Xbox Series S targets 1440p 120 FPS, with ray tracing support

Microsoft has unveiled Xbox Series S, a more affordable next-generation Xbox console, accompanying the upcoming Xbox Series X flagship. Outlining a new two-pronged approach into the next wave of consoles, a sizeable shakeup from the tried and tested one-size-fits-all seen with Xbox One. Like Xbox One, divided by Xbox One S and Xbox One X, the two tiers of next-gen Xbox consoles look to represent the high-end and entry-level under the new Xbox family.

The Xbox Series S retains many of the Xbox Series X signatures while scaling back performance to pursue a lower price tag. That includes the same Zen 2 and Navi architectures from AMD and advancements in high-speed solid-state storage, priced at $299 in the U.S. The resulting console is expected to deliver four teraflops (TF) of graphical processing power, on paper providing a third of the 12TF boasted by Xbox Series X.

While Microsoft has confirmed the Xbox Series S' existence, additional leaks have provided further context around the device internals. A leaked commercial (via @_h0x0d on Twitter) now details expected performance, with the company allegedly targeting 1440p resolution on the console, with support for up to 120 FPS. The device will boast next-generation features seen on Xbox Series X, including dedicated ray-tracing hardware and support for variable rate shading (VRS) and variable refresh rates (VRR).

The Xbox Series S will also feature a custom NVMe SSD, which partially contributes to the advancements seen on Xbox Series X. The lower-tier console will ship with a 512GB onboard SSD, smaller than the Xbox Series X's 1TB, with support for the same SSD expansion cards developed in collaboration with Seagate. That brings faster loading times and support for Quick Resume multitasking across multiple games, as previously announced for its flagship.

The Xbox Series S is expected to make its arrival on November 10, alongside the Xbox Series X, in the U.S. The two consoles reportedly cost $299 and $499, respectively, launching in existing Xbox markets across the globe.