Xbox One’s Price Drops to $299 Ahead of E3; Is a New Console Coming?

Jun 01, 2016 10:11 AM EDT

Microsoft has slashed the retail price of its Xbox One consoles and bundles by about $50. As noted by various sources, this indicates that the tech giant is preparing to release a new gaming console soon.

Over at Xbox.com, gamers can now purchase the 500GB Xbox One device for only $299. The other bundle deals also got the same $50 discount such as the 1TB Xbox One with "Tom Clancy's The Division" and the 500GB Xbox One "Gears of War: Ultimate Edition" Bundle.

Since the discounts were unveiled just a couple of weeks before this year's E3 kicks off, sources are speculating that this might be a move by Microsoft to clean out its shelves in preparation for a new console.

"Fully expect that you'll see another console from us," Xbox chief Phil Spencer previously told Tech Radar. "Our best customers are Xbox console customers, and I want to keep those people engaged both on the Xbox One and anything we might do in the future. I'm 100% committed to that."

"I don't want to dilute what the Xbox console customer feels," he added. "I want to expand what we're able to do for more customers," he added.

This doesn't seem far-fetched at all since there have already been recent rumors about two new consoles that will be unveiled by Microsoft. According to Polygon, the first one is expected to be a smaller version of the Xbox One. Although it will still use the same hardware, it will be slimmer and probably more compact in appearance. Also, it is also expected to come with a redesigned controller.

The other rumored console is reportedly codenamed as the Scorpio. This one will serve as a totally different system that's expected to be four times more powerful than the current Xbox One.

Also, based on previous reports and the current tech trends, both systems could also feature full support for the 4K resolution and virtual reality gameplay.

The other exact details regarding these consoles are still unclear, but many believe both will be introduced at E3. The first model is expected to be released in August of this year while the Scorpio could hit the market sometime next year.