A new rumour suggests that Xbox Lockhart, Microsoft's long-rumoured all digital next-gen console, will be half the price of the Xbox Series X, and is set to be revealed in July as part of "a night of mic drops" for the video game company.
The gossip comes from Beyond3D forums, eastmen (via WCCFTech), who has a history of leaking Xbox news in advance of Microsoft's own official announcements.
According to eastmen, Xbox Lockhart will be "half the price" of Xbox Series X, which itself is apparently being targeted for the $400 cost band at launch.
"Microsoft will make up any losses they take by getting a higher cut of game sales and more subscriptions," explains the post. "Pricing also depends on what Sony does. MS doesn't have to go as extreme in pricing if Sony prices itself higher."
Finally, the rumour also states that Microsoft's upcoming Xbox Series X event will be "a night of mic drops", similar in scope and scale to that of Sony's Future of Gaming event last week.
"They are going to come hard with the strategy they have been building up to for years and they want Google, Amazon, Apple, Sony and yes Nintendo to [be] shaken up. So expect a series of mic drop moments followed by the price being the key part of all this."
As always, best to take these rumours with a hint of salt, but it's certainly interesting to ponder over Microsoft's plans for the summer, especially now that Sony has laid its cards on the table. Be sure to stick to 12DOVE, meanwhile, for all the latest next-gen news as it arrives.
Here's what developers had to say about the recently revealed Unreal Engine 5 demo. You can also watch the entire thing for yourself in the video below. For more on the cost of next-gen, take a look at our guides to the Xbox Series X price and PS5 price.
