Featured Image Credit: Microsoft
Topics: Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Tech
Xbox is teasing its plans for the next-generation of console gaming, amid rumours it’ll be leaving the hardware business for good soon enough.
Xbox has been put through its paces over the last year or so, especially recently following a huge amount of backlash against its Xbox Game Pass subscription price.
Subscribers are now paying more than ever for the higher tiers and don’t feel like their money is being well-spent, following the addition of features that not everybody will use such as Fortnite Crew.
It kicked off another big discussion about the future of Xbox in the gaming industry and resparked theories that the company plans to go third-party and scrap its consoles entirely.
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In response to this, Xbox president Sarah Bond has said Xbox has no plans to stop making consoles, and is hard at work on its latest hardware.
Bond spoke with Variety about the newly released ROG Xbox Ally/Ally X, a costly bit of kit but one that’s being regarded as the “Steam Deck-killer” by many. You can catch our thoughts on the new handheld in our review.
During the interview though, Bond was asked about what’s next for Xbox, to which the president responded, “We are 100 percent looking at making things in the future … We have our next-gen hardware in development. We've been looking at prototyping, designing. We have a partnership we've announced with AMD around it, so that is coming."
Going back to the ROG Xbox Ally, Bond went on to say: “What we saw here was an opportunity to innovate in a new way and to bring gamers another choice, in addition to our next-gen hardware. We are always listening to what players and creators want. When there is demand for innovation, we're going to build it."
Hopefully that’s reassuring the Xbox fans who think the company doesn’t have their best interests in mind, but the controversy surrounding Xbox Game Pass isn’t one it’ll be able to shake off for quite a while.
As for what new hardware Xbox will specifically offer, Bond said they want to “make sure that people have a choice," that caters to both hardcore players that want the best performance possible and casual players who just want to play however is most comfortable to them.
The next console generation will arguably be the most important one so far for Xbox, as another failure could make that third-party future much more realistic.