Xbox One Slim Preorders Off to "Amazing Start," Microsoft Says

Preorders for the new Xbox One S 2 TB model are off to an "amazing start," Microsoft announced today in a blog post recapping its E3 announcements.

The 2 TB system, which launches in August, is priced at $400. The 1 TB ($350) and 500 GB ($300) models are slated to arrive sometime later. All of the Xbox One S models are 40 percent smaller than the current Xbox One and come with an internal power supply. Here's what it looks like:

Xbox One S also supports 4K, as well as High Dynamic Range (HDR); Gears of War 4 will be one of the first games to make use of this, Microsoft announced at E3.

Also featured in Microsoft's statement today is a comment from GameStop merchandising executive Bob Puzon, who said the Xbox One S is poised to become "one of our most sought-after products."

"With all the new innovation we've seen and experienced with Microsoft's new Xbox One S console, we anticipate this creating excitement among our customers," Puzon said.

Nowhere in Microsoft's statement, however, was any further context around Xbox One S preorders whether that be specific figures or comparisons to past consoles.

Xbox One S isn't the only new Xbox console Microsoft is working on. The company will ship Project Scorpio, which it calls the "most powerful console ever made," in holiday 2017.

Also included in Microsoft's blog post are some numbers about the Halo Wars 2 open beta, which ran during E3 week. The beta "exceeded expectations," Microsoft said. Players completed over 1 million matches with more than 2 million hours played overall.

If you missed out on the first beta, a second one will be held "closer to launch." Halo Wars 2 launches for Xbox One and PC in February 2017, following a delay from 2016.