![A leaked internal slide deck shows an unusually detailed preview of the Xbox Series X's proposed mid-generation refresh.](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-19-at-10.25.58%E2%80%AFAM-800x449.jpeg)
Microsoft
The US Federal Trade Commission’s case against Microsoft didn’t ultimately block the company’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but leaked documents from the case are giving us an unusually detailed look at Microsoft’s near-future plans for the Xbox. Court documents published by the Verge include a slide deck, complete with renders, that detail a mid-generation refresh of both Xbox Series consoles, plus a revamped controller with an updated design and new features.
The biggest changes are coming to the Xbox Series X. Codenamed “Brooklin,” the updated console looks like a marriage of the original boxy monolith that is the Series X and the cylindrical design of Apple’s old “trash can” Mac Pro. The console would be all-digital, ditching its optical drive but stepping up from 1TB to 2TB of internal storage. The port on the front changes from USB-A to USB-C, and the console would include Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 upgrades.
On the inside, the console’s CPU and GPU would use a 6 nm manufacturing process instead of the current 7 nm process. Because the specs are changing, this means power consumption will go down, and the deck indicates that the console’s power supply will be 15 percent smaller than the current Series X (that measures out to around 270 W, based on the 315 W capacity of the current power supply). An “all-new southbridge” will “modernize IO,” and a “new low-power standby mode” would use just 20 percent as much power as the current console’s standby mode.
![The Series S refresh is a bit less interesting, like the Series S itself.](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-19-at-10.26.00%E2%80%AFAM-980x551.jpeg)
Microsoft
The refresh for the Xbox Series S is codenamed “Ellewood,” and it’s a bit less exciting. The Series S gets the same “all-new southbridge” as the Series X, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 would spruce up its wireless connectivity, and the “low-power standby mode” would reduce power consumption while the console isn’t being used. There’s no mention of an updated manufacturing process for the main CPU/GPU, however; the main draw of the hardware would be a 1TB SSD upgrade at the same $299 price as the current 512GB model (Microsoft currently sells a 1TB Xbox Series S for $349).
The deck indicates that both consoles would be accompanied by a revamped controller codenamed “Sebile.” While the current Series X/S controller is very similar to late-model Xbox One controllers, Sebile looks like a substantial revamp, including a built-in swappable rechargeable battery (no more juggling AAs or buying separate battery packs), “precision haptic feedback,” an accelerometer, and “modular thumbsticks” that can be replaced more easily if they wear out.
![Both consoles would be anchored by a substantially redesigned new controller, though as of May 2022, all of these changes hadn't been approved.](https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-19-at-10.26.02%E2%80%AFAM-980x548.jpeg)
Microsoft
The slide deck includes a detailed timeline for launch; the Sebile gamepad would launch in late May of 2024 for $70, followed by an announcement for the new console refreshes in June or July. The new Xbox Series S refresh would launch in late August, followed by the new Xbox Series X in late October; new storage options for both consoles would be announced in the first half of 2025. Microsoft would use $199 Black Friday sales to clear out inventory of the existing 512GB Xbox Series S, and both existing consoles will go away after their refreshes launch.