All-digital Xbox Series X refresh leaked in FTC documents
In what’s likely one of the biggest redaction missteps in recent history – bigger than the redaction mistake that revealed Sony's financial secrets –new documents from the FTC’s legal challenge against Microsoft have seemingly revealed an all-new, all-digital Xbox Series X. The new console was detailed at length in the documents, which reveal its design, a new controller, and much more.
The biggest leak in the lot is, of course, the existence and design of a new Xbox Series X console, codenamed Brooklin. The console is seemingly rounded, much like the old Apple iMac Pro trash can design, and has reduced power usage, a die shrink for improved efficiency, and a USB-C port on the front like the PS5.
The new Xbox appears to be rounded and ditches the disc drive
US Courts / Microsoft
It also apparently will come with 2TB of storage on board, and use up to 20% less power than current Xbox Series consoles. The biggest change from the current console is that it seems to be entirely digital-only, with no disc drive to speak of, taking us one step further towards an all-digital future, though one that definitely leverages the Xbox’s key selling point, Game Pass.
The Xbox Series S is also seemingly getting a refresh, swapping its front USB port for USB-C, although the design and storage capabilities will seemingly stay the same Both consoles are said to have a new southbridge, which the documents say will “modernize IO and sustainability efforts,” whatever that means. One slide included in the documents says that there will be extra IO lanes, which will help players get into games quicker and reduce developer friction.
Another new addition is a brand-new Xbox controller, with enhanced features that bring it much more closely in line with the PS5’s DualSense and the Nintendo Switch’s Pro Controller. The new controller, codenamed Sebile, will have new modular thumbsticks, high resolution rumble motors like the DualSense and Nintendo’s HD Rumble, and even an accelerometer for motion controls.
The new Xbox controller will have an accelerometer and precision haptics
US Courts / Microsoft
If the documents are to be believed, the mid-gen refresh for the Series S will be released in August 2024, while the new version of the Series X will be launched in late October 2024.
