After an image of the Xbox One S or Xbox One Slim was leaked, confirming the console’s size relative to the base model and support for Ultra HD video, more details have started to emerge regarding its pricing.

Nerd Leaks on Twitter revealed that the pricing for the console would be $299. The tweet was pretty straightforward about that detail: Introducing Xbox One S. Starting at $299.”

Over on NeoGAF, industry insider Ekim discussed that the part about “starting at $299” wasn’t concerning a game being bundled. He noted that there would be three size options for the console, up to 2 TB in total. So it’s likely that the 2 TB model costs more than $299.

Either way,  if this turns out to be true, that’s not a bad price for the Xbox One S to compete with the PS4 Neo, especially if the latter is costlier than the PS4 as has been alluded. Again, take this all with a grain of salt but the above two haven’t steered us wrong yet.

What you are seeing above is the heavily rumored Xbox One S or the Xbox One Slim. For the last few weeks, several industry insiders and publications have reported that a slimmer version of Xbox One is in development along with an upgraded version (code-named Scorpio) and we finally have our first look at it.

Xbox One S will have a size which will be 40% smaller than the original SKU, will feature 2TB hard drive and will support 4K Ultra HD video. Furthermore, the system will come packed with a vertical stand and a streamlined controller. Judging by the image above there doesn’t seem to be a massive change in the body design of the controller but overall it does look pretty impressive.

Further features also include support for High Dynamic Range. It will be interesting to see what kind of price tag it will carry but if it this does not get Microsoft back in the game then I don’t know what will. Tomorrow’s Microsoft press briefing just got a whole lot more interesting.

Thanks, Neogaf.

New insider information from shinobi602. After giving us the inside scoop on Bethesda’s likely Skyrim remaster, shinobi602’s turned his attention to Microsoft’s E3 showing, and specifically the Xbox One. In a H.AM. podcast, shinobi602 said “yeah I’d say they expect it there. Some hardware, I’ll say to expect hardware [during Microsoft’s E3 2016 press conference] for sure.”  Shinobi602 has been a reliable source of inside information in the past, and considering that E3’s only days away, and not month’s, we’re fairly confident about the credibility of this rumour (heck, we get info under NDA a week before D-Day all the time.)

The rumour mill’s been rife with discussion about the Xbox Scorpio, an alleged mid-cycle hardware update set to compete with Sony’s PS4 Neo. However, the consensus appears to be that, while the PS4 Neo will likely have an E3 showing, Microsoft will be outing a Slim model of the Xbox One, with the Scorpio set to drop next year.

Shinobi602 was fairly vague when he mentioned the new Microsoft hardware, so we’re inclined to think he’s talking about the Slim hardware update and not Scorpio. Whatever it turns out to be, we’re very excited to see new Microsoft and Sony hardware this  year. Stay tuned!

This year is odd, primarily because Microsoft’s strategy feels unclear. We all know the joke about the TV and sports and fish AI but the last two years have been pretty solid for the house that built Xbox. Last year was exceptionally good, especially when it came to future reveals since there was assurance that most of these titles would be releasing in the near future. The focus remained on games. The problem is, it wasn’t quite enough to aid the company in securing a lead over the PS4. In fact, despite arguably more releases in 2016, Sony has pulled well ahead of Microsoft in the console race.

So what’s the plan this year? More games? That will always be on the menu and honestly, more games are good. But rumours have been swelling. Expectations have been building. What can you possibly expect at Microsoft’s E3 2016 presser? Let’s touch in the main points.

Scorpio and Slim

Despite reports of the PS4 NEO which will compliment rather than replace the base model, it’s ironically Microsoft that’s garnered the most attention with rumours of its upgraded consoles. Or rather consoles in general since according to source, an Xbox One Slim will be releasing this year while a redesigned and souped up version of the console codenamed Scorpio is out next year. So far, so salty in terms of how you should be taking rumours. But that’s not all.

According to these sources, Microsoft will also be releasing Chromecast-esque and Apple TV-esque Xbox attachments, presumably for streaming media in homes. And it also seems the vaunted Xbox One controller is also going in for a redesign when the Xbox 1.5 – the slim version – debuts. Which console has 4K support? With rumours of the Xbox 2 aka Scorpio being compatible with VR and a VR game in development (not to mention Microsoft reportedly courting Oculus), what will E3 2016 hold in terms of surprises?

Overall, one can hope that this isn’t simply a knee-jerk reaction to what Sony’s doing. It takes more than better hardware to succeed and hopefully Microsoft is working on facilitating more games for its console.

The First Party

If there’s one thing Microsoft does have going for its console, it’s the first party support. Last year hyped up a number of great games for the future including Scalebound, Crackdown 3, ReCore, Sea of Thieves, Gears of War 4 and Halo Wars 2. The problem now is information.

Scalebound was delayed into early 2017, which is understandable given its massive scope. Crackdown 3 and ReCore haven’t really had a ton of details going about. Same goes for Sea of Thieves. Wasn’t Crackdown 3 supposed to be all revolutionary with its open world destruction and cloud computing capabilities? We heard a whole lot about that at GDC 2015 with the promise of a multiplayer demo in the Summer but nothing’s emerged just yet. Gears of War 4 had its multiplayer beta roughly a month ago but it’s the campaign which draws the most interest.

