Source: Microsoft / Xbox Series X
Microsoft’s follow up to the Xbox One, the Xbox Series X (previously known as Xbox Project Scarlet), has been revealed. The company’s worst-kept secret was unveiled during last night’s (Dec.12) Video Game Awards as one of the many reveals throughout the show.
The console seems to take its cues from a PC as it ditches the conventional console shape for more of a tower look, which hints at what direction Microsoft is looking to go in as far as gaming is concerned. It’s designed to either be used vertically or horizontally and, as promised by Phil Spencer, will “deliver four times the processing power of Xbox One X in the most quiet and efficient way.” As far as how big it is, Gamespot says it is as wide as an Xbox One controller and three times as tall as.
Source: Microsoft / Xbox Series X
In the very brief reveal attendees and viewers around the world got a small glimpse of one of the titles coming to the console, a new game being developed by Ninja Theory, Hellblade 2, the follow-up to 2017’s Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice. In the brief announcement trailer, we got to see the impressive next-generation in-engine visuals thanks to the Xbox Series X’s powerful hardware.
Speaking of hardware specs, not much has been revealed, but speaking with Gamespot, Phil Spencer dropped some clues as to how powerful the Xbox Series X is. “We wanted to have a dramatic upgrade from the Xbox One base console,” Spencer stated. “So when we do the math, we’re over eight times the GPU power of the Xbox One, and two times what an Xbox One X is.”
The Xbox Series X will also feature a custom-designed CPU based on AMD’s Zen 2 and Radeon RDNA architecture. To “virtually eliminate load times,” Microsoft will be using an NVMe SSD in the next-gen console. It will also support 8K gaming while pushing frame rates up to 120 fps plus ray tracing and variable refresh rate support.
As far as the controller is concerned, it keeps its familiar build from the current model but adds a new share button like the PS4 controller, which should please Xbox fans tremendously.
Microsoft is still tight-lipped on details like pricing and if the fact its use of Series in the console names hints at another console coming next year alongside the Series X. The Verge reports that Microsoft is “planning two new consoles for Series X,” the latter being a “less-power” console.
We shall find out as more information comes out as we get closer to the Xbox Series X launch. You can get a detailed look at the console below.
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Photo: Microsoft / Xbox Series X
