Xbox gamers 'flabbergasted' by next-gen Xbox release date leak

The arrival of the next-gen consoles is about as inevitable as a finger snap from the titan known as Thanos but perhaps some will be surprised that the next-gen Xbox might not be too far away.

The Xbox Series X/S was released in November 2020 and while we’ve had some fantastic first-party titles such its launch such as Hi-Fi Rush, Forza Horizon 5 and Starfield to name a few, it’s probably fair to say that Microsoft will be pinning a lot of hope with its next-gen machine to knock it out of the park.

Check out the Forza Horizon 5 trailer below!

During the infamous court battle between the FTC and Microsoft over the acquisition of Activision Blizzard (which Microsoft eventually won), court documents suggest that the next-gen Xbox could arrive in 2028. If true, that would be somewhat in line with how long it had taken the Xbox Series X/S to be released after the Xbox One.

However, according to a known leaker, the next-gen Xbox console is arriving much sooner, leaving some members on Reddit feeling “flabbergasted” at that prospect. Twitter user The GhostOfHope claims sources have informed that the next-gen Xbox is being released towards the end of 2026 and the Call of Duty game of that year will launch alongside it.

“Yeah, I am going to believe the court document leak of Microsoft’s plans for 2028. If it launched in 2026, I'd be flabbergasted. We still have major games to be released on this gen,” replied SpaceGooV.

That being said, as with any rumours, especially when it relates to the video game industry, we should always take it with a pinch of salt until proven otherwise and this rumour should be no exception.

“If the FTC documents are believed, 2028 was Microsoft’s target. Perhaps they may have fast-tracked R&D and the cratering sales of the Xbox Series X/S are shifting things, but if they knew even during the trial that Sony was going to outsell them either way, why not stick to the original plan?” suggested Coolman_Rosso.

Microsoft is attending the Summer Game Fest next month on 9 June. It’s likely that we’ll get plenty of video game announcements and reveals, but I wouldn't hold your breath for the next-gen Xbox to be revealed at time soon in my opinion.