New Xbox Console Leaks Online

A new Xbox console has been certified in South Korea. Identified by model number 2089, the newly leaked device has been labeled as an Xbox dev kit.

Rumors that Microsoft is planning a mid-gen hardware refresh for its Xbox Series consoles have been circulating online since 2023. According to a number of past reports, the device in question is expected to be a digital-only version of the Series X. During Microsoft's now-concluded legal battle with the FTC over its Activision Blizzard acquisition, some accidentally published court documents even revealed the purported design of this disc-less Xbox Series X. The leaked materials depicted a device that's roughly the size of the $499 console, but cylindrical instead of rectangular.

Half a year later, South Korea's National Radio Research Agency (NRRA) certified an unannounced piece of Microsoft hardware. The March 18 regulatory listing, first spotted by Twitter user KoreaXboxNews, labels the device as an «XDK console,» implying this to be an Xbox dev kit, a modified version of a system boasting built-in debugging tools and other features meant to facilitate game development. The last time Microsoft received an XDK certificate in the Far Eastern country was on June 11, 2020, when the NRRA approved its Xbox Series X and Series S dev kits. This was three months before both consoles were officially announced.

The newly certified device bears the model number 2089. The Series X and Series S dev kits are designated as 1882 and 1881/1883, respectively. The NRRA identified China and Vietnam as the console's countries of origin, which is already the case with the Xbox Series X and Series S.

The very existence of this regulatory listing implies that the unannounced console will soon start shipping to developers. Given the three-month gap between the South Korean certification and the announcement of the Xbox Series X/S, it is plausible that this mysterious console will be officially unveiled in late spring or early summer. Microsoft