The new compact Xbox Series S has been officially unveiled by Microsoft. The new trailer shows what the small console is capable of – who is it for?
When is the Xbox Series S coming out? According to the official presentation by Microsoft, the Xbox Series S will be released on November 10, 2020. This aligns with information from a leak that had already surfaced earlier.
Update from September 9: The Xbox Series X has now also been presented with price and release date.
How much does the Xbox Series S cost? The price of the digital version of Microsoft’s next-gen console is set at 299 euros. This also confirms the info from the leak. Meanwhile, the larger Xbox Series X is priced at 499 euros.
The Xbox Series S is the smaller, cheaper version of the Xbox Series X. What the small version offers was shown in a new trailer:
Who is the Xbox Series S worth it for?
This is what the Xbox Series S is all about: The Xbox Series S is a purely digital console. It comes without a disc drive, so it will not be able to play Blu-rays. Otherwise, the S variant of the next-gen console is marketed with similar features as its “big brother”. In a tweet from the Xbox channel, they mention:
- Faster loading times
- Higher frame rates
- Richer, more dynamic worlds
- “Next Generation Gaming Performance”
Additionally, it is emphasized that the Xbox Series S is the “smallest Xbox of all time”. It is said to be about 60% smaller than the Xbox Series X. So, anyone deterred by the large tower-like casing of the X variant might find an interesting alternative purely based on design.
Moreover, the features of the Xbox Series S were named more closely in the trailer. It offers:
- A custom NVMe SSD with 512 GB
- Next-gen frame rates with a resolution of 1440p at up to 120 FPS
- DirectX Raytracing
- Variable Rate Shading
- Variable Refresh Rate
- Low latency
- 4K Streaming Media Playback
- 4K Upscaling for games
- Seamless game switching
Who is it worth it for? The most obvious difference at first glance is the missing drive. Anyone who has long since given up physical copies of their games may find the Xbox Series S a good alternative. The games in general, such as Halo Infinite, which has been postponed to 2021, should be the same on both consoles. Some of the next-gen features, such as raytracing, are also included in the S variant.
The trailer also emphasizes: “Better with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate”. Anyone wishing to rely on a subscription model from Microsoft for game selection may find the Series S completely sufficient.
It’s clear that the price can also be a compelling argument. If the aforementioned leak with the price of €499 for the Xbox Series X is also correct, the small variant is a full €200 cheaper. Money that can also be invested in games or something else.
At the same time, the S takes up less space on the shelf than the larger variant. Perhaps a small but not to be underestimated factor.
What are the drawbacks? Anyone who still relies on discs and enjoys watching Blu-rays will not be well served with the Series S. In addition, players with slow internet connections may face issues with a purely digital download console. Some games, such as Call of Duty, take up huge amounts of storage space.
And, anyone wanting the best possible performance will have to go for the larger variant. A look at the specs is sufficient to understand this.
| Xbox Series S | Xbox Series X | |
| GPU | AMD RDNA2 with up to 4 Teraflops 20 CUs at 1.565 MHz | AMD RDNA2 with up to 12.15 Teraflops 52 CUs at 1.845 MHz |
| Memory | NVMe SSD with 512 GB | NVMe SSD with 1 TB |
| CPU | 8-Core AMD Zen 2 3.6 GHz | 8-Core AMD Zen 2 3.8 GHz |
| RAM | 10 GB GDDR6 RAM | 16 GB GDDR6 |
| Drive | None | Blu-ray |
Furthermore, the Series S is only designed for 1440p resolution while gaming, not for 4K – although games can be upscaled at least.
MeinMMO editor Patrick Freese, on the other hand, has already decided that he will not be getting an Xbox. He has already opted for a PC upgrade with the new Nvidia graphics card RTX 3080.
