Microsoft took advantage of its great publicity to meet with gamers at the end of the year to find out news on the hardware side. What to expect?
This Thursday, February 15, 2024, Microsoft broadcast a special episode of its official podcast. A direct response to the growing rumors surrounding the brand and its future strategy, especially in terms of exclusivity. The American publisher has finally confirmed the arrival of several games from its catalog, but reiterates that this does not mean that all of its in-house games will receive the same treatment. Ultimately, the brand remains true to its famous “case after case”. During the same speech, the Redmond company also confirmed that it would make important announcements related to hardware at the end of the year. Phil Spencer had always been clear about the arrival of a potential “Xbox Series Pro”: it wasn’t going to happen. Has he finally turned around?
Heading towards a portable Xbox Series?
In a meeting with employees ahead of the podcast broadcast, the brand boss explained that he wanted to create a future in which “every screen is an Xbox”. Not surprisingly, this is a company that is investing heavily in the cloud and is sparing no effort in this area. If a new version of the current console obviously can’t be ruled out, perhaps we should turn to an Xbox Series Portable. In an interview with The edge, Spencer explained that the hardware teams are working hard “not just for this year, but for what comes after.” We really want to create hardware that doesn’t sell to gamers because of its unique aspects. It’s a kind of creative freedom for our hardware teams that really excites me. »
And it could very well be a portable Xbox Series. Spencer says he sees more possibilities in different types of devices. The guy has also had fun liking numerous tweets about a possible portable console over the past few days. “ I’m a big fan of portable consoles. I’m a big fan, but I don’t have anything to announce », he added to our colleagues. In the same interview, he admits that Windows still has a lot of work to do on the laptop side and points out that this operating system is the biggest weakness of the ROG Ally or the Lenovo Legion GO.
A new version of the Xbox Series has leaked
A new version of the Xbox Series is also a possibility. Documents regarding the brand’s strategy, leaked last September, actually suggested a version of the console without a disc drive. It wouldn’t be so much a “mid-generation” machine as it would offer a new design, 2TB of storage and some additional features, but similar performance. The documents in question mentioned compatibility with Wi-Fi 6e and Bluetooth 5, as well as optimizations in terms of power consumption. A publication at the end of 2024 was then planned.
A big technical leap for the next generation
One thing is certain: Xbox has no intention of giving up on the console market, quite the opposite. Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond, the brand’s president, were both particularly excited about Xbox’s future in this space. They are already announcing the color: the next Xbox console will be more powerful than ever before. We know, unbelievable, right? Bond goes even further, promising that with the next generation of Xbox, Microsoft will deliver “the greatest technical asset” we’ve ever seen, and nothing less.
More new features will follow. We have some really exciting things coming up in hardware that we will share at the end of the year. We have also started our investments for the next-gen roadmap. We’re really focused on creating the biggest technical breakthrough ever between two generations, which is always better for both gamers and game developers and their vision.
Sarah Bond
