Next-Gen Xbox Will Be the 'Largest Technical Leap' for a New Console Generation, Says Microsoft

Xbox currently offers the Xbox Series X, its flagship current-generation console, along with the lower-end, digital-only Xbox Series S.

Written by Manas Mitul | Updated: 16 February 2024 20:50 IST

Next-Gen Xbox Will Be the 'Largest Technical Leap' for a New Console Generation, Says Microsoft

Photo Credit: Microsoft

The Xbox Series X launched in 2020 and will likely be refreshed later this year

Highlights

Microsoft expects to release the next-gen Xbox console in 2028
Four Xbox-exclusive games will launch on PS5 and Nintendo Switch
An all-digital Xbox Series X refresh was leaked during the FTC trial

Microsoft shared new details about its plans for Xbox hardware, teasing the next generation of Xbox consoles and providing updates about its gaming business in a special edition of the Official Xbox Podcast Thursday. While the company confirmed that four Xbox-exclusive games would launch on PS5 and Nintendo Switch, it reiterated its commitment to developing Xbox hardware and exclusives titles on the platform. In the podcast, Xbox president Sarah Bond said that Microsoft was focussed on delivering the “largest technical leap” for a new console generation for the next Xbox.

Bond also confirmed that fans could expect new Xbox hardware later this year in the holiday season — likely to be the rumoured mid-generation refresh of the Xbox Series S/X consoles. “There's some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we're going to share this holiday. And we're also invested in the next generation roadmap,” the Xbox president said. “And what we're really focussed on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have seen in a hardware generation,” she added.

Xbox currently offers the Xbox Series X, its flagship current-generation console, along with the lower-end, digital-only Xbox Series S.

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Back in September last year, leaked court documents from the Federal Trade Commission antitrust trial over Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard had revealed that the company was planning a mid-gen refresh for its Xbox Series X and Series S consoles sometime in 2024. The documents also included concept images of upcoming Xbox hardware, along with the platform's roadmap for future releases.

Xbox Series X Refresh/mid-gen info leaked thanks to FTC documents https://t.co/3KHgiOnQJd

-Xbox Series X refresh digital only (2TB storage), target launch Oct 2024
-New Xbox controller with gyro

Source from attachments in PDF https://t.co/tuikvo2h5F pic.twitter.com/fFzEbepHdl
— Wario64 (@Wario64) September 19, 2023

According to the leaked concept images, Microsoft's mid-gen refresh of the Xbox Series X is codenamed ‘Brooklin,' an all-digital console that boasts the same peformance and features as the original one, except for the optical disc drive. The console appears to have a cylindrical design and an upgraded 2TB storage and will likely maintain the Series X's pricing — $499, or Rs. 54,990. The leaked documents had claimed that ‘Brooklin' would release sometime in October 2024. In addition to the console, Xbox also plans to launch an upgraded controller with gyro, haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, just like PlayStation's DualSense controller.

Xbox Leak: Microsoft Is Planning Xbox Series X and S Refreshes in 2024

In the podcast, where Bond was joined by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer and Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty, the Xbox president did not disclose a launch window for the next generation of Xbox consoles, but Microsoft expects the next-gen Xbox and PS6 to launch in 2028, as also revealed by court documents from the FTC trial in June last year. “This term would, in any case, go beyond the expected starting period of the next generation of consoles (in 2028),” the company had said in the documents. The current generation of consoles — Xbox Series S/X and PS5 — was launched in 2020.

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Microsoft Xbox Series X

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
Really powerful
Delivers constant 4K 60fps
Reduced loading times
Great backward compatibility
Support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos
Capable of 8K / 120fps
Network transfer feature

Bad
Expensive
Lack of truly next-gen exclusives
Not a generation leap over Xbox One X at launch
Proprietary storage expansion
No rechargeable battery with controller
Implementation of Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos

Read detailed Microsoft Xbox Series X review

HDD 1TB PCie Gen 4 NVME SSD

Processor Custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU @ 3.8GHz

Graphics Custom AMD RDNA 2 GPU 52 CUs @ 1.825GHz

RAM 16GB GDDR6

USB 3

Weight 4.45kg

Ethernet Gigabit

More Microsoft Gaming Consoles

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Further reading: Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Series, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S

Manas Mitul

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In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More