Who remembers Lockhart? It's the cheap and less powerful version of Project Scarlett that more than a rumor last year claimed would be sold along with the more powerful version, called Anaconda. In the run-up to E3 2019, some insiders claimed that Microsoft had abandoned plans for this version of the console, and in fact, At E3, Project Scarlett was revealed as a single console.

But this version of the console may never have died:the ever-careful American website Kotaku reports that, according to its own sources and some developers recently made aware of the facts, Microsoft has never stopped working on Lockhart, a less powerful version of Project Scarlett without an optical reader.

According to Kotaku's sources, Lockhart would be the normal evolution of Xbox One S,while Anaconda will be the heir to The Xbox One X:the power difference between the two consoles should be comparable to that between the two current models, with Lockhart having, according to one developer, the graphics power of PS4 Pro (which would be strange, since it would make it even less powerful than the Xbox One X), but with other factors that will make it much more performing, such as the presence of the same record. that we'll find in Anaconda, and with a faster CPU than any console that exists today. These two factors should allow the console, albeit lower than Anaconda, to ensure high frame-rates and low load times.

According to developers made aware of the console by Microsoft, Anaconda aims to get 4K and 60 fps effortlessly, while Lockhart will aim at 1440p and 60 fps. Of course this doesn't mean that all games will have this performance, but only that is Microsoft's goal: then developers can as always decide to sacrifice the frame-rate to improve graphics or vice versa. Some developers still say they are concerned about having to develop their titles so that they spin even on the least powerful console, but it must be said that this is a widespread development practice in the PC world.

The purpose of this version of the console will of course start the generation with a console that is cheaper and more affordable for everyone,which will be heavily advertised along with xCloud and the Game Pass, a strategy that Microsoft has already successfully implemented during the last generation, alongside the Xbox 360 Arcade model with the standard one, although then the difference was only the absence of the internal hard disk.

This news is certainly interesting and very important even for those who wanted maximum power from Project Scarlett: having a cheaper console model will in fact allow Microsoft not to have to look too much for a cost/performance balance for Anaconda, thus allowing itself to perhaps release a console more expensive than expected (maybe even 550-600 Euro), dedicated exclusively to performance-conscious enthusiasts, but with a hardware endowment at the top of the offer. On the other hand, some recent rumours would like Microsoft to "surprise Sony" with the new console: is that the strategy? We hope to find out soon!