According to Kotaku, Microsoft will be releasing a new, more powerful Xbox sometime in 2017. There will also be a more “compact” model of the current Xbox One that will sport a 2TB hard drive releasing later this year.
Their sources say that the 2017 Xbox is codenamed “Scorpio,” and will feature a more powerful GPU and support for 4K games. This Xbox will also be “technically” capable of supporting the Oculus Rift, and apparently Microsoft is pursuing a partnership with Oculus to make this happen. This wouldn’t be the most surprising development, as Xbox One controllers are already packed in with Oculus Rift models.
These two new consoles are reportedly part of a grander Microsoft initiative to bring console and PC gaming together. This new model would see every big marque Microsoft release coming out on both PC and Xbox, and the recently-cancelled Fable Legends was supposed to be the first to do this. Microsoft has already been trying to make this happen in smaller ways, announcing PC versions of both Halo Wars 2 and Sea of Thieves. It was just last week that Halo 5: Guardians Forge mode released on PC for free, possibly setting the groundwork for future titles on the platform.
Microsoft will also apparently be moving away from the traditional console cycle for a much more incremental approach that is “not unlike Apple.” Under this cycle, we would see new models of Xbox more often with backwards compatibility consistent through the models, presumably up to a certain point. We can expect to see more on all of these plans during Microsoft’s E3 press conference next month.
What do you think of this report?
CHECK OUT MORE
- Pokémon GO Gets New Details On Microtransactions, Battle System, and More
- Mighty No. 9’s New Masterclass Trailer Showcases A Lot of Dashing
- The Division’s High Value Targets Are Broken, Here’s How to Get Past That
