Highlights
- Microsoft executives have communicated that the next Xbox console is targeting a 2028 release, according to recently unsealed documents.
- This information adds further credibility to Microsoft’s previously disclosed roadmap for the next generation of Xbox consoles.
- The company is considering diversifying the capabilities of the Xbox Series X/S successor, while still maintaining ease of development for developers.
The next Xbox console is targeting a 2028 release, according to some newly unsealed communications between Microsoft’s executives. That launch window, unveiled as part of the litigation stemming from Microsoft’s still-pending Activision Blizzard acquisition, coincides with the company’s previously disclosed roadmap for the next generation of Xbox consoles.
During the tech giant’s recent legal battle with the FTC, Microsoft said it expects the PlayStation 6 and Xbox Series X/S successor to release in 2028. But since that claim originated from the company’s attorneys, many doubted whether it should be accepted at face value.
Some newly emerged communications between Microsoft’s executives have now added more credence to that roadmap following their release in the aftermath of the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit against the Activision Blizzard acquisition. The chat messages, dated May 2022, originate from a meeting between Microsoft’s senior leadership and top Xbox officials. During the conference, one of the company’s non-gaming executives casually mentioned 2028 as the release window for the next Xbox console, Axios reports, citing a transcript of the recently released chat logs.
The remark itself was part of a question about whether the gaming division plans to make the Xbox Series X/S successor line more varied in terms of capabilities. Responding to that inquiry, Microsoft CVP of Gaming Ecosystems Kevin Gammill suggested that the company might further explore the possibilities of hardware diversification during the tenth console generation. Doing so wouldn’t be an unprecedented move, with Gammill pointing to the fact that the tech giant’s latest line is already split into the Xbox Series X and Series S as an example of such a push toward greater variety.
Microsoft CVP of Immersive Experiences Anuj Gosalia was also on record, noting that having a “very clear target” platform is immensely helpful to developers. The Xbox leadership hence believes that should it continue pursuing that hardware diversification strategy, it needs to do so in a way that balances its advantages with ease of development, the key benefit that consoles offer over other, more fragmented platforms like PC and mobile.
Since the leaked exchange happened in mid-2022, it is possible that Microsoft’s big-picture plans for the next console generation changed in the meantime. But with this being the second time that one of the company’s representatives mentioned 2028 as the tentative release year for the Xbox Series X/S successor, that launch window is now starting to look fairly plausible. The company’s recent legal battle with the FTC previously yielded a confirmation that Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox console has been in the works for a while now.
Source: Axios