Microsoft has announced that it is working on a next-generation Xbox console that will deliver the “largest technical leap” ever seen in a hardware generation. The company also teased some new hardware news coming this holiday season, as well as its plans to bring some of its Xbox exclusives to other platforms.
Next Xbox will be a “technical leap”
In a recent episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, Xbox president Sarah Bond, Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spencer, and head of Xbox game studios Matt Booty discussed the future of Xbox and its role in the gaming industry. Bond revealed that the company has a “robust and innovative” hardware roadmap that includes a next-generation Xbox console.
“We’re also invested in the next-generation roadmap, and what we’re focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions they’re building,” Bond said.
While Bond did not give any details on the specifications or features of the next Xbox, she hinted that it would be a significant improvement over the current Xbox Series X and S consoles, which launched in November 2020. The current consoles are powered by AMD’s Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU architectures, and support up to 4K resolution, 120 frames per second, ray tracing, and fast loading times.
According to leaked documents from a court case between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission, Microsoft planned to release a next-generation Xbox console in 2028. However, Spencer said that the information was “old” and that “so much has changed” since then.
New hardware news coming this holiday
Bond also teased that Xbox fans can expect some “exciting stuff” coming out in hardware this holiday season. She did not specify what kind of hardware it would be, but some rumors suggest that it could be a discless Xbox Series X revision, a new controller with a swappable battery, or even a handheld device similar to the Steam Deck or the Asus ROG Ally.
Spencer also expressed his enthusiasm for the hardware team and their creative vision. ” [The team is] really thinking about creating hardware that sells to gamers because of the unique aspects of the hardware. It’s kind of an unleashing of the creative capability of our hardware team that I’m really excited about,” he told The Verge.
Xbox games coming to other platforms
In addition to the hardware news, Xbox also confirmed that it will bring four of its first-party games to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch this year. The games are Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea of Thieves, and Grounded. These games are smaller in scale or focused on online services, and Xbox hopes that by making them available on other platforms, it can reach more players and grow its community.
However, Xbox also clarified that its flagship games, such as Halo, Forza, and Gears of War, will remain exclusive to Xbox platforms, including the consoles, PC, and cloud. Spencer said that Xbox Game Pass, the subscription service that offers access to over 100 games, will also continue to be exclusive to Xbox platforms. He added that Game Pass now has 34 million “fully paid” subscribers, with “significant growth” coming from PC and cloud.
Xbox said that its multi-platform strategy is not a sign of abandoning the console market, but rather a way of expanding its gaming ecosystem and offering more choices to players. The company said that it is committed to delivering the best gaming experiences on Xbox hardware, and that it has a strong lineup of exclusive games coming in the future, such as Starfield, Redfall, Fable, and Avowed.
