Xbox'According to company president Sarah Bond, the next-gen console will provide gamers with a “very high-end” experience. Not much is known about the next-gen Xbox console at this early stage, but according to Bond's recent statements, the development of the ROG Xbox Ally could be the key to understanding Microsoft's thinking towards the creation of its next console.
It's been nearly five years since the Xbox Series X and its more affordable Series S counterpart debuted worldwide, beating the PlayStation 5 to market by just two days. This February's estimated Xbox Series X|S sales numbers, released by publisher Take-Two Interactive, reached around 30 million units sold, placing it behind the PS5 and only about a fifth of the Nintendo Switch's sales. That third-place performance and some other business decisions at Microsoft led to rumors that Xbox was preparing to exit the console market.
Xbox president says Next Console will deliver a “premium” experience
However, these rumors were quashed following reports on October 20 in which Bond confirmed that a next-generation Xbox console was in development. A day later, Bond appeared on Mashable's YouTube channel. Her appearance seemed to be mainly intended to discuss the ROG Xbox Ally, but the conversation also turned to the development of the next-gen console. When asked if she was able to provide any additional information at this early stage, Bond was tight-lipped, but said that the upcoming console will provide players with a “very premium, very high-end curated experience.”
Bond also hinted that Xbox's current strategy with console development may be hidden in the design of the new gaming handheld. Promising a handheld capable of running both Xbox and PC games on its portable screen via cloud gaming, allowing gamers to pick up where they left off on their not-so-mobile devices, the ROG Xbox Ally sold out within hours of opening its pre-orders. While it was a hugely popular purchase, it also faced criticism in categories ranging from performance issues to the difficulty of managing a Windows 11-dependent gaming system.
The ROG Ally X is priced at $999, and the interviewer expressed some concern that recent Xbox price moves could potentially limit affordability for some gamers. Bond tried to allay concerns by noting that the ROG Xbox Ally is priced $400 less than the Ally X, saying that Xbox still wants to provide options for gamers with different budgets. However, with the recent $10 monthly price increase for Game Pass Ultimate and price hikes for the Xbox Series X and S, Bond may have more work to do to attract budget-conscious gamers.
- Mark
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Xbox / ROG
- Operating system
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Windows 11 Home
- Processor
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AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme processor
- Display
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7” IPS, 500 nits, 16:9, refresh rate 120 Hz, FreeSync Premium, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus + DXC Anti-Reflection
- Resolution
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FHD 1080p
- Original release date
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2025
Source: Variety
