As part of The Game Awards 2019, Microsoft announced the future of their Xbox brand and it’s set to push the boundaries further than ever before.
This new console will be called the Xbox Series X and it’s coming in late 2020 so there’s not much time left to wait.
Built more like a PC instead of a traditional console, this will be the most powerful Xbox that has ever been created. With the Xbox One X already being capable of pushing out a native 4K resolution, it’ll be interesting to see what the next-gen can pull off.
Microsoft has always been about pushing the boundaries forward with their consoles and it turns out that hasn’t stopped with their next generation.
Reveal Trailer
Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, was present at The Game Awards and he was there to reveal the new console himself. In what would eventually become one of the major highlights of the event, the trailer showcased the new design, controller, and the new name, Xbox Series X.
Speaking of the controller, Microsoft has created a brand-new one that looks a lot like the normal Xbox One controller, but it has some added bonuses that players will certainly appreciate.
The biggest addition is a Share button that will make it easier than ever to capture clips and screenshots of your gameplay. The D-pad is taken from the Elite Controller so if you’re a fan of how that feels then you’ll find a lot to like here.
Confirmed Launch Games
Halo: Infinite will launch on Xbox Series X.
Halo: Infinite will be a launch title for the platform so that should be more than enough to sell a ton of them out the door. This upcoming title will be the conclusion to the second Halo trilogy, but given how much Microsoft relies on the franchise, it definitely won’t be the last we see of it.
Microsoft also dropped the curtain on the sequel to the hit game Hellblade, called Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. This title is now being developed in-house by newly bought developer Ninja Theory. A trailer was released along with the announcement so fans would have a good idea of what to expect with the new title.
We’re sure there are going to be many other games that will join the launch lineup. Obviously, Microsoft will want to have a healthy launch lineup and that’s something that’s very possible now thanks to all of the studios Microsoft purchased recently.
With the new console having backwards compatibility, like the Xbox One before it, we will also be able to take our favorite games from the current generation to the Xbox Series X so there will be no shortage of things to play.
It’s almost guaranteed we’ll be getting a bigger list of confirmed games closer to launch, with both first-party and third-party titles likely filling out the list.
Xbox Series X Release Date
MicrosoftXbox Series X doesn’t have a definitive release date.
There wasn’t a concrete release date revealed as part of the announcement, but we do know it’ll be coming for holiday 2020.
It will definitely be a hot commodity for the next holiday season so Microsoft couldn’t have picked a better time to launch. It’s expected to compete with the PS5 so we’ll have to see who comes out on top.
Xbox has at least one heavy-hitter exclusive to launch with it in Halo so it’ll be interesting to see what Sony decides to go with when they launch the PS5.
With both consoles being pretty much the same in terms of power, it’ll come down to the strength of their launch lineups, which means all gamers win in the end.
Price
MicrosoftWe don’t know a price for Xbox Series X as of yet.
Another thing Microsoft hasn’t gone into detail with is the price. New console price points are always important since that will be the barrier players have to get through if they want to pick up a new console.
As we’ve seen with the PS3, your launch price is very important so we hope Microsoft nails it on this end. When the Xbox One launched, it did so bundled with Kinect and that drove the price up and angered a lot of people.
Eventually, the two were split up and the Kinect has been pushed to the backburner. Microsoft looks like they have left the Kinect in the previous generation to die so we won’t have to worry about a forced accessory like that again.
Somewhere between $400 and $500 will be most likely, but nothing has been officially announced by Microsoft. If it’s more than that then this launch might just end up being a disaster waiting to happen.
Design
The biggest criticism people will find with the console is the fact it looks more like a PC than a console and as a result, it appears like it’ll be taking up a lot of room.
Of course, we’re still about a year out from the official release so it could end up going through some more redesigns before it actually arrives in your home. Xbox consoles have never been all that stylish, with the OG Xbox being large itself and then having a controller that was so large it was nicknamed “The Duke” before a smaller design came out.
With this generation of consoles being closer to PCs more than ever, it doesn’t seem all that surprising that Microsoft is embracing that by making it the new console look like one.
If you’re not a fan of standing your console up vertically, whether it’s because it takes up too much space or you prefer them horizontally, you will be able to do that, according to Phil Spencer.
With the current-gen consoles, you need to purchase a special stand so it’s nice to see an option to change orientations without the need for anything extra this time around.
Of course, that doesn’t make up for the size of it, so it’s certainly looking like you won’t be able to fit this in the same spot your current Xbox One console is in.
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Xbox Series X: First Look, Release Date, Trailer