Xbox Series X Slim quietly confirmed

The aftermath of the official Xbox podcast was always going to be a minefield. After all, Xbox has been struggling to find its equilibrium after third-party rumours started circulating in earnest last week.

Despite us now having hard facts to hold onto rather than rampanent rumours, there’s still a lot of ill feeling towards Microsoft regarding its plans for Xbox’s future. The next-gen consoles from Microsoft were already causing controversy before the podcast, however, now that it’s been confirmed that several exclusives are headed to PlayStation, the controversy continues.

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What you may have missed whilst trying to avoid the barrage of annoyance and criticism, is the quiet confirmation that an Xbox Series X Slim is in the works. The fridge-like shape of the Xbox X has long been criticised, especially when compared with the PS5, with that comparison ready to start up again if the slimmer Xbox isn’t half as attractive.

Xbox president Sarah Bond said, “There’s some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we’re gonna share this holiday, and we’re also invested in the next-generation roadmap.” That isn’t giving much away, we know, but a leak has revealed revision plans for the Xbox S as well as the Xbox X slim details. Putting two and two together, it’s not hard to come up with four.

What is more, there’s also evidence to suggest that the Xbox controller is going to undergo some cosmetic alterations so that it’s more in-line with the looks of the PS5 DualSense. Although the DualSense is ideal for smaller hands, such as my own, I would hate to see the chunky design of the Xbox controller lost.

Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, change is coming. “Major generational leaps” will help Microsoft’s next-gen consoles stand out from the crowd, so it’s promised, which can only be for the better.

But are we really ready to talk about next-gen so soon, seeing as how current-gen consoles still feel like they’re in their infancy? It doesn’t feel like it, yet we have little say now the cogs are turning for the future to come around sooner than we’d like.