Microsoft is making good on its promise to stay in the console game in a big way. That is, according to an email sent to Xbox staff by president Sarah Bond. Not only is one of gaming’s biggest entities seeking to deliver a major next-gen Xbox leap unlike anything ever seen before, it’s already making headway on the new Xbox.
The next-gen Xbox release date is widely accepted to be sometime in 2028, based on documents released during the FTC vs. Microsoft legal battle. However, insofar details regarding how it’s going to materialize have been relegated to mere speculation. What we do know for sure is that it’s going to be a technical beast, and now we know that Xbox is already working on the hardware required to meet the needs of the best Xbox games of tomorrow.
“It’s been nearly six months since we came together as an organization,” Bond’s email, acquired by Windows Central and validated by Microsoft, begins. “Our collective achievements in that timeframe are tremendous. Everyone should feel incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved and excited about the opportunities ahead. We are moving full speed ahead on our next-generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation.”
The “biggest technological leap” line from the email should sound familiar to anyone who tuned into the recent Xbox business update podcast, in which Bond, CEO Phil Spencer, and Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty dished out the deets on all things Team Green. Even though the leaked mid-gen refresh is expected this year, the reported specs for the revamped Series X|S still won’t be able to meet the demands of current-gen games – upcoming Xbox exclusive Hellblade 2 is limited to 30 FPS, for example.
As such, all eyes will be staring forward intently to the next-gen Xbox. Though the rumor mill has been all over the place so far, we reckon the dual-console release – one high-powered machine and one dockable handheld – reported back in February is the most likely outcome considering Spencer’s love for portable hardware. It’s going to have to go hard, though, seeing as Unreal Engine 5 is already yielding some ridiculously high-fidelity titles (Marvel 1943 is set to arrive next year.)
Regardless of how the new Xbox will come out in the wash, it’s good to see Microsoft is already kicking on with it. Though this is perhaps to be expected considering all of the necessary research and development required, especially for a console this ambitious, we can only hope that the next console generation will get off to a much better start than this one.
For more of the latest news on new Xbox games, check out when we can expect to hear more from Treyarch on Call of Duty Black Ops Gulf War. Additionally, peep the Xbox sale that’s finally seen Baldur’s Gate 3 get a price cut.