Microsoft is cooking up its next piece of hardware, and here's what we know about it

Next-Gen Xbox - Release Date Rumor, Specs, And Everything Else We Know

Microsoft is cooking up its next piece of hardware, and here's what we know about it

Next Xbox release date, price speculation

The next Xbox has not yet been announced, so it's too soon to say what it could cost or when it may release. A major leak from the Microsoft vs. FTC court case revealed some of Microsoft's plans for the next Xbox, including a heavy focus on "cloud hybrid" technology, machine learning, and AI. The leak also pointed to a potential 2028 start-date for this next console generation. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer responded to the leak and said at least some of the information was out of date.

"We've seen the conversation around old emails and documents. It is hard to see our team's work shared in this way because so much has changed and there's so much to be excited about right now, and in the future. We will share the real plans when we are ready," he wrote.

When this next Xbox is announced, what could it be called? We don't know yet, but Microsoft had talked about how its console platform is known as just "Xbox," and that things like Series X|S denote the specific models underneath that umbrella. Whether or not Microsoft sticks with this for its next console remains to be seen, however.

Next Xbox potential specs

In February this year, Xbox president Sarah Bond confirmed Microsoft was making new Xbox hardware and went on to make a bold statement about what it could deliver. Bond said this next Xbox, whatever it turns out to be, will offer the "largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation." That's a bold claim, for sure. Bond didn't offer anything else, like how Microsoft might achieve this, nor did she provide any timetable for the console's release.

Also this year, Bond said the next Xbox will focus on "power and performance" to create the "biggest leap ever," but again, Bond didn't go any further than those lofty claims.

Next Xbox backwards compatibility

Bond has also discussed how Xbox is ensuring backward compatibility will be a part of its next-gen hardware.

"It's also about the ability to be able to play all of the games. I mean, we have people who've been playing on Xbox for decades and invested thousands and thousands of dollars and hours with us. And [we want to enable them] to take all those games with them into the hardware of the future."

Bond went on to explain that when she became president of Xbox in 2023, one of the first things she did was create a team dedicated to backward compatibility. She then went on to say that the Xbox team is committed to the idea of being able to play their games wherever they are.

"So our long-term commitment to cross-play is part of that and our commitment to cross-progression and cloud saves. So you can pick up on one device and you can play on another is a part of that."

Next Xbox news

Those same leaked documents revealed a trove of insights into what Microsoft may be cooking up for the future, but again, some or all of this information could be out of date. The documents showed that Microsoft was considering switching to an ARM64 CPU, like the Nintendo Switch uses. The leak also revealed that Microsoft is targeting DirectX ray tracing for its next-gen consoles, as well as machine-learning-powered graphical enhancement.

Microsoft seems to be putting a lot of focus on AI and machine learning for its next generation, touting its use for "optimization and acceleration of game performance, operations, and development for players and creators." Microsoft said AI and machine learning could help with things like matchmaking and player-discovery, while AI could also be used for game-testing and to optimize monetization strategies.

Also listed in the leak as a "key innovation" coming with the next generation of consoles from Xbox is an "immersive game and app platform" that will allow anyone to develop their own games--possibly similar to Roblox's development platform. This seems to play into what Xbox executive Sarah Bond said recently about the potential for AI to further enable players also becoming game developers within the Xbox ecosystem.

Microsoft said in the leaked documents that its aim was to develop a "next-generation hybrid game platform" that taps into the "combined power" of local hardware and the cloud. The end result? Microsoft believes this could result in "deeper immersion and entirely new classes of game experiences."

Beyond Xbox

While Microsoft is working on new hardware, it's just one piece of the puzzle for Microsoft as it looks to the future and seeks out ways to find more Xbox customers. Recently, Xbox cloud gaming came to Amazon's Fire Stick devices, and Microsoft launched an ad campaign telling people they don't need to buy an Xbox. Indeed, Microsoft has been saying for years that it kinda doesn't care if you buy an Xbox. Thanks to cloud streaming, the phone in your pocket or the TV in your living room is an Xbox device.

Xbox CFO Tim Stuart said during the Wells Fargo TMT Summit that the goal is to make first-party games and Game Pass available on "every screen that can play games," and this includes rival consoles.

"It's a bit of a change of strategy. Not announcing anything broadly here, but our mission is to bring our first-party experiences [and] our subscription services to every screen that can play games," Stuart said. "That means smart TVs, that means mobile devices, that means what we would have thought of as competitors in the past like PlayStation and Nintendo."

In addition to streaming, Microsoft has discussed plans to launch its own mobile game store. Recently, a landing page on Xbox.com for the mobile store appeared, telling people it is "coming soon." This mobile store for Xbox games could launch in 2024, and given that Microsoft owns juggernauts like Candy Crush and Call of Duty, this could end up being a big deal, though time will tell if that comes to fruition.

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