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Details on the next-gen Xbox console, "Project Ellewood," have surfaced. All of this info comes from Microsoft themselves, as they confirmed this at the FTC court trial back in the summer. Besides a next-gen gaming console, we also got a sneak peek at the mid-cycle refresh to the Series X (Project "Brooklin"), which will reportedly be a fully digital machine with a revamped design. The tenth-generation machine will, however, take a completely different path.
The upcoming gaming console from the Redmond, Washington-based tech juggernaut will likely bundle cloud and client computing to deliver a hybrid experience that brings the best of both worlds in one. A detailed specs and feature list has been leaked, hinting at the future of gaming on Microsoft devices.
Do note that Microsoft hasn't commented on these leaks yet. Although there is some credibility to the info, they aren't set in stone and might change before the 2028 release date, which is still over five years away.
What are the specs of the upcoming next-gen Xbox?
The exact specs and core counts of the hardware powering the next-gen Xbox Ellewood aren't known yet. However, leaks suggest a Zen 6 CPU and a Navi 5 GPU will power the AMD APU of the console.
For context, the Series S and Series X are powered by a Zen 2 CPU and an RDNA 2 (second-gen Big Navi) graphics processor. Currently, AMD is selling Zen 4-powered Ryzen 7000 CPUs and RDNA 3 graphics cards (Radeon RX 7000). Therefore, the console will be considerably more powerful than the hardware available in the market today.
Moreover, the CPU will feature a balance of big and little Zen cores as AMD is planning to introduce the tech with Zen 5. The console will also feature an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that will specifically work on machine learning workloads. Additionally, it is rumored to be "forward compatible," which means games to be launched on upcoming Xbox devices will be playable on the tenth-gen model.
A sub-$100 Xbox handheld is in the works
Leaks also suggest that Microsoft is working on a handheld machine capable of playing games over cloud streaming. This device will reportedly be priced at less than $100, making it one of the cheapest options in the market by far, at least according to current market standards.
Microsoft expects cloud gaming will blow up over the next few years. According to a chart published, Cloud-first gamers will dwarf PC- and console-first markets by 2028, when the console launches.
A leaked slide also showcases a one-hand controller and a mobile controller that clips on both sides of a smartphone for optimal gaming experience. These accessories will likely fuel seamless cloud gaming on phones.
When will the next-gen Xbox launch?
The upcoming gaming machine is scheduled to be launched in 2028. The Series S and Series X consoles were introduced in 2020. This makes it over eight years for the current generation, which is a plausible time gap for a gaming console. No exact date or launch window has been provided yet. However, going by previous launch trends, we expect the fifth Xbox to debut in the holidays.
