XBOX Series X

The Future of Gaming

With the current generation of consoles nearing the end of their life cycles, fans around the world are clamoring for any news on the future consoles from giants Microsoft and Sony. Rumors were spreading thick and fast about what these fancy new machines will bring to the table, that was until Xbox boss Phil Spencer officially revealed the future of Xbox at the Game Awards 2019, enter the new Xbox Series X, planned for release late 2020.

Off the bat, the new Microsoft console will be a departure both design-wise and name-wise from its predecessors, sporting a blockier style that’s similar to that of a small gaming PC – with an upright tower design. And, more importantly, the specs Microsoft has revealed so far suggest it is going to be an absolute powerhouse. But Xbox Series X will not be the only next-generation hardware on offer from Microsoft. The company has confirmed that the family of consoles will be called ‘Xbox’ and that ‘Series X’ is just one of the consoles within that family. Sony’s PS5 may be launching in the same late 2020 window as the Series X, but Microsoft looks like it’s making all the right moves for the next-generation console wars with the Series X boasting four times the power of the Xbox One X. The Xbox Series X will boast more processing performance and graphics power – more than the six teraflops currently inside the Xbox One X, at least. A statement on the Microsoft blog claimed the Series X will pack four times the power of the already formidable Xbox One X.

With current-gen machines still struggling to hit the 4K benchmark, expect to see more and more games pushing that 4K resolution limit, which should be more of a fixed standard for 2020. According to certain online sources, the Xbox Series X will be more powerful than the PS5, and on top of that Xbox boss, Phil Spencer has promised the next Xbox is going to “set the benchmark” for console gaming. In other words, it’s going to be a beast of a machine. Both the Xbox Series X and the PS5 are being tipped by those in the know to have a separate graphics chip, rather than combining the CPU and GPU on one piece of silicon. That should mean faster frame rates at higher resolutions, and enough in the way of performance to get even the most demanding games running smoothly.

It looks very likely that GDDR6 graphics hardware will be used in the next Xbox consoles, giving these machines even more grunt than the GDDR5 tech built into the Xbox One X. Gamers have been demanding better performance, more memory, and faster loading times, and the Xbox Series X models look like delivering based on the rumors and speculation floating around the news.

Microsoft is releasing a next-generation controller to accompany its next-generation console. The new Xbox Wireless Controller will apparently be more accessible to everyone, as Microsoft has made an effort to refine the size and shape. This shouldn’t be too surprising to anyone that’s been following the tech giant, as it’s been making waves for accessibility in gaming for a while now with products like the Xbox Adaptive Controller. Along with enhanced accessibility, we’ll also be getting a dedicated share button that will let you share screenshots and videos with your friends.

During the Xbox Series X’s official reveal, Phil Spencer said Series X games will be “more lifelike, immersive and surprising” and that the Xbox Series X will “lead us into the future of gaming”. He also stated that 15 Xbox Game Studios are building a huge next-generation library that includes Hellblade II: Senua’s Saga. Halo Infinite has been confirmed to be an Xbox Series X launch title, bringing back the Master Chief for the franchises’ first outing since 2015. It will have been five years at that point since a new mainline Halo game, so fans will be chomping at the bit for fresh Halo action. The Halo franchise is widely regarded as the original Xbox’s first must-play games, so the move to launch a next-gen with a Halo game is both symbolic and quite business-savvy on Microsoft’s part.

As has become accustomed with Xbox consoles, the Series X will be capable of three generations of backwards compatibility. Microsoft has stated that Xbox Series X will support backwards compatibility from launch, with the company stating it wants the “thousands of games that run on Xbox One” to eventually become playable on Xbox Series X. Speaking of first-party games, Microsoft has been promising that it’s investing in first-party studios in order to make a more competitive offering, considering their first-party exclusives have been severely lacking this generation.

As far as third-parties are concerned, we already have confirmation from Ubisoft that its upcoming titles Watch Dogs: Legion, Gods and Monsters and Rainbow Six Quarantine will be coming to Microsoft’s console after delays were announced during a financial call, while EA has said that Battlefield 6 will be coming to Xbox Series X. It’s likely that Bethesda will be coming to Xbox Series X with its next Elder Scrolls game too. There’s plenty to look forward to and now that next-generation announcements are coming in. 2020 looks to be an exciting time for gamers as the race to the next generation heats up.

All the Important Bits

There’s no official word on the Xbox Series X’s price, but there are some indications of what price range it may fall into. If Microsoft really does release a budget, disc-free, next-gen Xbox, then that will probably retail for about $300-$350 USD depending on its hardware and region of sale.

Specs Include:

Processor

Custom AMD Zen 2-based CPU (8x @ 3.6 GHz)

Graphics

Custom AMD Navi-based GPU (12 TF RDNA)

Memory

16GB GDDR6 RAM (13GB guaranteed for game developers)

Storage

NVMe SSD (we’ve heard read speeds of anywhere up to 2GB/s)

Video output

8K, 4K @ 120Hz

Optical drive