Xbox goes back to black! Microsoft announces new $349 Series S console

Microsoft announced a new Xbox console Monday, which will feature double the storage of its predecessor.

The Carbon Black Xbox Series S was revealed during the X Xbox Games Showcase for $349.99 and will include the same hardware power as the original model but with one terabyte of storage space.

The tech giant is reverting to the gaming console’s 2013 roots with a matte black exterior – the initial Series S was only available in white.

The Carbon Black Xbox Series S is set to launch worldwide on September 1, but gamers can pre-order the system Monday.

 Microsoft Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said the company recognizes that ‘for some people around the planet, $500 is too much for a console,’ and the lower price of $349 is in hopes of tempting more people to purchase the system.

While Spencer did not name Xbox’s rivals, he seemed to hint at Sony’s PlayStation 5, which starts at $459.99.

Carbon Black is about $50 more than the original Series S, but Microsoft said it packs the same power.

The white 512GB Xbox Series S can be purchased for as low as $250.

This includes a faster SSD for nearly instant loading times, a Quick Resume feature that lets gamers move quickly between different games and provides enough internal power to run games at up to a smooth 120 frames per second – ‘all powered by Xbox Velocity Architecture,’ Xbox shared in the announcement.

However, the added storage might be what gamers have been looking for. 

The bold Carbon Black color is the same sleek, modern matte finish as Xbox Series X and the Xbox Wireless Controller

‘We’ve heard the feedback that the 500GB can be a limit for some people, and yes, we’ve heard the feedback on the expansion cards and we’re working on that,’ said  Spencer at a roundtable the company hosted after its big Xbox Games Showcase in Los Angeles. 

‘But we also wanted to make a console with 1TB inside. We continue to take feedback on our console. 

‘We continue to build out the roadmap of where [the] console is today, where it’ll be tomorrow and frankly, where it’ll be in the future for us.’ 

Gamers can also add an Xbox Game Pass Unlimited subscription (membership sold separately).

Carbon Black is about $50 more than the original Series S, but Microsoft said it packs the same power. The white 512GB Xbox Series S (right) can be purchased for as low as $250

According to the company, this will let users play new games built natively for Xbox Series S and X, like Starfield and Forza Motorsport. 

Microsoft also launched the new Starfield game over the weekend.

Players must fend off pirates, navigate strange moons, build outposts and fix their starships in a space epic due out on Xbox in September after years of development and delay. 

Microsoft gave its most detailed glimpse of the upcoming game at Sunday’s Los Angeles event. 

The release could be one of the most important in Xbox’s history as it looks to attract gamers with a headliner on par with Nintendo’s latest Zelda game and PlayStation’s upcoming Spider-Man 2, said Mat Piscatella, a game industry analyst for market researcher Circana.