Microsoft announces new next-generation console, including price and specs

Microsoft has announced a new Xbox, the Series S.

The smaller, cheaper console will come alongside the flagship Xbox Series X, the company said.

It will cost $299 when it is released, and be the “smallest Xbox ever”, the company announced in a tweet.

The post also confirmed the small design of the console, which also includes a large circle cut into its side.

It also appeared not to include a disc drive, unlike the more expensive Series X. Sony is also offering a version of the PS5 without a disc drive,  though those two versions are otherwise identical.

Microsoft already offers an “all-digital edition” of the Xbox, which also does not include a disc drive. Players are only able to buy games over the internet, through Microsoft’s online store.

As the next-generation of consoles approaches, Microsoft has been stressing new products such as Xbox Game Pass, which allows access to a host of downloadable games for a monthly fee. The disc drive will also presumably be a way of pushing those memberships.

The company did not give any information on any other changes from the Xbox Series X, or how it can be so much cheaper than the rumoured price of the more premium version.

The $299 price also seems to partially confirm a leaked, apparently official video that has been circulating in recent days, that suggested that the Xbox Series X would also cost $499. The then-rumoured Xbox Series S had been included in that video, at the correct $299 price.

Microsoft’s announcement seemed at least partly in response to that video. The company confirmed no details other than those already shared in the video, and promised that more would come soon.

The Xbox has been getting gradually smaller over time. Both the Xbox One S and then Xbox One X were also the company’s smallest consoles ever – though the Xbox Series X has appeared particularly large in publicity shots.