Microsoft is planning to formally unveil its long-rumoured affordable next-gen Xbox console, codenamed ‘Lockhart,’ in August, according to a report from VentureBeat.
In a news story about Sony’s PS5 reveal event being rescheduled to June 11th, VentureBeat editor Jeff Grubb also mentioned that Microsoft’s plans have been shifting around over the past several days.
According to Grubb, Microsoft was originally planning to showcase Lockhart around June 9th. However, when Sony delayed the PS5 event out of respect for the ongoing racism and police brutality protests, Microsoft supposedly altered its plans internally.
That’s because “Microsoft doesn’t want to go before Sony’s Thursday event,” says Grubb. So far, Microsoft hasn’t publicly commented on any potential schedule changes, but the company did confrim in May that it will provide monthly updates on the Xbox Series X, its main next-gen console. While Grubb’s report suggests that Microsoft will now miss this monthly news schedule, he did note on Twitter that the company might still do “something else” related to Xbox this month.
It might do something else in June. It could bring Xboxing Day back into June once Sony goes. But it definitely doesn't want to go first for this part.
— Grubb (@JeffGrubb) June 8, 2020
However, Grubb didn’t suggest what that might be. Should nothing happen this month, the next Xbox event on the docket is a major first-party showcase sometime in July, which will focus on games like Halo Infinite.
It’s important to note that Microsoft has previously shut down rumours of a second next-gen Xbox console, but they’ve nonetheless continued to pop up from credible sources like Grubb. Based on these rumours, the Lockhart will offer some of the features and technical improvements of the Series X, although some will be removed to cut the system’s cost.
Given that Xbox’s approach for the last few years has been about “gaming for everyone,” it makes sense that Microsoft would want to present consumers with multiple next-gen Xbox options. That said, it’s unclear if this is intended to launch alongside the Series X and PS5 this holiday.
It’s also important to mention that Grubb acknowledged that the PS5 event’s new date might lead Microsoft to change plans again.
Interestingly, though, Xbox head of marketing Aaron Greenberg took to Twitter to deny that any Xbox event had been pushed back.
We have not pushed anything back, our plan remains to have our next digital show in July and teams are working hard on that. https://t.co/e09NcRpVcC
— Aaron Greenberg 🙅🏼♂️💚U (@aarongreenberg) June 8, 2020
That said, Grubb noted on Twitter that Microsoft hadn’t actually formally announced this specific June event, so at least publicly, what Greenberg says appears true.
It wasn't announced, so I think this is completely fair of them to say.
— Grubb (@JeffGrubb) June 8, 2020
In any event, we’ll have to wait to hear more in the coming days.
Source: VentureBeat
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