Microsoft will reportedly unveil two new Xbox consoles in June

Microsoft is planning to reveal two new Xbox consoles at the Electronics Entertainment Show (E3) this June, according to a report from French gaming website Jeux Video.

The report (translated by WCCFTech) states that the consoles in question are codenamed Lockhart and Anaconda, which are both monikers that have been floating around for a while.

Anaconda is said to be the higher-end, more premium-priced system of the pair, although it’s apparently not going to be a completely new device. Instead, Anaconda is described as an updated version of Microsoft’s Xbox One X, the 4K-capable Xbox One model which launched in November 2017.

According to Jeux Video, Microsoft is targeting a 2020 release for Anaconda and will launch Halo Infinite alongside the console. The outlet also says that developer Ninja Theory (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice) — which Microsoft acquired last year — will also debut its first Xbox Game Studios-published title sometime in 2020.

Meanwhile, Lockhart is said to be a more affordable console that’s a successor to Microsoft’s Xbox One S slim system which debuted in August 2016. Reports of such a system first popped up last November and pointed to the device launching without a disc drive to reduce cost. It appears that Microsoft intends to release this updated Xbox One S model later this year before launching the more premium and powerful Lockhart sometime in 2020.

However, it’s important to note that these systems will likely not be officially called Lockhart or Anaconda. It’s common for gaming hardware manufacturers to give their devices codenames that only relate to their development kits. For example, the Microsoft originally developed the Xbox One under the codename of ‘Durango,’ while rival console makers Sony and Nintendo at one point referred to the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch as ‘Neo’ and ‘NX,’ respectively.

Whatever Microsoft’s consoles end up being called, though, it’s certainly not hard to imagine the company revealing them in June. With PlayStation officially skipping E3 this year, Xbox head Phil Spencer recently confirmed that Xbox will return to the show “as big” as it’s ever been.

There were also rumblings earlier this week that Microsoft is set to bring its Xbox Game Pass and Project xCloud services to the Nintendo Switch. In theory, this means that Switch owners could play Xbox exclusives like Halo, Gears and even Canadian-made Cuphead either through Game Pass downloads or Project xCloud’s streaming capabilities.

Given that Nintendo has also reiterated its commitment to E3 this year, it’s possible that both companies will take to the stage to formally unveil the details of their rumoured partnership.