Microsoft teases Xbox Scarlett in E3 countdown videos

Xbox Scarlett was hiding in plain sight the whole time…

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Microsofthas been tweeting out videos counting down the days until itsE3 2019keynote presentation - and it’s been hiding hints to its next-gen Xbox Two (officially calledXbox Series X) console in them.

Look at the buildings on the left of each video, and a letter-and-number code emerges: the first revealedR55, the secondG36, and the third showedB0. Twitter user@Cr8Beyondpieced them together - they’re the RGB code for the color scarlet, hinting at the collective codename for the next Xbox machines.

User @Cr8Beyond wasrewardedfor his trouble with a free month ofXbox Game Pass, which is more or less confirmation from Microsoft. That strongly implies we’ll see some news about the consoles at the company’s keynote on Sunday, June 9.

Scarlett is the collective name for two separate machines: one codenamed Anaconda, the higher-end of the pair rumored to be more powerful than the upcomingPS5, and the other Lockhart, an entry-level machine with lower performance and price.

This isn’t the first time Microsoft has dropped hints on social media in the days leading up to an E3; two years ago, the companypostedimages with hidden messages dissingSonyfor itsPS4 Pro, which had lower supposed computing power than the then-upcoming Project Scorpio (Xbox One X).

ViaThe Verge

E3 2019is the biggest gaming event of the year. TechRadar is reporting live from LA, telling you all about the biggest announcements of the week, from epic game trailers to shocking release date reveals. Follow our expert analysis of the keynotes and what we see on the E3 show floor.

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David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He’s most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.

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