And there’s that something else that 343 Industries was teasing recently. It’s probably Halo related. Why mention it alongside Halo 5 updates and Halo Wars 2 if it wasn’t? Forza Horizon 3 will also likely be announced because duh.

Here’s the thing – Microsoft doesn’t have an awful line-up of games for this year. It just needs more. For all of its prolonged development cycles and constant delays, Sony does have the upper hand for 2016. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Ratchet & Clank were both great. Horizon: Zero Dawn and The Last Guardian are out this year. Gran Turismo Sport will follow. Other titles like Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Media Molecule’s Dreams and so on will continue to be hyped. Sony may not have had the most number of releases last year but it’s seemingly making up for it this year. And that’s counting the unannounced games that are presumably waiting in the wings.

How does Microsoft counter that? That’s a good question if ever there was one. Not that Sony is on top of the world or anything (it has its own unique set of problems) but Microsoft has its work cut out for it in making me care about the line-up between this year’s E3 and next year.

Quality of Life

Another area where Microsoft has seemingly slowed down is in its quality of life updates for the Xbox One. Maybe that’s because it intends to shift to Scorpio more next year? Regardless, there’s a big difference between last year – which saw the release of backwards compatibility for Xbox 360 games,  dedicated servers for party chat and a revamp of the entire UI – and this year where we’ve gotten the odd few improvements to Achievement tracking, multi-disc support for backwards compatible titles and being able to see who’s in a party.

If anything, the focus has been more on integrating the Xbox One into the Windows 10 framework via cross-platform titles. Not that this is a big deal but it’s a bigger deal for PC players than console gamers. Coming out with significant updates to the UI is no easy feat but hopefully this E3 will see something, anything interesting. We expect to see a number of Xbox One titles carrying the tagline of also heading to Windows 10. That won’t be shocking and it hopefully won’t be a major focus for Microsoft. That being said, there is the rumoured Project Helix, an initiative between Xbox One and Windows 10. Whether really shakes things up remains to be seen.

All in all, E3 2016 is shaping up to be something special. The jury is out on just how well it could pan out for Microsoft but there is stuff in the pipeline. There are plenty of big developments that could come true. And really, at the end of the day if there are fun games to play, everyone wins.

After yesterday’s report about a new upcoming Xbox One model being planned for 2017, codenamed “Scorpio” and VR-capable with 4K output support, another source has emerged to reveal just how powerful it could be.

Speaking to Polygon, this source said that Scorpio will be four times as powerful as the current Xbox One. It also confirmed that a “slimmed down version” of the current Xbox One with a new controller is also in the works. While the latter is scheduled for the end of this year, Scorpio will reportedly be out in late 2017.

The creation of Scorpio is apparently motivated by power and Microsoft is determined to get the upper hand over Sony. While the rumoured PS4 NEO is expected to hit 4.14 teraflops in performance, Scorpio will apparently be targetting 6 teraflops.

Expect announcements to come streaming at E3 2016 for these Xbox One models when you’re not taking all these reports with a grain of salt. In the meantime, what are your thoughts on the same? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more information.

A slimmer Xbox One console has been rumored for at least as long as the console has been out- the rumors seem to hint at a cheaper, smaller unit that will lack a disc drive and be cheaper. Over the time, those rumors have changed, as Microsoft have hinted at a new hardware strategy for Xbox, having multiple SKUs and variants, and iterative improvements over time.

A while back, some FCC filings indicated that there might be new Xbox hardware on the way- today, more evidence for this has emerged. A leak from the Brazilian government seems to indicate that a new, slimmer Xbox One console may be in the works, with at least some kind of improved wireless technology. Extremely suspicious here is the fact that the NDAs on this new hardware seem to lift on June 25, or right after E3- indicating an announcement of it at E3, which would line up neatly with general common sense.

You can see a leaked image of this new Xbox One hardware below- is it real, or are we looking at something else entirely? It might just turn out to be smoke without fire- remember, a slim Xbox One has been rumored for the longest time now. But just in case this leak is the real deal, then we will know soon enough, once E3 rolls about.

Is the Xbox One Elite (or Xbox 1.5) happening? Phil Spencer has floated the idea previously, although he later partially retracted the statement. But that’s all that we have heard on that front- there haven’t been many rumors or leaks regarding a revised Xbox One with better specs, like there have been for the PS4K.

On the other hand, there is a rumored slimline revision of the Xbox One, one which possibly removes the disc drive, which we have been hearing about for over a year now. Look, what we are getting at is, new Xbox hardware is definitely in the pipeline- we just don’t know what it is.

But we do know it is coming, and today, some substantial evidence for it emerged. NeoGAF user ekim has discovered filings for two Xbox One models identified with model numbers 1682 and 1683 in the Federal Communication Commission’s database. We don’t know what these models are, but we do know we can’t access these filings in full until the end of June- which indicates that there might be a new model being announced at E3.

