The $299 Xbox Series S has been confirmed by Microsoft, and a holiday 2020 release is rumored

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• Microsoft has revealed the Xbox Series S, a new compact next-gen console expected to launch alongside the more powerful Xbox Series X. 
• Though full specs and a release date for the Xbox Series S have not been confirmed yet, the console will cost $299.
• The system’s official announcement follows an inadvertent reveal found on the packaging for a new Xbox controller and a leak posted on Brad Sams’ YouTube channel. 
• Microsoft announced the flagship Xbox Series X in December 2019 and plans to launch the console during the 2020 holiday season.
• Based on past rumors, the Xbox Series S will be cheaper and slightly less powerful than the Series X, and may not feature a disc drive.

Microsoft’s new Xbox Series S console will cost $299 when it launches. An exact release date has not been confirmed, but the system is rumored to hit stores in November. 

The Xbox Series S was initially revealed inadvertently by never-before-seen Xbox controllers found in the US. Ads offering the controllers for sale appeared on the website OfferUp and reporters for The Verge verified the device as genuine. Another leak followed on September 7 from Brad Sams’ YouTube channel, which posted a video with images and pricing for the console. Microsoft then responded with an official confirmation via the Xbox Twitter page.  

—Xbox (@Xbox) September 8, 2020

Microsoft’s more powerful Xbox Series X is set to launch during the holiday season, replacing the company’s flagship Xbox One X console. Microsoft has been solely promoting the arrival of the Series X for months but rumors have long suggested that the company was working on a more affordable, though less powerful console without a disc drive to launch alongside the Series X.

Sony has already confirmed that it will launch the PlayStation 5 this fall with a “digital edition” that omits the console’s disc drive. It’s presumed that the digital PS5 will be cheaper, but Sony has yet to release pricing details for their upcoming consoles.

Microsoft adopted a multi-tiered pricing strategy for Xbox consoles with the Xbox One X and Xbox One S in 2017. In July 2020, Microsoft confirmed that Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital consoles would be ending production, though the Xbox One S will remain in production.

Games designed for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will continue to work with all versions of the Xbox One thanks to a feature Microsoft is calling Smart Delivery. Smart Delivery provides the appropriate digital version for whichever Xbox console is being used by the player, so they’ll have the best possible quality for their machine.

Updated on 9/8/2020 by Steven Cohen: Added official confirmation of the Xbox Series S from Microsoft, along with pricing details.

Xbox Series S price and release date

The Xbox Series S will carry an estimated retail price (ERP) of $299 when it launches. An exact release date has not been announced, but it’s rumored that the Xbox Series S will hit stores in November alongside the Xbox Series X.

Preorder information and links are not available yet, but we’ll update this section with purchase listings and retailer options once they’re posted. 

Microsoft is planning the official launch of its mobile video game service, Project xCloud, on September 15 and several third-party controllers and peripherals are set to release on the same date.

Xbox Series S specs

The Xbox Series X was codenamed Project Scarlett during development, while Microsoft’s weaker console was reportedly codenamed Lockhart. The more powerful Scarlett was said to target 60 frames per second at 4K resolution for Xbox games, while Lockhart was said to target 60fps at 1440p and feature an all-digital design without a disc drive.

Months later, it seems likely that Lockhart has become the recently announced Xbox Series S, though the console’s technical specifications haven’t been confirmed. With that said, Microsoft’s Twitter announcement does state that the Xbox Series S will be the “smallest Xbox ever.” 

We’ll update this section with more details once they’re announced.