Discussion Xbox next speculation

[marees]

I thought I would put together available info/leaks/speculation on the next xbox

1. Xbox pro ruled out for current generation. In other words Series X is the pro model
2. In long run Microsoft (xbox &/ surface teams) working on an xbox o/s, that could be used on an Intel Lunar Lake handheld, AMD Strix halo NUC or mediatek/nvidia handheld
3. In the meanwhile Microsoft committed to atleast 1 more big console, most likely in 2026 — since pro is ruled out for current gen
4. Assuming Xbox next in 2026:
   1. 3nm process node
   2. Zen 5c (8x or 12x) — 2026 too early for zen 6c
   3. 24 gb RAM ???
   4. UDNA 1 or RDNA 5 GPU
   5. Raster matches or beats 7900xtx
   6. RT matches or beats 4080 super
   7. AI based upscaling like PSSR / DLSS / Xess
   8. 2 TB storage
   9. Backward compatibility of storage cartridge? — this would be a huge bonus, but I don't expect this
   10. What else ????

 

[MoragaBlue]

I'm encouraged to see that Xbox is indeed planning on at least another console. Suffice it to say, I'm a free-market consumer who is enthused when multiple competitors are vying for my hard earned $$.

 

[jpiniero]

It may not even be a console but a PC more or less... and it's also very likely to be pricey.

 

[marees]

It may not even be a console but a PC more or less... and it's also very likely to be pricey.

Can't comment on price until specs are known with better clarity. Right now I am just guessing on specs based on release timeline of 2026

 

[quikah]

Personally I hope they just refine the handheld PC experience. Don't really care about a new high end console from them.

 

[marees]

Xbox L/U (L or U as in this will be the LAST or ULTIMATE xbox) to have FSR 4 or better with ML upscaling

https://twitter.com/x/status/1834724017124917623

 

[NostaSeronx]

The prophets have spoken to me in my dreams. Microsoft has decided to play it safe! The chosen is Nvidia!

Denver -> Denver2 -> Carmel -> Estes -> Next-gen(Estes2?) <-- for the handheld. And more?

 

[marees]

Mark your calendars

• Xbox's 25th anniversary would fall on November 15, 2026 — which would be an interesting time to launch a new console generation, no?

we learned interesting bits about what Xbox is planning for the future in a recent interview with License Global magazine.

"We’re building plans for the 25th anniversary of Halo and Xbox," Microsoft confirms in a new interview. "We have such a rich heritage, you have to celebrate that."

A big Microsoft milestone is coming up for its gaming division.

www.windowscentral.com

Xbox's 25th anniversary would fall on November 15, 2026, which puts it firmly in range of a new generation of Xbox hardware potentially. Sony just revealed its mid-gen console the PS5 Pro, which Xbox has passed on competing with this time around. Instead, it seems Xbox is full-steam ahead with its next set of console hardware, which we tentatively believe based on our sources to include at least both a traditional-style successor to the Xbox Series X, and Microsoft's first real foray into Xbox handheld gaming with its own take on the Steam Deck.

It would be poignant to release those new devices on Xbox's 25th birthday, with the kind of fanfare that I feel the brand has been missing a bit as it navigates strategic changes that haven't always proven popular with its existing customers.

 

[marees]

AI based upscaling like PSSR / DLSS / Xess

I am wondering what happened to DirectML / playfab etc. ? 🤔

 

[MrSquished]

I would think that they will see how it goes with this next launch, and if it looks like the right business decision, it won't be their last big console.

 

[marees]

new rumor has circulated online that the next-gen Xbox called ‘Xbox Prime’ is targeting a 2026 release date.

New Rumor Says Xbox's Next-Gen Console is a 2026 Release And Called 'Xbox Prime'

A new rumor has circulated online that the next-gen Xbox called 'Xbox Prime' is targeting a 2026 release date.

insider-gaming.com

The news comes from X (formerly Twitter) account TheGhostOfHope, who has a history of posting primarily Call of Duty leaks. According to Hope, he says that he’s heard the next Xbox console “is still coming in 2026 and will be called Xbox Prime.”

He continues to say that it’s unclear if the console’s name is the codename or not and that Infinity Ward’s next Call of Duty title, presumably Modern Warfare 4, will be a Day 1 release.

Hope later continues that the Xbox next-gen release is “pretty much an open secret within the industry.”

