Xbox Lockhart Is Reportedly Still Alive

According to new rumors, Xbox Lockhart is still in development and will release as a budget equivalent to Xbox Scarlett. What will its spects be?

Microsoft might be high on heels with their upcoming next-gen console Xbox Scarlett, however, that doesn’t mean that budget players won’t be able to board on the hype train. Rumors cycling a budget console resurface, making the codenamed Xbox Lockhart another system to launch alongside Scarlett.

The report comes from Kotaku, whose sources claim that Microsoft is still working on a budget console, much like earlier roadmaps revealed.

The company intends on launching not one, but two next-gen consoles. One of them is Xbox Scarlet, the flagship next-gen console. The other is codenamed Xbox Lockhart, which will be disc-less and will offer relevant performance upgrades to the next generation of consoles.

According to Kotaku’s developer sources, Xbox Lockhart will offer the same graphics power as the Playstation 4 Pro and will include an SSD much like its “sibling”. As with all next-gen consoles, this one too will bring higher framerates and a faster CPU than current systems with a target of 1440p resolution and 60FPS.

How can Lockhart fill the gap in console gaming though? If Microsoft’s planning is as we expect then the company intends to make Lockhart a standard for XCloud and Xbox Game Pass, as opposed to Scarlett which will be the flagship system for conventional gaming. The company depends a lot on services provided to gamers, so it isn’t far from reality to say that Lockhart sounds better as an option than a super-powerful Xbox Scarlett.

Even with this report though, Microsoft is far from confirming anything. A representative said to Kotaku that they “do not comment on rumors or speculations”, which clouds the picture even more. However, it is safe to assume that the Xbox team will want to differentiate their products from Sony’s and given their past with monthly services, Lockhart is the best opportunity to support them.

For the time being, we only know Xbox Scarlett is in works and will release sometime late next year. An official announcement of the company’s moves on the console war shall be announced in the months to come.

Always looking for a deep story, empathetic characters, and a great soundtrack in video games. Hardcore game hoarder and a strong believer that one day Xbox will win the console war.