Microsoft is apparently already working on its new system, with the new Xbox reportedly slated for 2027 after being greenlit by the company’s CEO – here’s all we know so farA new report suggests Xbox isn’t done yet(Image: Future via Getty Images)It’s been half a decade since the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S debut (or at least it will be in a few months), and while Sony has recently launched a mid-generation refresh like the PlayStation 5 Pro, Microsoft has been relatively quiet on new hardware.
While the Xbox consoles combined are being handily outsold by PlayStation 5, Microsoft is seemingly more interested in putting the pieces in place for the next console generation, and wants to launch the new console in 2027.
That’s according to a new report from Windows Central’s Jez Corden, who suggests the system could be “closer to Windows than ever before”.
Microsoft aiming to launch new Xbox in 2027?Expect a new Xbox console around 2027(Image: Future Publishing via Getty Images)Discussing the potential for an Xbox handheld to rival the Switch 2, Corden explains that the company is likely to partner with additional manufacturers rather than release its own ‘Xboy’, but that “Microsoft’s internal successor to the Xbox Series X|S platform has been fully greenlit all the way up to CEO Satya Nadella”.
“For now, I understand that Microsoft’s next-gen hardware plans include a premium successor to the powerful Xbox Series X, alongside its own Xbox gaming handheld, and several new controller options. Tentatively, these new console devices are slated for 2027,” Corden explains.
Curiously, it sounds as though the next Xbox will be closer to a more traditional PC.
“It seems that the next-gen Xbox consoles will be closer to Windows than ever before, reducing the amount of work developers have to commit to when porting from PC. I understand that they will continue to sport backwards compatibility with legacy Xbox games too, however. Xbox president Sarah Bond previously announced a project team specifically designed to promote backwards and forwards compatibility for existing Xbox games, to that end.”
Xbox is being outsold by PS5 already(Image: AFP via Getty Images)”Xbox lead Phil Spencer has teased in previous interviews a desire to support third-party storefronts on Xbox hardware too, including platforms like the Epic Game Store, GOG, itch.io, and even Steam itself. There’s every reason to presume AI will have a role to play next-gen, as well as Xbox cloud capabilities. Microsoft’s new controllers have direct-to-cloud connectivity from what I’ve been told, and more intelligently allow players to switch them between different devices.”
Xbox getting access to Steam would be a killer feature, particularly given many gamers already have huge Steam libraries.
It’s curious to see that Microsoft is still keen to press on with its hardware offerings, especially after the company became the biggest video game publisher in the world in December thanks to its multiplatform strategy.
We’d previously heard a new ‘Xbox Prime’ could debut in 2026 alongside a new Call of Duty title as a launch game.
For more on Xbox, be sure to check out our concerns about Microsoft using a new model to generate AI-built games, and all we know about Microsoft resurrecting the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise.
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