Xbox Series X Might Have A Second Console In Tow At Launch
In the lead up to the reveal of the Xbox Series X, there were numerous rumors that claimed Microsoft's next-generation console plans actually comprised two machines. Individually, these machines were called Anaconda and Lockhart, and together, they made up Project Scarlett. Project Scarlett was eventually revealed to be the singular Xbox Series X, with no sign of another console.
Today, however, that might be changing, as a leaked Microsoft document seemingly contains references to Lockhart. The document is related to Microsoft's Game Development Kit and screengrabs of it were published to Twitter by user XB1_HexDecimal. The Game Development Kit, it seems, allows developers to choose between default, AnacondaProfiling, and LockhardProfiling modes when working within the Scarlett dev tools.
Beyond that leak, sources have told The Verge that the Lockhard mode is indeed included in the Xbox Series X developer kit and features a profile that emulate Microsoft's targets for consoles. The Verge goes on to note that Lockhart will have 7.5GB of usable RAM and provide around 4 teraflops of GPU performance, compared to Xbox Series X's 13.5GB of RAM and 12 TFLOPS of performance. The CPU in Lockhart is also slightly underclocked compared to that of the Xbox Series X.
Microsoft's goal with Lockhart – which will apparently be called Xbox Series S – is to produce a console that can handle 1080p or 1440p gaming, not the 4K target it's trying to hit with Xbox Series X. Apparently, Lockhart will launch alongside the Xbox Series X later this year, which seems a little strange since Microsoft hasn't actually revealed it yet.
What isn't strange is the notion that Microsoft might be lining up two different consoles for the next generation. This generation, we've seen four different iterations of the Xbox One, between the original console, the Xbox One S, the Xbox One X, and the Xbox One S All Digital Edition. With that in mind, it certainly isn't out of the question that we'd see two different Xbox consoles at the beginning of the next generation, so we'll see if that winds up happening.