By: Nick Gambino
In a large leak care of the FTC v. Microsoft case, we got a glimpse into some of the big things Microsoft has been working on for Xbox. In addition to talks about acquiring Nintendo and a 2028 hybrid Xbox that includes cloud gaming, there were plans for an upcoming redesign to the Series X.
The new design would see the Xbox Series X going disc-less in 2024. This would be the first time an Xbox console would ship without a disc drive, signaling the full embrace of digital downloads and even cloud gaming. To support that, it’s going to feature 2 TB of internal storage which is double anything we have now.
“The future of gaming runs parallel to the future of all visual media and that is absolutely digital,” Andrew Tropeano, a technology expert with NWT Media (www.nwtmediagroup.com), said of the Xbox news. “It’s no surprise Microsoft is trying to stay ahead of the curb on this pivotal shift in the landscape of media consumption.”
The 2024 refresh would also include a brand-new, immersive controller they’re calling Sebile with a lift-to-wake feature. It’ll sport a two-tone body, haptic feedback, quieter buttons, direct-to-cloud connectivity and a ton of other cool upgrades.
Now, it’s not clear what’s still being worked on. Some of these documents are a year or even several years old. Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, noted in an internal memo to employees that some of the information is old and no longer relevant, but he didn’t specify which ones.
“We’ve seen the conversation around old emails and documents,” Spencer said in a Twitter X post after sending out the internal memo to Microsoft employees. “It is hard to see our team’s work shared in this way because so much has changed and there’s so much to be excited about right now, and in the future. We will share the real plans when we are ready.”
We’ve seen the conversation around old emails and documents. It is hard to see our team’s work shared in this way because so much has changed and there’s so much to be excited about right now, and in the future. We will share the real plans when we are ready.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) September 19, 2023
My money is on an official announcement about a redesigned Xbox Series X sometime in the new year.
