Xbox Series S official, priced sharply at just US$299

Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox Series S, which has previously gone by the codename ‘Lockhart’ has been officially revealed shortly after it leaked. The new device is a more affordable console that effectively replaces the soon to be superseded Xbox One X and Xbox One S. Keeping with that heritage, it looks more like the earlier consoles than the newer Xbox Series X, although it features the Xbox Series X signature black grill vents in a circular arrangement.

Also of note is its price -- just US$299, which will be a few hundred dollars cheaper than the anticipated price of the albeit much more powerful Xbox Series X. Where the Xbox Series X will deliver 12 teraflops of processing power, the Xbox Series S is tipped to deliver around 4 teraflops of performance. This puts it roughly in between the Xbox One X (6 teraflops) and the Xbox One S (1.4 teraflops) in terms of capability.

While there might be some question marks around how it will handle next-gen titles given it has less power than even the Xbox One X, reduced settings of 1440p @60 fps seems feasible while 1080p support at higher frame rates could also be a possibility -- title dependent of course. It is also possible that the Xbox Series S will support Microsoft's new Xcloud game streaming service -- this could help it offer next-gen titles at higher resolutions and frame rates potentially making it an even better deal.

However, one thing is certain -- it will have no trouble running Xbox One titles which look like they will be delivered to the device in digital format only as the Series S eschews an optical drive to help keep the price down. Support for some earlier Xbox 360 titles also seems likely. An aim of Microsoft with each generation of its Xbox consoles has been to keep as much forward compatible and backwards compatible as possible.

Microsoft says it plans on revealing more specific details about the Xbox Series S soon.