Anaconda And Lockheart Xbox Consoles To Arrive In 2020

Microsoft has big plans for game consoles in the next couple of years. The software giant effectively confirmed at E3 that it has next generation Xbox consoles in the pipeline, which will be a Scarlett device series. Now the rumor mill suggests that Anaconda and Lockheart are codenames for the upcoming Scarlett consoles.

The Microsoft blogger Jez revealed on his Twitter page that Anaconda will the be codename for one of Microsoft’s Scarlett consoles. There he stated, “The next-gen Xbox/dev kit is codenamed Anaconda, in-keeping with the reptile theme. (Current dev kit is Chuckwalla, previous was Durango).” Anaconda is speculated to be the codename for the Xbox One X’s successor.

The renowned journalist Mr. Sams has also stated that Lockhart will be the codename for another Scarlett console. “Microsoft refers to Anaconda as Scarlett Pro and Lockhart as Scarlett Arcade,” Mr. Sams confirmed on Thurrot. As such, Lockhart is reputedly the codename for a lower specification Scarlett console that will replace the Xbox One S.

Microsoft is expected to release the Anconda and Lockhart consoles during 2020. The Anconda will be the higher-end Xbox console, but it is predicted that both will remain based on AMD x86 CPUs. However, the Anconda might incorporate SSD storage and tech that greatly reduces load times.

Microsoft’s Xbox chief, Mr Spencer, stated at E3 2018 that he would love Xbox games that started a little quicker, which is perhaps a hint that Microsoft might try to reduce load times for the new Scarlett consoles.

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The Lockhart and Anconda will be backwardly compatible with the current generation Xbox game consoles. As such, players will be able to play their current favorite Xbox One X and S games on the next generation consoles. Anconda and Lockhart could be fully compatible with pretty much everything on current Xbox consoles.

The next-gen Scarlett consoles will almost certainly enable players to stream some games to mobile devices. Mr. Spencer has confirmed Microsoft will launch a new cloud game-streaming network in 2019 (Project xCloud) that will “unlock console quality gaming on any device.” Thus, Microsoft’s upcoming consoles will be a part of the new streaming service.

There has also been plenty of GameCore speculation. That is speculated to be a new gaming platform for the upcoming Scarlett consoles. GameCore is reputedly one of the Windows Core OS platforms Microsoft has under wraps. The idea is that GameCore will make it more straightforward for developers to build games compatible with both Xbox consoles and Windows.

So Microsoft certainly has plenty in store for the Xbox ecosystem over the next few years. The big M will probably provide more details for its upcoming Anconda and Lockhart game consoles at E3 2019.