Can you believe it's been six years this week since Microsoft announced the Xbox Series S? We already knew of the Xbox Series X's existence for ages prior to that point, but rumour was doing the rounds about a so-called "Lockhart" console that was in the works as well, and it was revealed in September of 2020 ahead of a November release.
The reveal certainly didn't go to plan though. On the morning of September 8th that year, loads of images of the Xbox Series S suddenly started appearing on social media, and Microsoft hurriedly responded to it with an official reveal a few hours later. They had an entire press briefing ready to go that was seemingly never used in the end.
Let's not forget the Xbox Series S launched at just £249.99 / $299.99 as well!
Anyway, multiple Xbox employees ended up sharing their frustration at the Series S leak, with Xbox Insider Program Lead Brad Rossetti describing it as "so frustrating" and highlighting that people had tried hard "to keep it under wraps for so many reasons".
Xbox exec Cindy Walker went one step further and denounced the leaks as "THEFT" , insisting that "OUR work, our time, our hearts - was STOLEN". Here's what she had to say at the time:
As gutting as this situation must have been for everyone at Team Xbox at the time, we can look back six years later and be incredibly thankful for all the work they put into the Series S - truly an amazing machine for such a low price point (at least before the component crisis raised prices in recent years!).
And by the way, while this was surely the biggest Xbox leak by 2020, you could argue that an even worse leak was suffered in 2023 as part of the FTC investigation into Xbox's Activision Blizzard takeover, although that one was based on "old emails and documents" rather than a console that was imminently about to release. For me personally, waking up to the Xbox Series S being plastered all over social media is still the #1 "woah" moment!
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.purexbox.com/news/2026/09/six-years-ago-this-week-xbox-suffered-the-most-frustrating-leak-in-their-history
