The Xbox One S will be $50 cheaper starting from tomorrow, as Microsoft is bringing the price for the unbundled version of its console to $199 Battlefield 1 (500 GB) and Forza Horizon (1 TB) Xbox One S bundles down to $249 and $299 respectively.
It's not yet clear whether this price decrement is permanent or just a limited-time offer. The $50 discount will be available until June 17, but prices may vary by retailer. Microsoft's upcoming Project Scorpio is set to be revealed at the Xbox Briefing on June 11; the change in discounted price, therefore, is clearly a step taken to push sales for the Xbox One S.
Microsoft revealed key specifications for Project Scorpio earlier this year, claiming it to be the “most powerful console ever.” The console's dev kit comes with 24 GB of RAM, but the retail unit will ship with 12 GB, of which 9 GB will be available for games. It's meant to deliver 6 teraflops of power and will support 4K gaming as well as add VR support, though the latter doesn't appear to be a priority.
As for consumers who do buy the Xbox One S, Microsoft plans on maintaining some semblance of parity among the Xbox One family of consoles.
Microsoft recently registered a trademark for a gaming-related ‘S' logo; hopefully, this means that we will get to see the retail version of Project Scorpio at the Xbox Briefing, along with a name, the branding and final pricing details.
To keep things competitive, Sony is also hosting an E3 event a day after Microsoft, where the Japanese company could announce a price cut for its recently announced PlayStation 4 Slim.
The Xbox Briefing will stream live at 2 PM PDT on June 11; be sure to follow Neowin's E3 2017 coverage!
Update: Microsoft has now clarified that the $50 price drop is only for the Battlefield 1 (500 GB) and Forza Horizon (1 TB) bundles, bringing the price down to $249 and $299 respectively. The price drop does not apply to the regular unbundled Xbox One S. Additionally, the discounted price will only be available until June 17, and may vary by retailer.
Source: Twitter (Xbox) via GameSpot
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