If recent reports are true, we likely won’t be seeing Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox console until 2027 at the earliest. But that hasn’t stopped the company from teasing a couple of details – including backward compatibility and vague handheld allusions – as it announces a partnership with AMD to co-engineer the bits inside.
Microsoft first confirmed an Xbox Series X/S successor was in the works last February, as the company rushed to assure fans – amid the start of its multi-platform release strategy – that it wasn’t abandoning the console market. At the time, Xbox president Sarah Bond insisted Microsoft was “invested in [its] next-generation road map” and “focused on… delivering the largest technical leap that you will have ever seen in a hardware generation.”
And it now transpires AMD will be the company helping make that bold promise a reality. Microsoft announced its “strategic, multi-year agreement” with AMD in a short video shared earlier today. In it, Bond explained Microsoft is “investing in [its] next-generation hardware line-up across console, handheld, PC, cloud, and accessories”, and would be working with AMD to “co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices including our next-generation Xbox consoles in your living room and in your hands”.
There is, of course, quite a bit to unpack in that last sentence, starting with Bond’s clear reference to multiple next-generation “consoles”, and continuing on with the distinction between a machine “in your living room” and “in your hands”. While it’s entirely possible “consoles” refers to a dual release strategy similar to the Series X and S, it’s hard to ignore the additional allusion to an Xbox-branded handheld. But whether that might be an internally development machine – as previously rumoured – or something similar to AMD’s recently unveiled Xbox Ally, remains to be seen. Notably, Windows Central recently reported Microsoft’s internal handheld project had been “sidelined” in favour of more third-party partnerships, while The Verge went further, saying the project was “essentially cancelled”.
Bond’s spiel continued by insisting Microsoft’s new AMD partnership would result in “the next generation of graphics innovation” and will “unlock a deeper visual quality”. That’s alongside “immersive gameplay and player experiences, enhanced with the power of AI”, and “compatibility with your existing library of Xbox games”.
“This is all about building a gaming platform that’s always with you, so you can play the games you want across devices anywhere you want, delving you an Xbox experience not locked to a single store or tied to one device,” Bond concluded. “The next generation of Xbox is coming to life and this is just the beginning. We can’t wait to show you what’s next.”