Microsoft may be planning to launch the Xbox Series X sooner than anticipated. At least that’s one interpretation of a cryptic message from a reliable source pulling together some pieces of Microsoft’s recent activity. With both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 launching this holiday season, fans are still debating their merits, and an early release date could be a significant edge for Microsoft.

Both Sony and Microsoft have kept their next-gen console launch plans secret so far, opening the door for a lot of speculation about what to expect. That’s led to rampant rumors about release dates, console price points, and when preorders could go live. Fans are comparing the console’s specs and game libraries to choose which one they’ll throw their money behind, even going as far as to create digital models of the consoles to compare their sizes against one another.

Of course, none of that will really matter until players actually have the PS5 and Xbox Series X controllers in their hands to test out the new hardware for themselves, making potential release dates the number one question on most fans’ minds. A recent comment from Verge senior editor Tom Warren has some fans speculating that that day might come sooner than they were imagining. In a tweet, Warren points out that Microsoft’s revenue from Xbox has increased this year, but despite that it’s stopped production of the Xbox One X and Xbox One S All-Digital Edition, leading to an overall shortage of consoles. Warren doesn’t offer a reason for that, instead simply saying, “This will all make sense soon.”


That’s clearly not a confirmation of anything, but it does seem to indicate that Microsoft is planning for a shift in its manufacturing sooner rather than later. People still want to buy Xbox consoles, and it wouldn’t make sense for Microsoft to cut production unless it was replacing the Xbox One X and One S All-Digital with something else. It could mean that players wanting a more powerful console will soon have the Xbox Series X as an option, while those opting for the lower powered One S All-Digital might instead turn to the rumored Xbox Series S, codenamed Lockhart. An official reveal of the reputed cheaper next-gen console would be just about as big of a story as the Series X finally getting a release date.

Players waiting for next-gen news should know by now not to get their hopes up too high, but it’s hard to totally suppress excitement for the implications of Warren’s message. If the Xbox Series X is in fact launching sooner than expected, it would completely change the dynamics of this crucial holiday season and make tomorrow’s Xbox Games Showcase even more exciting to watch.