It appears the rumors were true. Microsoft announced two new pieces of hardware during their E3 media briefing earlier today. The Xbox One S is a physically scaled down version of the current Xbox One. Project Scorpio is an evolution of hardware that’s designed to work alongside Xbox One. Players will also now be able to customize their own controllers through the Xbox Design Lab.
Project Scorpio is slated for launch during the holiday season of 2017. “Project Scorpio will be the most powerful console ever created, with 6 teraflops of GPU delivering a premier console gaming experience including true 4K gaming and high fidelity virtual reality,” according to a post on Xbox Wire.
Xbox One S is a sleeker version of Xbox One. The new console is 40% smaller than the existing Xbox One and include HDR support for video and games. The Xbox One S is slated for launch in August with multiple options of hardware size. The smallest console will be $299.
In addition to the new console hardware, Microsoft also unveiled a couple of cool new controllers. The standard new controller has updated elements to make it better to hold and also has Bluetooth radio to make it easier to use the controller on PCs and tablets.
Finally, Microsoft announced the Xbox Design Lab, in which players can fully customize an Xbox One controller. The options include different colors for the casing and buttons, and the option to add text to the faceplate.
