Microsoft’s refreshed Xbox Series X console, ‘Brooklin’, has leaked

Microsoft is planning to release a redesigned Xbox Series X console, codenamed ‘Brooklin’, with a new design and controller.

That’s according to court documents published overnight, as part of Microsoft’s recent legal battle with the FTC, which have seemingly been unredacted by mistake.

The docs include slides showing details and even images of the “Xbox Series X refresh”, which the docs state will include “more internal storage, faster Wi-Fi, reduced power, a more immersive controller and a beautiful design”. The console also ditches the standard Series X’s disc tray.

The new Xbox controller, codenamed ‘Sebile’, will include new haptic feedback and accelerometer features, according to the leaked docs, modular thumbsticks and a rechargeable and swappable battery.

According to another slide, ‘Brooklin’ will release in November 2024 with 2TB of storage for the same price as the current Xbox Series X ($499).

The same leaked documents mention an Xbox Series S refresh featuring 1TB of storage for next September. According to the docs, the Series S refresh will include some of the Brooklin features such as improved Wi-Fi support.

If the timing in the documents is still accurate (they’re dated April 2022), then the market could be set to receive two major console refreshes in 2024, as Sony is reportedly preparing a more powerful PS5 version.

In June, Xbox boss Spencer said a potential mid-cycle upgrade for Series X wasn’t a priority for Microsoft, and he reiterated this in interviews published last month. And since ‘Brooklin’ seems to have the same core specs as the standard Series X, Spencer appears to have stuck to his word.

“As soon as you start doing mid-gen refreshes, you’ve got a bunch of issues in front of developers, on what platform they target,” he told Eurogamer.

Spencer added: “If we get into a console world where, every two years, we now have three or four closed ecosystems that are upgrading their hardware every two years, I’m gonna wonder – how is that helping creators or players? To me it feels like we are creating a ton of complexity for creators and players in something that used to be very simple. And maybe there’s another model for us.”