If the rumor proves to be true, it could suggest that we could be hearing about the next generation Xbox sooner rather than later, possibly by the end of the year.

As for whether the rumor is true, Hope has had a history of posting Call of Duty leaks and is known to have sources within Activision and Call of Duty development teams, and with the company now owned by Microsoft, it’s entirely plausible that he’s been given the information from a developer working on a next-gen version of Call of Duty 2026.

 

[quikah]

The way they have been going it seems to me the next Xbox will be a software stack that OEMs will use to make an Xbox rather than hardware.

 

[NostaSeronx]

Update from prior post.

Should be something like a GB4 (smaller DIGITS-thing-a-bob).
8-cores w/ GB207-like and 24 GB of memory.
TSMC 2nm but could also be Samsung 2nm as well. Specifically shrunk/tuned to reduce power consumption to handheld level. Nanosheet/GAA with reduced operating voltage/option-width on nanosheet.

Nintendo Switch 2 = Xbox Series S
This SoC = Xbox Series X

Should be closely identical to Switch 2. Any games/IP owned by Microsoft that were originally Nintendo games. Should be launching on both consoles. The reverse is also possible with Nintendo launching its second-party (between first and third titles) on the Xbox handheld.

If I use my marketing brain. It would not be Xbox Prime, it instead would be Xbox Shift. Basically, the device name will denote its compatibility with the Switch. Hardware identity compatibility not software.

Patent in regards to the device: https://patents.google.com/patent/US12097425B2 System 100A as they cancelled 100B relative Surface Duo awhile ago. Microsoft will want to be as close to Switch as possible. Rather than follow Sony with its Portal or Razer with their Edge (old one). However, they should not use the AMD's Project Discovery design, most hideous one was the Quanta one.

 

[marees]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to be released next year is also being tested on Xbox Next dev kit. Doesn't mean that both are released together but the dev could potentially patch the game after release whenever Xbox Next is released

https://twitter.com/x/status/1896672391457349981

 

[marees]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to be released next year is also being tested on Xbox Next dev kit. Doesn't mean that both are released together but the dev could potentially patch the game after release whenever Xbox Next is released

https://twitter.com/x/status/1896672391457349981

IFF true, xbox next likely to be zen 5 & RDNA 4 with maybe a few bits of RDNA 5 thrown in 🤔

 

[marees]

Development Status: The project has reached a critical milestone in Microsoft’s hardware development process. According to Windows Central‘s Jez Corden, “Xbox’s next-gen console hardware has now moved past its early pitch stages and has been fully approved and costed all the way up the chain.”

This approval represents a significant advancement in the console’s development cycle, suggesting that Microsoft has finalized the core architecture and component selection. The company is likely now focused on producing developer kits and establishing manufacturing partnerships.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle...mises-largest-technical-leap-ever/ar-AA1A00VS

 

[marees]

it's now reported that the project has been fully greenlit and approved by the company in recent times.

That's coming from Windows Central reporter Jez Corden, who dropped the little nugget of information in a recent article on the future of Xbox first-party releases. Corden mentions that Xbox's next console hardware "has now moved past its early pitch stages" and has been "fully approved and costed" by Microsoft.

"I've recently been told that Xbox's next-gen console hardware has now moved past its early pitch stages and has been fully approved and costed all the way up the chain."

Corden goes on to say that he doubts Xbox will reveal its hardware strategy "any time soon", which perhaps answers our recent talking point question about exactly when Microsoft will reveal the next-gen Xbox. The majority of PX users said 2026 in the associated poll, so maybe next year is the one for properly talking about Xbox's next-gen console.

https://www.purexbox.com/news/2025/...uccessor-has-been-fully-approved-by-microsoft

 

[Mopetar]

IFF true, xbox next likely to be zen 5 & RDNA 4 with maybe a few bits of RDNA 5 thrown in 🤔

Both would be a solid basis for a next console. RDNA4 does quite well compared to RDNA3 even with fewer CUs and I think a console could get away with using the compact c-core variant of Zen.

I think the kicker is getting 24 GB of memory that's fast enough to keep the APU fed. That gives plenty for using some custom upscaling to deliver good FPS at "4K" resolution that most customers will be on by that point.

 

[marees]

Xbox Next could be $1000 — MLID speculation (this makes sense to me)