good as its more powerful sibling, it will still have access to all the same games, which will be playable across the Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Windows 10 via Microsoft's Smart Delivery system.
