While the Xbox Series X/S aren’t even a year old, Microsoft is already working on the next range of Xbox hardware and platforms. According to Eurogamer, CVP of gaming experiences and platforms Liz Hamren said in a video briefing for the press that, “Cloud is key to our hardware and Game Pass roadmaps, but no one should think we’re slowing down on our core console engineering. In fact, we’re accelerating it. We’re already hard at work on new hardware and platforms, some of which won’t come to light for years.
“But even as we build for the future, we’re focused on extending the Xbox experience to more devices today so we can reach more people.” Hamren further noted that despite expansions into PC and mobile gaming, “Console remains our flagship experience. We want to deliver the most powerful, capable consoles in the world, devices that empower our players to enjoy amazing games for years to come, including gameplay we can’t even imagine yet.”
Xbox boss Phil Spencer also spoke about the potential of cloud gaming in the briefing. “More recently, if you couldn’t spend the hundreds of dollars on a console or potentially the thousands of dollars on a high-end gaming PC, you simply couldn’t participate in the global gaming community in a significant way.
“The cloud will allow us to completely remove these barriers to play, worldwide. Of course, there’s still a place for consoles and PCs. And frankly, there always will be. But through the cloud, we will be able to deliver a robust gaming experience to anyone connected to the internet, even on the least powerful, least expensive devices, even on devices people already own. And with cloud gaming, players can participate fully in the same Xbox experience as people on local hardware. And we couldn’t do that if we weren’t part of Microsoft.”
Microsoft has made significant efforts with cloud gaming with xCloud allowing for streaming games from one’s console onto mobile devices. Numerous titles are available on Xbox Game Pass with more added each month that support cloud gaming. In an Xbox Wire post, the company revealed that it was also working with TV manufacturers to “embed the Xbox experience directly into internet-connected televisions with no extra hardware required except a controller.” New subscription offerings for Xbox Game Pass along with new purchasing models for Xbox All Access are also planned.
There’s still plenty to look forward to on the Xbox Series X/S like Starfield, Halo Infinite, Psychonauts 2 and much more. Expect more details and Game Pass announcements the upcoming Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase on June 13th.
