Everything You Need to Know About the Console and Crypto Plans

It’s been over 4 years because the launch of the Xbox Sequence X and Xbox Sequence S, a pair of recreation consoles that provide completely different efficiency and value choices for gamers. However Microsoft is already fascinated with the subsequent huge factor in Xbox land.

Unsurprisingly, a next-generation Xbox is already in improvement, However what’s stunning is that we’ve already heard official particulars on how Microsoft plans to place it, because of paperwork that have been by accident shared publicly within the FTC’s case in opposition to Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision. And there may very well be a crypto pockets within the combine.

Moreover, Microsoft is beginning to remark publicly about what it plans to do with its upcoming {hardware}, promising an enormous leap in efficiency for the next-generation Xbox.

Granted, issues might change within the coming months and years, however when you’re in search of the newest leaks and stories concerning the subsequent Xbox console, it seems Microsoft itself was the absolute best supply. Here is what we all know to this point, and be sure you keep tuned for future updates.

What’s the Subsequent-Gen Xbox?

The subsequent-gen Xbox would be the fifth era of Microsoft’s console, following the unique Xbox (2001), the Xbox 360 (2006), the Xbox One (2013), and the aforementioned Xbox Sequence X and Sequence S (2020) {hardware}.

Whereas it was cheap to imagine that Microsoft would proceed making new {hardware} sooner or later, we acquired our first style of the tech big’s plans in September 2023 when it uploaded unredacted paperwork to a public repository for the FTC case. Microsoft was apparently at fault for the problem, not the courtroom, and Xbox head Phil Spencer tweeted concerning the fallout.

“We have seen the dialog round outdated emails and paperwork,” he wrote. “It’s onerous to see our staff’s work shared on this manner as a result of a lot has modified and there is a lot to be enthusiastic about proper now, and sooner or later. We’ll share the actual plans once we are prepared.”

When will the Subsequent-Gen Xbox come out?

In response to Microsoft’s leaked paperwork, the next-generation Xbox is focused to be launched throughout the 2028 calendar 12 months—eight years after the earlier console. This marks an extended console cycle than we’ve seen from Microsoft prior to now, which has seen seven years between main {hardware} launches within the final two cycles.

Nonetheless, newer reporting means that the launch might come earlier than that. In March 2025, Home windows Central reported that Microsoft is already pushing forward with plans to get the Xbox Sequence X/S follow-up out in 2027. The publication says that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has signed off on the plan, and provides that it contains at the very least a premium successor to the Xbox Sequence X, a devoted gaming handheld, and new controllers.

No pricing estimate was leaked within the paperwork or since reported by respected sources. Nonetheless, it sounds from the Home windows Central report like Microsoft might not concentrate on having a inexpensive, much less highly effective house console choice this time round.

How highly effective will the Subsequent-Gen Xbox be?

It’s too early to inform how vital of an influence bump we’ll see from the brand new Xbox in comparison with the Xbox Sequence X, however what’s fascinating is how Microsoft is approaching the system.

In response to its leaked paperwork, Microsoft sees a mannequin wherein video games run with each native and cloud computing energy in a hybrid mannequin. We’ve seen hints of this earlier than, significantly with the newest Microsoft Flight Simulator recreation, which pumps in cloud-powered real-time climate whereas the sport in any other case runs in your native PC or Xbox {hardware}.

Picture: Microsoft.

However a number of years from now, Microsoft seems to suppose that it will probably pull this off on a bigger scale, pairing house {hardware} with a lift from distant servers as a extra standardized hybrid mannequin throughout Xbox video games.

“Our imaginative and prescient: develop a next-generation hybrid recreation platform able to leveraging the mixed energy of the consumer and cloud to ship deeper immersion and completely new lessons of recreation experiences,” the Microsoft paperwork learn. “Optimized for real-time gameplay and creators, we’ll allow new ranges of efficiency past the capabilities of the consumer {hardware} alone.”

The paperwork recommend that Microsoft wanted to make some key {hardware} selections by the primary quarter of 2023, together with the CPU make-up and the way it will both co-design or license an AMD GPU. The place the corporate landed on these decisions stays unclear.

In the end, Microsoft needs a tool that may deal with “next-gen DirectX ray tracing” for life like lighting results, plus “dynamic world illumination,” “micropolygon rendering optimizations,” and “machine learning-based tremendous decision.”

