In the run up to the official reveal of the Xbox Series X, there was speculation Microsoft is planning a budget Xbox console codenamed "Lockhart" to sit alongside it. As far as Microsoft is concerned, Lockhart isn't a project they are willing to talk about, but references to the name have now been discovered in Windows.
As IGN reports, the discovery was made by Twitter user TitleOS (@XB1_HexDecimal), who is a security researcher and Windows reverse engineer. In a tweet on June 1, TitleOS included images of five references to the Xbox-Lockhart name discovered in the Windows/System32 directory. They sit alongside references to Xbox-Anaconda, which is the codename for Xbox Series X.
Lockhart as a console may never happen, but clearly it exists otherwise Microsoft wouldn't have included references to the name in Windows. The fact those references still exist suggest Lockhart may be a future project, and therefore a planned budget next-gen Xbox for later in the new console's lifecycle. Remember, Microsoft has already tested the water for a budget Xbox this generation with the launch of the disc-less Xbox One S All Digital edition for $249.
For now, Microsoft is laser-focused on the Xbox Series X, a console it insists will launch before the end of 2020, and apparently for less than a PS5, regardless of how low Sony prices its new console.
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