According to one industry insider, Microsoft is planning to take the next Xbox in a slightly different direction - and it sounds like they’ll be taking some inspiration from Valve this time around. Quotes: "If the info about Call of Duty is accurate [about it launching on the next gen Xbox in 2026], there is no devkit right now. So like the idea that developers have already gotten the next-gen Xbox's dev kit… that's just not accurate."
"I mean the whole idea of the next Xbox is that it's gonna be a PC in essence but with a TV friendly shell that also has a specific set of specs in mind, so developers will be building for Windows PC in a way but in such a way that they know exactly what the specs will be. So maybe the Call of Duty rumor could be right but if it is, the dev kit talk is more about what kind of specs that they've been told to target for the next Xbox, not about having any dev kit."
"But I'm pretty sure new hardware is not 2026, it's 2027."
This news comes via Windows Central’s Jez Corden, who revealed the info on The Xbox Two Podcast last week.
"I mean the whole idea of the next Xbox is that it's gonna be a PC in essence but with a TV friendly shell that also has a specific set of specs in mind, so developers will be building for Windows PC in a way but in such a way that they know exactly what the specs will be,” Corden revealed on The Xbox Two Podcast. Here's your first glimpse at Xbox's next-gen hardware plans, and some parts are being executed more quickly than you might think.
The Xbox Series X|S generation has been a bit of an odd one. Microsoft's Xbox console hardware sell-through has declined quarter over quarter for some time, but Xbox's addressable monthly active user base has been skyrocketing — owing to the purchase of Activision-Blizzard. Armed with mobile games like Diablo Immortal, Candy Crush Saga, and Hearthstone, atop core games like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch, Microsoft's future in gaming is all but guaranteed. What has been a little less clear is Xbox's plans for hardware.
Microsoft has been putting its exclusive console games like Forza Horizon 5 onto PlayStation to help grow the profitability of its business. In the near term, addressing users where they are is far more cost-effective than what Microsoft would need to spend to acquire new Xbox console users potentially. However, the strategy has been questioned for the long term damage it might do to Xbox console hardware. Microsoft appears keen to continue servicing its legacy Xbox audience with new hardware regardless, and over the past few months, I've been working to figure out exactly what that might look like. Here's what I've learned.
“So maybe the Call of Duty rumor could be right but if it is, the dev kit talk is more about what kind of specs that they've been told to target for the next Xbox, not about having any dev kit… But I'm pretty sure new hardware is not 2026, it's 2027."
