Since Microsoft surprised fans back in December at The Game Awards with its Xbox Series X next generation console reveal, rumors continued to swirl about a second version of the console. Much of the speculation came from the numerouscodenames that Microsoft had been using for its hardwareincluding Anaconda, which is the current Series X, and a different version codenamed Lockhart. While Microsoft continues to be silent on this topic, a new report may have revealed upcoming plans for the Xbox Series S.
While most companies planned to go big at E3 this year with next gen reveals, plans were forced to change when the annual event was cancelled due to the current global pandemic. According to VentureBeat’s Jeff Grubb, Microsoft originally planned to hold an event in June in order to finally show off thelong rumored Lockhart console. However, with Sony hosting its own PS5 showcase event back on July 11, many suspect that the decision was made to postpone the reveal all the way to August to avoid any sort of comparisons.
RELATED:Xbox July Event Reportedly Later in the Month
Following the delay discussion, Xbox marketing exec Aaron Greenberg released a carefully worded response denying that anything had been pushed back and that the companies next major reveal was still set for July. Many expected some sort of announcement in June based off Greenberg’s own admission that the MayXbox 20/20 reveal set some wrong expectationsdue to a lack of gameplay and that June news would be done differently. So far this month, June has been fairly quiet with only recaps of news like Smart Delivery, games that are optimized for Xbox Series X, and other past announcements.
Eurogamer has since jumped on the Xbox Series S train by confirming with sources close to the situation that a while back, Microsoft had planned to show off the cost-effective console, likely at E3 2020. While plans have no doubt been forced to change, there’s been mounting evidence that the Xbox Series S, formerly known as Lockhart, is a real device.Dataminers leaked documents onlinethat indicate Series X and Lockhart make up the Xbox Scarlett family of consoles. Reporter Tom Warren has also indicated that the Lockhart console may actually have a CPU that runs as fast as the Series X, even if the GPU and RAM aren’t as powerful.
Either way, fans have a little while to wait as Microsoft has reserved July for first party software. The big standout title for most isHalo: Infinite, a game which has flown incredibly far under the radar since last E3. Recent rumors indicate that the game isbringing back a lesser known enemy factionand that it may also share a feature withGod of War, a big PS4 exclusive. Outside of that, fans are also hoping to finally see what studios like The Initiative have been working on as well as a return for long dormant franchises likeFableandPerfect Dark.
