Next-gen Xbox confirmed – could be more premium than Steam Machine

We heard a lot about a newcomer to the console space recently – Valve, with its all-new Steam Machine set to launch next year. And, considering it's effectively a PC wrapped in console clothing, it seems to be aiming more at Xbox than PlayStation.

Now Xbox has responded – and it's doubling down on its next-gen console plans. We might even be getting an even more powerful machine than Valve's.

The president of Xbox at Microsoft, Sarah Bond, recently told Fortune Magazine (via Pure Xbox) that a next-generation Xbox console is in the works – and reaffirmed that it will be a premium device.

Speaking during a video interview, Bond explained that a new console is an integral part of Xbox's plans: "Hardware is absolutely core to everything we do at Xbox, because we know that our most valuable players, the people who love Xbox, love the hardware experience. And so that is why we're working on our next-generation hardware, it's going to be a powerful experience and one that also enables people to take their library with them," she said.

We know little about the hardware itself at present, but the company president did recently claim that it would be "premium" and will likely be a PC/console hybrid machine. That's similar to the new Steam Machine, although some worry that Valve's forthcoming device might be under-powered in comparison with future Xbox and PlayStation rivals.

Of course, the flip side of that is the possibility that the next-gen Xbox comes with a hefty price tag – even more than the £499 / $649 you currently have to pay for an Xbox Series X.

Just look at the ROG Xbox Ally X and its $1,000 ticket to see where things could go.

While we don't yet know how much the Steam Machine will be, I'm pretty certain it won't be anywhere near that.