For the most part, the Xbox Series X|S generation continues to deliver the performance quality that fans and developers want. Of course, that doesn’t mean that gamers aren’t interested in the next Xbox console – and even Microsoft itself has already started planting seeds as to what fans can expect. Here, we’ve collected every morsel of next-gen Xbox information.
With its ‘play anywhere on any screen’ mantra, Microsoft has been focusing heavily on pushing the Xbox Game Pass games library and cloud gaming. As a result, many have wondered if we’ll even get a next-gen console to play the best Xbox games of the future on. Well, Microsoft has put those concerns to bed, and has confirmed it’s working on new Xbox hardware. When it does arrive, it will also likely be in fierce competition, with the PS6 expected to land at a similar moment. Here’s all the latest news and key information you need about the next Xbox console generation.
Has a next-gen Xbox been confirmed?
Yes, there will be new Xbox hardware for the tenth generation of consoles. Xbox president Sarah Bond confirmed this during an Xbox business update in February 2024. She said that Microsoft is aiming to deliver “the largest technical leap” ever between console generations.
Here’s Bond’s quote on Xbox’s next-gen hardware in full:
“We’re also invested in the next generation roadmap, and what we’re really 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 that they’re building.”
Bond also reaffirmed Microsoft’s intentions at the end of its 2024 Xbox Games Showcase. After revealing new variations of the current-gen Xbox Series X and S consoles, she said: “This is what defines Xbox today and in the future, and we’re hard at work on the next generation.”
At the time of writing, these are the only official public comments made by Microsoft about its next-gen console.
However, prior to Bond’s comments throughout 2024, official court documents from Microsoft’s legal battle with the FTC over its Activision Blizzard deal appeared to confirm the existence of a next-gen Xbox. The documents, reviewed by IGN, said that the next Xbox console would launch in 2028, and that its core technical focuses would be on “cloud hybrid games” and being an “immersive game and app platform”.
Note that just because this information was on an official Microsoft document doesn’t mean it will remain totally accurate – priorities and development plans are always subject to internal changes or delays.
So, in terms of official information, that’s about all we’ve got on the next-gen Xbox. However, there have been plenty of other rumors, leaks, and hints from Xbox figureheads about its future hardware plans that have generated a lot of confusion about what the next-gen hardware actually is. The main focus of this is around a rumored handheld Xbox console, and here we’ll try and straighten out what’s going on.
Is the next-gen Xbox a handheld?
Xbox head Phil Spencer has come extremely close to confirming that a handheld Xbox device is in the works, but we don’t believe that this is the next-gen hardware that Bond has mentioned.
Rumors have been swirling for a while that an Xbox handheld is on the way. In an interview with IGN after the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, Spencer was asked about these rumors, to which he enthusiastically said: “I think we [Xbox] should have a handheld.”
When asked to elaborate, he said that you’d “need to have Sarah [Bond] on” to talk about hardware. He did however admit that “the future for us in hardware is pretty awesome” and said that playing locally on handhelds like the Steam Deck or ROG Ally is “important”.
Given the tone of Spencer’s comments, the fact he didn’t deny or shut down questions on a handheld, and the amount of rumors that have emerged about there being a handheld in the first place, we think it’s very likely a portable Xbox device is in the works. However, unless Microsoft is going to pull off a technical miracle, it is more than likely a separate project to the next-gen Xbox.
Bond said that next-gen hardware would be a huge technical leap – the biggest ever between generations – and for a handheld device to deliver on that promise seems extremely unlikely. Console generations are mostly defined by the upgrades made to the power under the hood, so unless Microsoft has managed to make a portable device that’s considerably more powerful than the Xbox Series X, we think the Xbox handheld will be an additional device to the current generation nine lineup.
That’s everything we know about future Xbox hardware, including the next-gen Xbox. Could it end up being one of the best games consoles of all time? With how much Microsoft is promising, we certainly hope so.