The soap opera of the redemption ofActivision Blizzard King by Microsoft took an unenviable turn for the latter at the start of the week, because uncensored documents made available to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ended up leaking online. Between the leak potential next games Bethesda and the slightly more concrete one of revisions mid-gen Xbox Series X|S consoles with a new controller, the manufacturer’s plans are now known to everyone and therefore to the competition. But there is worse, because other documents discuss the firm’s vision for the 10th generation of consoles. Of course, everything can still change, but this gives us a good idea of what the future may hold.
It’s again The Verge who relays these leaked documents, this time without the source file which would date from May 2022we must therefore take this with a grain of salt more than ever. There next-gen Xbox would therefore be planned for the year 2028 and would have as its main innovation hybrid games using cloud. Microsoft would therefore like to create a platform combining the power of a player-side device that could cost less than $99, with the possibility of it being a portable device, and its servers xCloud to offer new experiences optimized in real time.
The targeted innovations and an architectural attempt would have already been decided. A roadmap of the different steps necessary to achieve this objective, as well as the different research, concepts and projects which would be linked to it also appear on the slides below.
Architecture (Q1 CY23)
- CPU: ARM64 vs x64 (Zen 6).
- CPU: balance between small and large cores.
- GPU: design in collaboration with AMD or using AMD’s future Navi 5.
- NPU (Neural Processing Unit): balance between a desire for flexibility, with a chip programmable via machine learning as opposed to a high-performance chip supporting high workloads.
- Post-compatibility.
Graphic innovations
- Next-gen DirectX ray tracing.
- Dynamic global illumination.
- Micropolygon rendering optimizations.
- Super resolution using machine learning.
- Extensible model for faster iteration and innovation.
It is interesting to note that THE CEO Satya Nadella would like a single vision for society, which could potentially modify these plans if they no longer suit the direction taken. At any rate, this should be played out between a future entirely oriented towards the cloud or hybridization like what was presented, de facto burying the physical game and the semblance of possession that remains for buyers…
We are building 4 types of computers: (1) everything in the cloud, (2) hybrid Xbox, (3) hybrid Windows, and (4) hybrid HoloLens. We must bring together talent from across enterprise systems to align on a unified vision.
We can’t go from big idea to big idea. We need one big idea to rally the company around.
Furthermore, the document mentioning the next Xbox Series mid-gen propose other tracks with the controller as the only device needed to play on all devicesthereby reducing the cost of entry into the ecosystem Xbox. To illustrate the future of the brand, various products are also presented. If anything not made by Microsoft features simple icons, mock-ups are included for the rest. Among them, we find a keyboard/mouse combo which would therefore be manufactured specifically by the company, a portable console, mobile controllers in the style of Joy-Con of the Switch and a one-handed controller are present.
However, they clearly did not have the necessary funds or resources allocated at the time. Furthermore, among the projects that would have been financed, we find the Keystone, a project that was abandoned, in addition to investigations into the 10th generation of consoles. You would have understood it, even having the necessary funds does not guarantee that everything discussed will eventually see the light of day. You will finally note that a possible new controller Elite (Actium) would have been considered.
While waiting to officially discover what the coming years have in store for us, the Xbox Series X|S consoles are available on Amazon from 270 €.
| Alexandre SAMSON (Omega Law) Responsible Proofreader – Editor | ||
| Addicted to Assassin’s Creed and Destiny, big fan of RPGs and passionate about video game experiences in general. Reader of comics (DC) and various mangas (One Piece!). Chemist by training and Whovian at heart. | ||
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