Court documents related to theFederal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against Microsoftreveal that the gaming giant has plans for the nextXboxas early as 2022. In a meeting with company executives, one higher-up casually mentions plans to release a new Xbox in 2028, ushering in the next console generation eight years after the Xbox Series X/S launched.
This comes courtesy of court documents obtained byAxios, giving us some insight intoMicrosoft’s long-term business plans. It confirms that Microsoft doesn’t plan to extend this console generation, despite its first few years being held back by hardware shortages, multiple game delays, and other effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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This 2028 launch window was mentioned in a meeting by Microsoft’s corporate vice president of immersive experiences, Anuj Gosalia, back in 2022. The way it is brought up heavily suggests that the idea had been discussed before.
“Is the plan for 2028 to keep that [illegible] like model or force a Windows like flexible/capabilities like model?” says Gosalia, speaking in the meeting.
“We need to be even more flexible going forward with gen 10, but also provide the ability for creators to take advantage of unique hardware capabilities,” replies corporate vice president of gaming ecosystems, Kevin Gammill.
For reference, we are currently in the ninth console generation, consisting of Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5. Calling it quits after eight years would be fairly in line with previous generations, but it might still feel premature given that this generation got off to a rocky start.
With both the latest Xbox models and the PS5 launching in late 2020, it was slap bang in the COVID-19 pandemic. While everyone being inside was great for sales, it hardly helped both hardware and software production. Parts shortages limited the console stock available, making them notoriously difficult to secure for months. Couple this with the ongoing support for the last generation, Xbox One and PS4, and it’s hard to tell when the ninth generation really started. Even in 2023, huge games likeResident Evil 4 Remakemade it onto last gen, withStar Wars Jedi: Survivorset to join it at a later date.
Despite this, it seems that we shouldn’t expect to see anything like the days of the Xbox 360, which had an absurdly long life. And given that, at least in terms of hardware sales, Xbox is losing this generation to Sony, it stands to reason that it wouldn’t want to prolong it any further. Nintendo did the same with the Wii U, after all, and it’s safe to say that the success of the Switch was worth it.
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