Microsoft reveals $299 Xbox Series S in official image

Microsoft’s smallest ever console the Xbox Series S will cost $299 and is expected to launch alongside the Series X on November 10

  • Microsoft reveals price and images of slimline console following leaks in the US
  • Series S will offer a cheaper ‘budget’ version of the next gen Xbox, the Series X
  • It’s rumoured that both consoles will be released on the same day – November 10
  • Series S details are thin but the US gaming giant promised to reveal more ‘soon’

Microsoft’s low-end Series S console will retail for $299 (about £230) and looks like a hi-fi speaker.

An official image revealed by the company on Tuesday shows a distinctive black circular vent on a slim white body. 

Series S, which appears to come without a disc drive, is cheaper, smaller and less powerful than the Series X console, the company’s official fourth-generation Xbox.  

The image had leaked on several US websites late on Monday before Microsoft decided to ‘make it official’ today. 

Series S is the ‘smallest Xbox ever’, according to Microsoft, which promised it would reveal more details soon. 

Both consoles will be released on November 10, according to rumours.

Although Microsoft hasn’t revealed a specific release date for either, it confirmed last month that Series X will launch some time in November. 

Microsoft’s official image of the new Series S, which will enter the market along with Microsoft’s main event and next-gen Xbox console, the Series X

‘Let’s make it official!’ the official Xbox Twitter account tweeted on Tuesday morning.

‘Xbox Series S. Next-gen performance in the smallest Xbox ever. Looking forward to sharing more! Soon. Promise.’

Unlike the Series X, Series S will not feature a disk drive, with users instead downloading content for the system digitally. 

The image of the Series S was leaked on technology website Thurrott on Monday, which predicts Series S to be cheaper than Sony’s PlayStation 5, set to be released late 2020.    

‘The console is white and based on the image, does not appear to have a disc drive but we don’t fully know that until we get a better side shot of the console,’ said Brad Sams at Thurrott. 

‘Further, this device appears to look closer to the Xbox One family of devices than the tower of the Series X.’ 

The Xbox Series X console, to be released this November. The design of the new console is different from previous Xbox generations, with a more upright ‘tower block’ appearance

Windows Central also said on Monday that Series X will cost $499 (around £380) and will be available on November 10.  

Microsoft will offer customers the option to pay $35 or $25 a month for its All Access subscription service for the Series X and Series S, respectively, it said. 

XBOX SERIES X

Price: $299

Release date: November 10 (rumoured) 

Microsoft says: ‘Next-gen performance in the smallest Xbox ever.’

Appearance: White with circular black vent on side and another vent on top. 

All Access lets gamers spread the cost of an Xbox console and access to games over 24 months. 

Microsoft will hold a press event soon to reveal more details about the next-gen consoles’ pricing, Windows Central said.

Last month, Microsoft confirmed Series X will be released this November, calling it the most powerful console it has ever made – featuring processing power twice that of the current generation Xbox One X.

The design of the larger Series X console is different from previous Xbox generations, with a more upright ‘tower block’ appearance. 

It will have backwards compatibility technology, which allows games from older consoles to be played on the new system. 

There are 50 new games planned for launch this year, including Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Gears Tactics, and Watch Dogs: Legion.    

‘There will be thousands of games to play, spanning four generations, when Xbox Series X launches globally this November, and over 100 optimised for Xbox Series X titles, built to take full advantage of our most powerful console, are planned for this year,’ Microsoft said in a blog post. 

‘Hundreds of developers are at work on new games for Xbox Series X that will raise the bar for fidelity, speed and immersion.’ 

Microsoft said that the ability to play all the old favourites across four generations of Xbox ‘was a key tenet’ in the next generation of console gaming. 

Backwards compatibility means gamers will have access to thousands of titles across four generations of content – from the original Xbox, released in 2001, to 2005’s Xbox 360 and 2013’s Xbox One.  

However, the release of the new console’s flagship game, Halo Infinite, is being delayed until 2021, giving Microsoft more time ‘to finish critical work’. 

Microsoft said its vision is ‘to deliver the most ambitious Halo game ever’ while ‘balancing the team’s well-being’. 

‘To do that, we will need some more time to finish the critical work necessary to launch Halo Infinite, which will come in 2021,’ it said. 

Microsoft revealed a glimpse of Halo Infinite game play footage in July, although the gameplay was criticised for its overall ‘art style and visual fidelity’, the developers admitted, and the extra time will allow for much-needed tweaks. 

The US gaming giant has already partnered Samsung for the release of its new Galaxy Note 20 range, which has built-in support for game streaming via Xbox Game Pass. 

Like the video games version of Netflix, Xbox Game Pass delivers a library of content across console and PC, including all games from Xbox Game Studios the day they launch. 

The Xbox Series X release will coincide with the arrival of Sony’s new console, the PlayStation 5, which is expected to launch in the last three months of the year.         

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