Xbox Series X Was Originally Meant To Launch In August - Report

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans concerning next-generation consoles have shifted. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X have been confirmed for launch during the holiday season, but according to a report it seems Microsoft might have wanted to go a lot sooner.

Brad Sams, reporting for Thurrott, has stated in a new report that Microsoft's original plans were to launch the Xbox Series X at the end of August, with the as-of-yet unannounced Xbox Lockhart following in mid-October. Those plans have clearly changed; Lockhart is now expected to only be announced in August, while the Series X has been committed to an unannounced release date later in the year.

The change in plans is just further evidence of how Microsoft has had to adapt over the course of this year. Without E3, the company shifted towards monthly Xbox streams to showcase its new hardware, which kicked off in May. The company shied away from a similar event in June, but will return in July with a first-party showing before reportedly revealing its second next-gen Xbox in August. This was all reportedly meant to happen in June previously.

Lockhart hasn't been formally announced, but many of its specifications have leaked over the last few weeks. Developers are reportedly already able to use existing Xbox development kits to mimic Lockhart performance, revealing a console with the same CPU as the Series X but equipped with a weaker GPU and less RAM. Lockhart will also reportedly use the same SSD and storage solution as the Xbox Series X.

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