New Xbox console already being teased by Microsoft

We’re fast approaching the two-year anniversaries of the PS5 and the Xbox Series X/S. Thanks to stock issues and scalpers, for some of us, it probably feels like significantly less time has passed since those fateful releases - Sony’s new-gen console in particular is still notoriously hard to come by at the recommended retail price.

Anyway, I hope you’re ready to get your stock alerts on again, because it appears that Xbox boss Phil Spencer is already teasing a new device. As reported by PlayStation LifeStyle, in a recent tweet, fans were quick to spot something in his posted picture that didn’t look familiar, sending the internet into full investigation mode.

Before we get into it, take a look at this amazing custom one-handed Xbox controller.

The tweet in question was posted in celebration of Fallout’s 25th anniversary yesterday (10 October). “Vault Boy left the shelter and stopped by my office to celebrate the #Fallout25 Anniversary. Congratulations to the @Fallout @Bethesda teams on this major milestone for an iconic franchise,” Spencer wrote. People weren’t focusing on the Vault Boy statue, though. On the very top shelf, below the sword and to the right of the Xbox controller, sits what, at first glance, looks a bit like a slimmed-down Xbox Series S. 

“What is that thing below the sword, like a mini Series S,” questioned @D00rK33p3r. “That's what I was thinking. Maybe that's the upcoming Xbox streaming stick for Game Pass,” replied @justchilliando. “Looks like a mini Xbox streaming box for cloud to me!” added @Spoonablehippo. 

Well, it turns out that people were right - sort of. Digital Trends reports that a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to them that the device on the shelf is actually an old prototype of the upcoming streaming device, Keystone.

“The device on Phil’s shelf was an old prototype of Keystone,” the representative said (via Digital Trends). “Earlier this year, we announced that we made the decision to pivot away from the current iteration of Keystone and are taking our learnings to refocus our efforts on a new approach that will allow us to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world in the future. We have nothing more to share today.” 

Hopefully, its appearance on Spencer's shelf may still imply that news is coming soon - we'll just have to stay tuned for updates.