Xbox has officially announced the release date of the upcoming Xbox Series X and the smaller, and newly confirmed, Xbox Series S.
The Xbox Series X will retail for $499/£449, while the Xbox Series S will retail for $299/£249.
The two consoles will be released on November 10, 2020. Both will be available for pre-order from September 22, 2020. Check here to see where to grab your new console.
While we’ve know everything about the Xbox Series X for some time now, the specs of the not-so-secret Series S have now been confirmed. It’s the smallest Xbox to date, and carries a very similar CPU as the Series X. Where things differ most is in the GPU (which takes care of the graphics) – while the Series X carries a 4K capability at 60fps, the Series S is limited to 1440p, but at a very respectable 120fps. It’s also all-digital, so there’s no disk tray – players will have to rely on the 512GB SSD to keep their library at hand (undoubtedly, many will want an external drive as soon as possible).
As Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, noted in a post on Twitter, this announcement was “unscripted”. Apparently, the price, release date and existence of the Xbox Series S (aka Project Lockhart) was due to be announced a week later, however a detailed and reputable leak forced Microsoft to show its hand.
Rumours and leaks are nothing new to this year’s new consoles from Microsoft and Sony, but the Xbox Series S leak seemed to catch Microsoft off-guard. As the leak gained traction, Xbox tweeted one of the best reactions possible, near enough confirmed the validity of the leak.
This was shortly followed by a confirmation. It wasn’t traditional, organised or particularly graceful, but the announcement has proven popular with gamers the world over. In particular, many have noted the Xbox’s value for money – with the Series S offering a next-gen experience at a more-than-reasonable price, Game Pass offering over one hundred free titles at launch, and the All Access credit purchase options available from GAME and Smyths Toy Store (UK only).
Further to this, Microsoft’s announcements have caused Sony to be put under pressure, as it’s still to announce the pricing for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 All-Digital.