Earlier this week, it was reported that the next Call of Duty game, launching in 2026, would release on the next Xbox. This would suggest that Microsoft is already well underway with the Xbox Series X/S’s successor, and could have some new hardware to announce very soon.
However, insider Jez Corden does not believe that this is the case. As far as he is aware, developers have not yet been given devkits for the next Xbox, meaning that it’s very unlikely that any games are being made with the new tech in mind. However, he also says that this will be a very different console from Xbox – and actually be more like a PC. This, in turn, could make early game development possible.
“The idea that developers have already gotten the next-gen Xbox’s ‘devkit’, that’s just not accurate,” says Corden, speaking on the Xbox Two podcast. “And also, the next Xbox is Windows based, most people assume.”
He continues, revealing more on what he’s heard about the new console. “The whole idea of the next Xbox is that it’s gonna be a PC in essence but with a TV friendly shell that also has a specific set of specs in mind, so developers will be building for Windows PC in a way but in such a way that they know exactly what the specs will be, so they can optimise exactly for it.
“Maybe the Call of Duty stuff is accurate, but the devkit talk is more about what kind of specs they’ve been told to target for the next Xbox,” he rounds off, “I’m pretty sure new hardware is not 2026, it’s 2027”
There is some logic behind this. The Steam Deck has found great success as a portable PC which can also be connected to the TV via a dock. With this selling well, that suggests that people are after a more versatile gaming experience, something Xbox has hoped to provide with the availability of Game Pass outside of its dedicated Xbox hardware.
As for the 2027 date, that would come about seven years after the launch of the Xbox Series X/S. This would be the exact same gap we saw between the Sony and Microsoft consoles last generation, although a key difference is that we’re still seeing plenty of games launch for last gen. In fact, it’s being reported that this year’s Call of Duty will be one of them, still coming to Xbox One and PS4 after all this time. It’s unlikely that studios want to support three generations at once, especially with all the issues caused by the Xbox Series S’s lower specs.
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Related Forum: Xbox Forum
Source: https://www.thegamer.com/next-xbox-after-series-x-s-releasing-in-2027-more-like-a-pc/
