A new wave of documents has just been leaked from the FTC’s courtroom battle against Microsoft, which was supposed to be in print, and appears to reveal a large part of Microsoft’s game plan for its Xbox business. One of the biggest leaks is the existence of a new Xbox console designed to refresh the current Series X.
Ditching the current rectangular design, this upcoming Xbox Series X, codenamed “Brooklyn,” appears to be going for a more cylindrical shape, at least from the front angle seen in one of the leaked documents.
Since this is a hardware refresh and not an upgraded “Pro” version, Brooklyn’s performance should remain the same as the current X Series. However, the current 6nm shrink that powers the machine has lowered power consumption by 15%. 2TB of internal storage, a USB-C port on the front for power delivery, as well as support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 are listed as features.
However, the confidential document also reveals that Microsoft is leaving behind the disc drive for this iteration, something that only the cheaper Xbox Series S has done for now. Microsoft may choose to offer a separate disc drive for Xbox fans who want to stick with physical media or use their back catalogs, which Sony is also rumored to be doing.
As for when people can get their hands on this refreshed Xbox Series X, another leaked document regarding launch timelines gives some targets that Microsoft hopes to hit by its 2025 fiscal year.
According to the leak, the new cylindrical Series X is slated for November 2024 with the same $499 price tag as the current console. While the S Series recently received a minor refresh with double the storage capacity, the document may hint at another refresh (codenamed “Ellewood”) coming in 2024 just behind the Brooklyn’s launch.