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AMD just admitted it showed us a fake Xbox Series X render

AMD just admitted it showed us a fake Xbox Series X render

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A major oops

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Microsoft revealed its Xbox Series X console last month, but the company strangely didn’t show off the rear of the device. For a few hours today, we thought that had changed during AMD’s CES 2020 keynote, the chipmaker revealed what appeared to be the rear of the Xbox Series X briefly, showing off all of its supposed ports.

But while it initially looked like the Xbox Series X would include two USB-C ports and two HDMI ports, AMD has just admitted it actually used a fake render during its presentation. “The Xbox Series X imagery used during the AMD CES press conference was not sourced from Microsoft and does not accurately represent the design or features of the upcoming console,” explains an AMD spokesperson in a statement to The Verge. “They were taken from TurboSquid.com.”

TurboSquid provides 3D models, and it appears that someone at AMD used one of the many renders available of the Xbox Series X on the site. One in particular includes the same rear ports found in AMD’s presentation. It’s an embarrassing mistake for AMD to make, especially when Microsoft purposefully didn’t reveal the rear ports during its unveil video last month. Microsoft will be including a regular USB-A port at the front of the Xbox Series X, though.

The Xbox Series X will include a custom-designed CPU based on AMD’s Zen 2 and Radeon RDNA architecture. Microsoft is also using an NVMe SSD on Xbox Series X, which promises to boost load times. Xbox Series X will also support 8K gaming, frame rates of up to 120 fps in games, ray tracing, and variable refresh rate support. Microsoft is planning to ship the Xbox Series X “holiday 2020.”

AMD’s rear ports mistake comes just hours after Xbox chief Phil Spencer revealed the Xbox Series X APU on Twitter. Spencer changed his display picture to a chip of Project Scarlett, the codename for the Xbox Series X. The chip itself doesn’t reveal much more than we already know about the Series X, but it includes an 8K stamp which suggests Microsoft will target this resolution at some point with its next-gen console.

Xbox Series X APU
Xbox Series X APU
Phil Spencer

Update, January 6th 7:45PM ET: Article updated with a statement from AMD confirming that it used a fake render of the Xbox Series X console.