On Thursday, the management of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming division shared an replace on their plans for the platform going ahead. And, shock! It wasn’t precisely the earth-shattering paradigm shift the web doomsayers had predicted. Sure, some Xbox video games will probably be going multiplatform—we don’t know precisely which of them but. Massive-ticket tentpoles like Starfield and Indiana Jones positively won’t. However the greatest shock of the 22-minute chat between Phil Spencer, Sarah Bond, Matt Booty, and Tina Amini got here when the dialog turned to {hardware}.
Regardless of ongoing rumors that Microsoft is getting out of gaming {hardware}, the execs say that positively isn’t the case. In a weblog posted to Xbox Wire the identical time because the podcast dropped, Xbox’s Jeff Rubenstein wrote, “Xbox consoles will proceed to supply a flagship expertise for gamers; it’s the place you get the most effective worth and comfort, it’s the place Sport Cross offers unprecedented entry to an ever-evolving library of video games. To be clear: Sport Cross will proceed to be solely obtainable on Xbox platforms.”
So, no, Xbox isn’t planning to cease making consoles anytime quickly. In actual fact, the workforce is cooking up some main {hardware} bulletins for the upcoming vacation season. And, like their rivals over at Sony, they’re additionally pivoting focus to next-gen {hardware}.
“There’s thrilling stuff popping out in {hardware} we’re going to share this vacation,” stated Sarah Bond. “We’re additionally invested within the next-generation roadmap. What we’re actually targeted on there may be delivering the biggest technical leap you’ve ever seen in a {hardware} era.”
You’ll be able to try the updates on the Xbox enterprise podcast episode in full beneath. The {hardware} dialogue, although transient, begins on the 17:41 timestamp.
Towards the underside of the February 15 Xbox Wire put up, it says that being part of the group means “a strong and revolutionary multi-year {hardware} roadmap.” Which will clarify why Phil Spencer’s been liking all these fan tweets about handhelds recently. Barely extra regarding, although, is the put up’s wording on this explicit line: “Xbox gamers ought to trust in constructing your digital library within the Xbox ecosystem.” (Italics mine.) That lends some credence to latest stories that some retailers are phasing out bodily copies of Xbox video games, and that future iterations of the Collection X console will probably be digital-only.