What will it be? We don’t know yet, but hopefully Microsoft go big, much like Sony did with the PS3 Slim last generation, after the PS3’s less than stellar start.

Just two years after the console originally launched, Microsoft may be gearing up to launch the first variation on the Xbox One console- according to this report (sourced via WMPower User), Microsoft is gearing up to have a major hardware event this October. During this event, they will launch multiple new hardware models, including the Lumia 940, the Lumia 940 XL, a Surface Pro 4, a Band 2, and an all new Xbox One console that will allegedly have a slimmer form factor.

This slimmer form factor will be achieved by apparently axing the Blu Ray functionality entirely- this seems to imply that the console will drop the Blu Ray drive entirely, meaning that this specific model of the system will be an all digital model. The costs saved from the Blu Ray drive manufacturing and licensing should lead to Microsoft being able to sell a cheaper console, while its omission will also allow for a smaller and more aesthetically pleasing console.

As of right now, this is all a rumor, so treat it as such- but stay tuned to GamingBolt anyway, and we’ll make sure to keep you posted.

Yesterday, several job listings emerged to indicate that Microsoft be working on a slim version of its Xbox One console. Other listing haves since emerged to further substantiate the existence or at least the development of the Xbox One Slim.

A listing for an Xbox Power Supply Design Verification Engineer outlines duties which include “design verification and qualification of the Xbox power supply at the component, and system levels.” One of the qualifications includes, “Experience in hardware prototype bring-up, debug, fault detection, failure analysis, and yield improvement.”

Another listing for an Xbox CAD Librarian has a role whose “primary focal point for leading library development activities, working very close to electrical engineers, DFM, DFT, and component engineers to ensure high reliability of the library.” Furthermore, the candidate will be “responsible for developing and maintaining the CAD library including create PCB and schematic symbols and managing CAD data in the PLM system.”

If you look closely at the qualifications, you’ll find that Microsoft is looking for “Knowledge of high volume consumer electronics design and manufacturing is desired” and that “design for assembly is a plus.” You’ll also need to be able to travel both across the country and abroad obviously.

Finally, there’s a requirement for an Xbox System Engineer which requires skills maintaining multiple products and managing issues across multiple teams. Some of the requirements include, “Skills in hardware and software engineering such as USB, SATA and PCIe both at the protocol and signal level verification, voltage regulation, embedded software or digital signal processing” and “Experience in testing consumer electronics at the platform, product line, product, sub-assembly and component levels.”

The emphasis on “testing” is our own but whichever way you look at it, something’s got to give. This isn’t to say that an Xbox One Slim will be announced in the next month or so. In fact, even when rumours of the Xbox 360 Slim first emerged, it still took roughly 2 years before Microsoft actually announced the same. This could be the case for the Xbox One Slim as well.

Take this all with a grain of salt as usual and let us know whether you’d be interested in an Xbox One Slim in the coming few years.

Back in October last year, it was reported that a slimmer and cooler Xbox One might be in development. The report was based on the LinkedIN profile of Daniel McConnell, AMD’s senior manager of system-on-a-chip design, where he mentioned about the development of the “first APU for Microsoft’s XBOX One Game Console in 28nm technology and a cost-reduced derivative in 20nm technology.” The information was later deleted.

However according to two job listings on Microsoft’s official career page, the Redmond based company might already be working on an Xbox One slim.

The first listing is for a Senior Electrical Engineer. Although the job description consists of a lot of technical jargon, the following points caught our eye. “Specifying, designing (schematic capture, PCB layout, BOM, cost analysis), implementing and verifying electrical subsystems on the motherboard,” and “Working with other engineers across disciplines to design, test and debug complex hardware technologies for product development, to meet aggressive cost and schedule goals.”

The first point is rather interesting since the PCB i.e. Printed circuit board of the Xbox One has already been finalized and there won’t be any need to add new specifications or design it all over again, unless the hardware team is reassessing its architecture. The requirement also mentions Bill of Materials i.e. BOM and cost analysis, two important factors for developing something slimmer. The second point adds to this with “aggressive costs.”

The second job listing seeks a CAD i.e. computer aided design engineer who will “support PCB product development for Xbox, Xbox Accessories and Kinect development teams.” Furthermore the candidate will require to work on “design and implementation of PC motherboards, analog/digital circuit design, test vehicles, high speed busses (PCIe, SATA, USB, DDR3, DDR4, GDDR3, Hyper Transport, etc.) are required,” and  develop “Layout design supporting RIGID, HDI, FPC, RFPC, COB, Any-layer via manufacturing.”  These terms are all related to or are found on a motherboard.

As usual this should be taken with grain of salt as plans can change anytime. Given that it’s only been 14 months since the Xbox One was launched, one should not expect a slim version anytime soon. But the leaked information from the AMD employee and these job listings make it plausible that Microsoft might have begun at least planning for the Xbox One Slim.

What are your thoughts on the matter though? Let us know in the comments whether Microsoft is actually planning a slim version of the Xbox One for the foreseeable future (or not).