Earlier this week, Microsoft let slip a wealth of internal documents courtesy of the company’s trial against the FTC. This doesn’t look to be some dinky internal leak designed to drum up hype. Microsoft showed its entire hand here, revealing the company’s outline for upcoming consoles, a new controller, and outdated (but still valuable) release schedules for several games. Hell, it even revealed CEO Phil Spencer’s desire to purchase Nintendo back in 2020.
We’re more interested in the hardware. We already know the company is reviving at least two of its greatest hits: Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – along with a few other previously unconfirmed sequels that would’ve made Geoff Keighley an extremely happy man.
No sleep till…
Despite Xbox boss Phil Spencer’s comments that were made less than a month ago, Microsoft does have a refreshed Xbox Series X up its sleeve. It’s… far more cylindrical, ditching the giant square box that befits the Xbox brand perfectly. We’re not complaining, though. It certainly beats out the PS5’s unsightly visage, and we’ll hear no more to the contrary.
Keep in mind, that this isn’t an entirely new console. It may have a new codename (Brooklin), but it’s the same Xbox Series X that’s been around since 2020, with a fresh coat of paint and some upgraded internals to go with it. Those include a 2TB SSD (up from 1TB), a USB-C front port with power delivery and a new controller, codename: Sebile.
You’ll also notice that there’s no disc drive. That’s very much by design, with Microsoft throwing in that extra terabyte of storage to appease any of its potential buyers. Alongside a bunch of smaller updates like Bluetooth 5.2 and Wi-Fi 6E to reduce latency, Xbox has said it’ll retain the same $500 price tag, or R14,000 here in SA. It’ll be on shelves sometime in October next year if Microsoft keeps its word.
The lesser Series S is getting a refresh too, codenamed “Ellewood.” It’s not getting the cylindrical look and keeps its Series S shape. It’ll launch just before its more powerful counterpart in August next year, with 1TB SSD, speedier Wi-Fi, reduced power draw, and the new controller. But we’re getting to that.
Licensed to ill
That ‘Sebile’ controller we mentioned isn’t only packaged with the Brooklin Series X. It’s targeting a May 2024 release and brings a $70 (R1,320) price tag with it. Unlike Brooklin, Microsoft opted to retain the controller’s basic shape, citing it as having the same ergonomics as ‘Merlin’ – the company’s current line-up of controllers.
Possibly the biggest addition to Sebile is the accelerometer, which will allow lift-to-wake functionality. Other improvements involve Bluetooth 5.2, the ability to connect directly to the cloud, and improved wireless connectivity. Quieter buttons, modular thumbsticks and “VCA haptics that double as speakers,” were also mentioned.
And if you thought that by 2023 Microsoft would have rid its controllers of battery packs, think again. Hey, at least it’s hot-swappable and rechargeable, right?
Shake Your Rump for Microsoft’s next generation
Xbox’s 2024 aspirations are far from the only things that were leaked in the FTC vs Microsoft filing. The documents spoke of Microsoft’s grand plans for its next generation of consoles, slated to launch sometime in 2028 – probably alongside Sony’s PlayStation 6.
Microsoft reckons it’ll have achieved its goal of converging cloud gaming and console hardware to deliver “cloud hybrid games.”
“Our vision: develop a next-generation hybrid game platform capable of leveraging the combined power of the client and cloud to deliver deeper immersion and entirely new classes of game experiences,” says Microsoft in just one of the leaked slideshow pages in a presentation known as “The Next Generation of Gaming at Microsoft.”
The big idea is for users to purchase a single $100 gadget and couple it with its xCloud platform, a process Microsoft is calling “Cohesive Hybrid Compute.” It’s a blend of “Cloud-to-Edge architecture across Silicon, Graphics, and OS enabling ubiquitous play.”
Not much else is known of the console, with Microsoft reportedly still inking a deal with AMD to make this happen on Navi 5 graphics chips. For reference, we’re still stuck with Navi 3. It’s a fluid situation that’s been in the works for the last year, at least, in the Xbox HQ and one that’ll surely change a lot over the coming years.
