The next generation of console wars will be upon gamers in 2020, with both Sony Interactive Entertainment and Microsoft both lining up with their own high-power consoles to take them into 2021 and beyond.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has recently announced that their new offering (formerly known as Project Scarlet) will be titled Xbox Series X, and available for purchase at an unspecified date during Holiday Season 2020. In addition to confirming that Xbox gamers have only a year left until they can expect to have the Xbox Series X either in their hands or under the Christmas Tree, they also shared further information about the platform.
Four Times the Processing Power in a Quiet Manner
According to the Xbox Team, this will be their “fastest, most powerful console ever and set a new bar for performance, speed and compatibility, allowing you to bring your gaming legacy, thousands of games from three generations and more forward with you“. Furthermore, the console’s industrial “box” like design they claim will enable them to “four times the processing power of Xbox One X in the most quiet and efficient way”. While the actual size of the console is unknown, it will be possible to stack this vertically and horizontally – a nice perk for those like myself who had trouble storing the Xbox One horizontally.
The Xbox Series X will feature support for 4K visuals at 60fps, with the possibility of up to 120fps. It also features support for Variable Refresh Rate and 8K. Furthermore, the console will feature custom-designed processors from AMD which leverage Zen 2 and RDNA architecture. The use of SSD drives as the storage-medium they claim will “virtually eliminate load times and bring players into their gaming worlds faster than ever before”.
You can read much more about the technology via the official Xbox Wire Article.
The Controller
With a new console comes a new controller. While it doesn’t look too different from the standard Xbox One model controller, the Xbox team claims ” Its size and shape have been refined to accommodate an even wider range of people, and it also features a new Share button to make capturing screenshots and game clips simple and an advanced d-pad derived from the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller”. The new controller will be backwards compatible with both Windows 10 PC,s and vice-versa, the Xbox One, and Xbox One gaming accessories will be supported going forward.
New Games
While many more launch titles will be undoubtedly be announced going into the New Year, two have been confirmed so far.
The first is Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, the sequel to Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. This game is being developed to leverage the full power of the Xbox Series X. The above The Game Awards 2019 Announcement trailer was captured in-engine, and they claim “reflects the power of Xbox Series X available to developers to deliver new universes, experiences and games in ways you have never imagined”.
The second of the announced titles is Halo Infinite, which is currently expected to be released simultaneously with the Xbox One and Windows PC versions in Q4 2020.
According to the Xbox Team, “game creators around the globe are already hard at work building content for Xbox Series X” and that their “15 Xbox Game Studios are developing the largest and most creatively diverse lineup of Xbox exclusive games in our history.“
Expect to hear more about the Xbox Series X in the coming months.
