Microsoft has officially announced the new Xbox Series X as its next Xbox console, set to launch holiday 2020.
Announced with a surprise trailer at the Game Awards 2019 in Los Angeles last night, the new console, which has been worked on in secret as Project Scarlett, takes the form of a compact tower shape and (as we previously reported) appears to use the Elite Series 2 controller released for the Xbox One earlier this year. Check out the launch trailer below:
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The company revealed the following in a statement published on the Microsoft blog:
"For eighteen years and three console generations, the Xbox community has shown us the power both games and fun can have on all of us. As we enter a new generation of gaming, we see a future where you’re instantly absorbed in your games – where worlds are even more lifelike, immersive, responsive and surprising – and where you are at the center of your gaming experience. With the new Xbox Series X, we will realize that vision.
"Xbox Series X will be our fastest, most powerful console ever and set a new bar for performance, speed and compatibility, allowing you to bring your gaming legacy, thousands of games from three generations and more forward with you. Its industrial design enables us to deliver four times the processing power of Xbox One X in the most quiet and efficient way, something that is critically important in delivering truly immersive gameplay.
"We also designed Xbox Series X to support both vertical and horizontal orientation. It’s bold and unique, very much like our fans around the world and the team of collaborators and innovators who built it."
Specs and details
The console will use the Elite Series 2 controller designed for the Xbox One. The announcement trailer officially reveals tentative footage from Halo Infinite, presumably the next-generation FIFA and an as-yet-unnamed racing game. A separate announcement made at the game awards for Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, an Xbox Series X exclusive (boy, we're going to get tired of writing "x"), debuted with a trailer said to have been captured on the new Xbox system. Check it out below:
Based on comments from Head of Xbox Phil Spencer, Gamespot reports the GPU will be eight times as fast a the Xbox One and twice as quick as the Xbox One X. The CPU is said by Microsoft to be four times more capable than Xbox One X, and Series X is allegedly cooled by a single fan with added heatsinks. Based on a few offhand remarks by Spencer, it's said to be as quiet as the Xbox One X too.
It's all very exciting. While we don't have any more concrete release date than "holiday 2020", the cat's officially out of the bag. We'll keep you updated with more Xbox Series X news as it drops. Your move, Sony...
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