Five Years On, Xbox Series S Is Still A Fantastic Place For Current-Gen Gaming

Does anyone else remember 'Project Lockhart'? Casting our minds back to early 2020, about six months before Xbox Series X launched, Lockhart was this mysterious entry-level console that still hadn't been officially revealed. It dominated the headlines for months, before Microsoft officially unveiled it in September of that year after an early leak. Of course, the system as we now know it is Xbox Series S, and what a system it's been over the last five years.

That's right, Xbox Series X|S celebrates its five-year anniversary today - and while it's been a bumpy road for Microsoft's Xbox hardware this generation, you can't deny the engineering prowess that went into building these things. To this day, Series X and S are very impressive bits of kit that deliver current-gen gaming to a great spec, and considering the launch price and physical footprint of the system, Xbox Series S has to be included in these celebrations.

Over the years, Xbox Series S has been doubted, but it's pulled through all of the controversy and is still trucking along, half a decade later. As we recently talked about in a separate feature, you just can't deny the value proposition that this console has provided over the years, especially in a world where the price of gaming tech (including Xbox consoles for that matter) just keeps going up and up. Shop around in the used market and these things are incredibly cheap - you just can't play current-gen games at this price anywhere else.

Is the system perfect? No, absolutely not. The lack of a disc drive option is an issue for many, and the price of brand-new units have gone up in recent times, thanks to various Microsoft price hikes. Then, there's the much-talked-about Xbox Series S ports, which we'll admit aren't always perfect. Some games shine on the system while others do suffer quite a bit compared to its big brother; the Xbox Series X. But all things considered, we think Xbox Series S probably outperforms its paper-spec in a lot of instances - and on the whole is still a fantastic place to play current (and last) gen games.

And, the thing is, we still think the Xbox Series S has a big future ahead of it as well. Microsoft's next-gen Xbox doesn't sound like it's going to be cheap, and Series S will ultimately provide an entry point into Xbox console gaming for many years to come. There's also the point of diminishing returns with tech these days - graphics simply aren't getting that much better anymore, and with Switch 2 out in the wild and likely an extensive cross-gen period ahead of us, Series S will be here and relevant for many years. And rightfully so.

It's been a long old road for both Xbox Series X and S, but we've really enjoyed using both of these consoles over the years, and it's hard to deny that Microsoft built some fantastic consoles here. Series X generally gets a lot of the plaudits, and deservedly so, but this is just a little celebration of Series S for a minute here. The junior system, the little console that could, the digital-only entry point. It's earnt its place in Xbox history, and we've got a feeling it's going to stick around for a while yet.

How do you feel about these consoles, particularly Series S, five years later? Talk to us about the anniversary down below.