We thought the Xbox Series S leaked earlier this week - it turns out Microsoft had shown it off to the world back in June and no-one noticed.

Xbox's official Twitter account pointed out boss Phil Spencer had an Xbox Series S sitting on his shelf at home behind him during an interview with journalist Seth Schiesel. That cheeky fella!

Fun fact: Xbox Series S is so small @XboxP3 had it sitting on his bookshelf back on July 1 and nobody noticed. 😏

Did you spot it @SethSchiesel? pic.twitter.com/6Z83TLCW1F

— Xbox (@Xbox) September 11, 2020

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(The interview in question actually took place on 24th June as part of the GameLab industry conference, and was streamed live then - although it wasn't published to YouTube until 1st July.)

Spencer responded to confirm the Series S appeared in another two interviews - and no-one noticed.

ummmm....that wasn’t the only time…@iJustine @jennaezarik, did you notice anything?

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) September 11, 2020

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Well, someone noticed, namely ID@Xbox developer account manager Neil Holmes and ID@Xbox director of global partnership management Agostino Simonetta.

We did notice, right 😂 @_ninge_ ? pic.twitter.com/vokVwK5l0Y

— Ago@GSC (@stiniuk) September 11, 2020

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Here's the GameLab interview with Spencer, if you're interested in taking a close look at his shelf.

#GAMELAB20 Keynote Fireside: On the verge of a new generation with Phil Spencer (Head of Xbox) Watch on YouTube

In other Xbox Series X trivia news, marketing chief Aaron Greenberg explained why the tiny console is codenamed Lockhart. It's named after Lockhart, Texas - "the Little City with the big heart".

We often use cities as codenames, in this case it comes from Lockhart, Texas. They are known as “The Little City with the big heart” https://t.co/i7u3sjqdst 🔒💚

— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) September 9, 2020

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Meanwhile, Microsoft has offered clarification on backward-compatibility features for the Xbox Series S, confirming the machine will apply its own enhancements, rather than support Xbox One X enhancements, to backward compatible games.

DF Direct: Xbox Series S Reaction - The Low-Cost Next Generation Console We Need? Watch on YouTube