Thanks to the Microsoft v. FTC case, leaked documents reveal key plans for the company and Xbox going forward in a major reveal.
There are plans for a digital-only Xbox Series X, a new innovative gyro controller, and a next-gen hybrid console going into 2028.
This is one of the biggest leaks in the history of Xbox, simply because emails of this level of confidentiality typically don’t make it into the public domain.
Next-Gen Xbox Releases in 2028, Embraces Hybrid Computing
Like any major company, Microsoft has planned out its longer-term future into 2028. During this time, it believes that cloud gaming and physical hardware will have fully merged to offer a new industry of “cloud hybrid games.”
The vision is to develop a next-generation hybrid platform for gaming that’s capable of leveraging the combined power of the cloud and the client to “deliver deeper immersion and entirely new classes of game experiences.”
Microsoft imagines people playing games using something as little as $99 and connecting to its xCloud platform at the same time to experience AAA content. This seems very similar to what they were trying to achieve with Backbone, the smartphone gaming controller that connects to Xbox Game Pass.
The team suggested it would need to solidify partnerships with AMD to acquire the silicon and lock down the organization’s Navi 5 Graphics. Microsoft also believed it would need a machine learning AI coprocessor (NPU) to provide super-resolution, frame rate interpolation, and latency compensation.
A visual roadmap for the technology would see the hardware blueprinting start in 2024, dev kits ship in 2027, and hybrid cloud games from 2024 to 2026.
Before this though, another slide suggests that Microsoft had to make critical decisions on the silicon, aligning a thin operating system to run the local parts of the cloud games and what hardware would go with the build. Instead of using a “dedicated xCloud SKU”, Microsoft decided to partner with other providers.
As Satya Nadella revived Microsoft as a whole by embracing cloud computing technology, he has closely collaborated with Xbox head Phil Spencer, Windows OS and Devices Leader Panos Panay, and xCloud CVP Kareem Choudhry on the subject.
Nadella wrote that the company is “building 4 types of computers: (1) cloud everything, (2) a hybrid Xbox, (3) hybrid Windows, and (4) hybrid HoloLens.” He also noted that the company needs to get behind a single big idea.
In an additional document called “Roadmap to 2030”, Microsoft suggests that its new cloud-focused strategy will revolve around its controller. It stated that “the new Xbox controller is the only thing you need to play on every device.”
It also mentions a potential Mobile Controller and a One-hand Controller with a keyboard and mouse that Microsoft wanted to build itself.
Xbox Series X Digital Edition + Gyro Controller
Microsoft is evidently going to refresh the Xbox Series X console in 2024 with all new features and a fresh design. The project codename, Brooklyn, is yet to be officially announced. However, thanks to the leaked documents between the FTC and Microsoft, we now have a lot more information.
The new design for the Xbox Series X makes it appear more like a cylinder. It will also ship without a disc drive. Internal documents from Microsoft have revealed it will start at 2TB of storage, will include a USB-C front port to deliver power, and offer a “more immersive controller.”
A new controller, under the codename Sebille, is set to be announced later in 2023 and will include support for gyro using an accelerometer. It offers a two-tone color scheme with a direct connection to the cloud, an updated Xbox Wireless 2 connection, and Bluetooth 5.2. Microsoft has also listed “precision haptic feedback” and “VCA haptics” which double as speakers. It will also include a rechargeable, swappable battery, modular thumbsticks, quieter thumbsticks and buttons, and will wake up when you lift it.
The new Xbox Series X design will also offer support for Wi-Fi 6E, a radio for Bluetooth 5.2, and the existing die is being shrunk to 6nm for improved efficiency. The power supply (PSU) will be reduced by 15%. Finally, Microsoft is targeting a $499 launch price, the same as the original Xbox Series X.
Another one of the listed goals the company desires to achieve by 2030 includes console customization using the Xbox Design Lab program. A new Elite controller is mentioned in the same section, which will likely include the same updates. Microsoft wants to tentatively launch a refresh of the Xbox Series S in September 2024 and the Xbox Series X in November 2024.
New and Remastered Bethesda Games
Prior to its acquisition by Microsoft, ZeniMax Media (parent company of Bethesda and id Software) was working on remasters of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and a new entry in the DOOM franchise.
However, there were some unannounced projects that were part of the Microsoft presentation about potentially acquiring ZeniMax at the time. They included:
- Oblivion remaster (originally due in fiscal 2023)
- Doom Year Zero + DLC 1 (fiscal 2023) + DLC 2 (fiscal 2024)
- Fallout 3 remaster (fiscal 2024)
- A sequel to Ghostwire: Tokyo (fiscal 2024)
- Dishonored 3 (fiscal 2024)
There were also several titles due for console / PC that did not have specific names, such as:
- Indiana Jones game (originally due in fiscal 2022)
- Project Kestrel (fiscal 2023) + expansion (fiscal 2024)
- Project Platinum
- A “licensed-IP game”
Phil Spencer Wants to Acquire Nintendo
Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, really wants to acquire Nintendo. In an email in August 2020 sent to two of the top marketing executives at Microsoft, Spencer said “Nintendo is THE prime asset for us in Gaming…getting Nintendo would be a career moment and I honestly believe a good move for both companies.”
These emails were revealed in the leaked documents from the FTC v. Microsoft lawsuit. Takeshi Numoto, one of the executives, asked Spencer why Microsoft isn’t finding targets like Nintendo a “more attractive way to increase consumer exposure and relevance.” Microsoft wanted to buy TikTok at the time, but Numoto did not agree.
There were numerous conversations with the leadership team of Nintendo about tighter collaboration with Microsoft. Spencer felt as if his company was the best in the United States to have a chance.
Previous documents from the same case have revealed that Microsoft wanted to buy many studios, including Bungie (now in the hands of Sony), Square Enix, and SEGA.
When asked whether Game Pass could have prevented studio closures, Phil Spencer also mentioned that these events are almost always the result of leadership leaving (as was the case with Lionhead) or teams simply losing their passion (e.g., Ensemble).