Xbox roundup: 'Xbox Series S' Lockhart, new headset, spring event, more

Ana

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Apr 21, 2020

#1

As per some of our earlier information on Xbox "Lockhart" and the Xbox Series X, we're expecting Lockhart to be a 4TF "entry-point" to next-gen gaming, and it should effectively replace the Xbox One X. This system is designed to be affordable but will offer aspects of a next-gen experience currently unavailable to past-gen consoles, presumably in the form of NVME loading speeds and perhaps some limited ray-tracing. We have no idea about the capabilities of Lockhart outside that magical "4TF" GPU number, which came alongside more of our detailed Xbox Series X info that turned out to be accurate.

Recently, we heard Lockhart is entering take home stages for Xbox employees to get their hands on the system and begin providing feedback and testing. The timing would indicate to me that rumors of upcoming showcases in early May are likely accurate. This is coupled with rumors from our Senior Editor Zac Bowden that Microsoft is gearing up to showcase new Surface hardware in May, as well.

In addition to Lockhart potentially moving out of the lab into the homes of internal Microsoft testers, we've heard Team Xbox is building a replacement for its 2014 Xbox Stereo Headset. If our sourcing on this is accurate, the new headset will be fully wireless, compatible with Xbox, PC, and mobile devices, presumably via separate Bluetooth and Xbox Wireless signals.

It could be Xbox's answer to the Surface Headphones, albeit with some of the more "premium" features stripped out. Given that the previous 2014 Xbox Stereo Headset was very much an entry-level affair, this may also be designed with entry-level users in mind, allowing for third-parties to target the more premium-end with the likes of the SteelSeries Arctis 9X and the Astro A50. It could also go the other way entirely, offering something at the premium-end as an "aspirational" product similar to the rest of the Surface product line.

We've heard Microsoft may also be gearing up to show off a few upcoming games as part of its May press releases. Long-standing rumors of a Fable reboot under Playground Games make for an obvious candidate, but we've also barely seen anything about Halo Infinite, which is supposedly launching later this year presuming "work from home" delays are avoided.

As always, take these rumors with a pinch of salt. Plans can change, more so than ever in our present era of flux and chaos, but we're confident that Xbox fans could have something to look forward to in early May.