The Xbox Series S might have leaked earlier this week before being officially unveiled, but Microsoft was hiding it in plain sight months ago. Xbox chief Phil Spencer appeared in multiple interviews in July, ahead of Microsoft’s Xbox games showcase, and he hid an Xbox Series S on the shelves behind him.
The official Xbox account revealed the elaborate prank today, and Spencer added that the Xbox Series S appeared in at least three YouTube video interviews during July. While it might sound surprising for an unannounced console to be hidden in videos, Microsoft has a habit of hiding secrets and codes as teasers ahead of its console announcements.
Microsoft teased its Xbox One X console with a bunch of videos that hinted at its 6 teraflops of GPU performance ahead of E3 in 2017. The company also teased the Xbox Series X, under the codename Scarlett, in E3 teasers last year.
Microsoft was forced to announce the Xbox Series S a little earlier than planned this week, after the console and its $299 price leaked. The Xbox Series S will use the same CPU as the larger, more powerful Xbox Series X and a 512GB custom SSD. Microsoft is targeting the Xbox Series S, with its 4 teraflops of GPU performance, at 1080p TVs and 1440p gaming on gaming monitors, rather than 4K. The Xbox Series S will launch on November 10th, priced at $299.
