Breakdown
- According to internal emails, Xbox President Sarah Bond has suggested that the team is “full speed ahead” on the next generation Xbox
- This comes alongside the reveal of a team specialised in videogame preservation, in an attempt to ensure generations can enjoy older titles
- There’s no specs or release date for the new Xbox, but the FTC documents leak suggested a 2028 release window
Many people will say that the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 generation of consoles has been... lacklustre, to say the least. A lack of true current-gen exclusives and games in general has made this generation fairly weak compared to the Xbox One and PS4 era, but that's not stopping Xbox any time soon.
According to internal emails, confirmed by Windows Central as genuine, Xbox President Sarah Bond has confirmed a team has been set up within Xbox geared towards game preservation, and there's been confirmation that the company is going "full speed ahead" on the next generation hardware.
While the quote is fairly short, Bond states to employees that "We are moving full speed ahead on our next generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation." They're certainly fighting words, especially as PlayStation focuses its efforts on the upcoming PS5 Pro.
This likely isn't the new Xbox Series X all-digital model that got rated in South Korea. The upcoming and leaked console, codenamed Brooklin, is part of the same generation as the Series X and the Series S, so next-generation implies the Xbox Series X2. Or the Xbox Two. Or the Xbox 720, whatever they may call it.
There have been reports of an Xbox handheld in the works, one that is fully native and attempting to become one of the best gaming handheld, but we can't imagine it's that either. However, we can't help but feel that the reveal of a new Xbox generation being worked on is almost a surrender for the company, suggesting that the Series consoles may have been a disappointment overall.
In the FTC documents leak, it was claimed that Xbox was aiming for a 2028 release date for the next generation console. However, the fact its in development already suggests that it could come sooner rather than later. Considering how long triple-A game development can take now, it's likely that many in-development titles at Xbox Games Studios will take the upcoming hardware into account.
In all honesty, it makes much more sense for companies like Xbox and PlayStation to produce new generations of consoles at a quicker rate than mid-gen refreshes. Tech can age fairly fast, and having a new piece of tech every four or five years will help it keep in line with the best graphics cards in the market. The PlayStation 5 Pro is already underwhelming according to reports, so wouldn't it be better to develop the PS6 instead?
Regardless, it seems like a new Xbox is coming soon, and we're excited to see the specs whenever it is announced. Hopefully, the new Marvel Blade game from Arkane drops alongside it, please?