Picture: Microsoft

In different phrases, sure, the next-gen Xbox will certainly be extra highly effective, though Microsoft should be weighing the main points. Or they have not all leaked simply but. Moreover, the paperwork spell out numerous timelines for {hardware}, video games, and software program, suggesting an in depth roadmap for the varied items that make up the Xbox expertise.

In February 2024, Microsoft made its first public statements about how highly effective the next-generation Xbox can be. In an official podcast episode used to announce that Microsoft will begin releasing some unique Xbox video games on Nintendo and PlayStation {hardware} as effectively, Xbox President Sara Bond planted a flag within the floor for the subsequent console.

“We’re additionally invested within the next-generation roadmap,” Bond mentioned, in keeping with Eurogamer. “What we’re actually centered on there may be delivering the most important technical leap that you’ll have ever seen in a {hardware} era.”

On the Xbox Video games Showcase in June 2024, Bond additionally affirmed that Microsoft is engaged on the “subsequent era” of Xbox.

Will crypto be concerned?

Based mostly on the leaked roadmap, which is dated Could 2022—sure, there really is a crypto pockets deliberate for Microsoft’s subsequent console ecosystem. A slide that was unintentionally revealed by Microsoft as a part of the FTC case mentions “crypto pockets” as a part of the commerce stack. Axios first reported the crypto pockets plans.

Picture: Microsoft/FTC.

It is also labeled as one thing that Microsoft will create itself, relatively than plug in a third-party or present characteristic, though it is nonetheless unclear whether or not Microsoft will develop a full pockets itself or just create an integration that lets customers plug in present wallets (like MetaMask).

That is all we all know proper now, and Microsoft declined to remark and easily pointed to Phil Spencer’s aforementioned tweet. It is value noting that the presentation was made a couple of week earlier than the crypto market crashed in Could 2022 as a result of Terra collapse, so it is unclear whether or not Microsoft might have reevaluated its plans amid the continuing bear market.

What video games will the Subsequent-Gen Xbox have?

It’s too early to inform at this level. Nonetheless, Microsoft has constantly put an emphasis on recreation compatibility throughout generations with latest console cycles, matching a PC-like philosophy of with the ability to play your present video games even after you purchase new {hardware}.

Microsoft has additionally emphasised its Xbox Sport Cross subscription service lately, and the leaked paperwork equally level to expectations that Microsoft will be capable of develop its subscription base within the years to return. A part of that can come through the launch of a cloud-driven app for sensible TVs, broadening the participant base even additional.

In any case, it is fairly seemingly that Microsoft’s personal core franchises like Halo and Forza Motorsport will proceed on to new {hardware}, together with IP owned by its studios like Bethesda (together with The Elder Scrolls and Doom) and Activision (Name of Obligation, Crash Bandicoot). Home windows Central additionally reported that the subsequent Xbox can be simpler to carry PC video games to, and that it might characteristic third-party recreation storefronts.

What is the Xbox Ally?

There’s new Xbox-branded {hardware} coming earlier than the next-gen Xbox: the Xbox Ally, a gaming handheld introduced on June 8, 2025. Inbuilt collaboration between Asus and Microsoft, the Xbox Ally and extra highly effective Xbox Ally X are Home windows PC handhelds that may additionally play Xbox video games which can be native or cloud-streaming.

Each fashions characteristic the identical core design, with a 7-inch IPS LCD 1080p show and an AMD Ryzen Z2 processor, although the Ally X has a sooner CPU, extra RAM (24GB vs. 16GB), double the interior storage (1TB vs. 512GB), and “impulse triggers” with power suggestions. It additionally has a bigger battery and weighs somewhat extra.

It is a Steam Deck rival, roughly, and the primary correct Xbox-branded handheld after years and years of rumors—although it is nonetheless in the end a PC that may play Xbox platform video games on Home windows, not a transportable Xbox console. However that distinction is more and more turning into much less and fewer vital as Microsoft releases most video games throughout the platforms.

The Xbox Ally units are due out this vacation season, although no value or precise date has been introduced.

Editor’s be aware: This text was first revealed on September 26, 2023 and final up to date with new info on June 10, 2025.