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Xbox Series S revealed: Here's what to expect for $299

By Eric Abent/

If you've been following next-generation gaming news, you probably already know about the Xbox Series S despite the fact that Microsoft has kept its lips sealed up until to this point. Rumored long before even the Xbox Series X was revealed, we've been hearing a lot more about Microsoft's second next-generation console lately. After weeks of rumors and wondering when Microsoft would finally pull the veil back, today it happened at long last: Microsoft has officially confirmed the Xbox Series S.

Not only that, but Microsoft also confirmed how much the Xbox Series S will cost, which certainly comes as a surprise considering that we still don't have pricing details for the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5. In any case, the Xbox Series S will cost $299, which is a tough price point to beat. The image Microsoft shared today does show the design of the console, but beyond that, there isn't a whole lot to glean from Microsoft's announcement.

The company says that more details are coming soon, but in the meantime, Twitter leaker _h0x0d_ has shared a leaked promotional trailer for the console. The trailer promises "next-gen performance" in a console that is "nearly 60% smaller than Xbox Series X." It also shows off the Xbox Series S from all angles, confirming that it doesn't have a disc drive and will indeed be an all-digital console – expect Microsoft to market this heavily alongside Xbox Game Pass.

At the end of that trailer, we're given a list of specifications and performance targets, with Microsoft saying that the Xbox Series S will be capable of 1440p gaming at up to 120 fps (that seems to be a fairly lofty goal given the console's price point). The Xbox Series S will also support DirectX raytracing, variable rate shading, variable refresh rate, 4K media playback, and 4K upscaling for games. Finally, that trailer confirms that the Xbox Series S will use a "custom 512GB SSD," which seems very small considering the size of some mainstream games these days.

Officially, Microsoft says that more details are coming soon, so we'll keep an eye out for those. For now though, Microsoft has an answer to the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, and now that the company has confirmed the price of some kind of next-generation hardware, hopefully it won't be long before we get prices for the mainline PS5 and Xbox Series X.

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