Friday, December 13th 2019

Microsoft Unveils Xbox Series X, Available Holiday 2020, and "Senua's Saga: Hellblade II"

Microsoft announces the Xbox Series X console. For eighteen years and three console generations, the Xbox community has shown us the power both games and fun can have on all of us. As we enter a new generation of gaming, we see a future where you're instantly absorbed in your games - where worlds are even more lifelike, immersive, responsive and surprising - and where you are at the center of your gaming experience. With the new Xbox Series X, we will realize that vision.

Xbox Series X will be our fastest, most powerful console ever and set a new bar for performance, speed and compatibility, allowing you to bring your gaming legacy, thousands of games from three generations and more forward with you. Its industrial design enables us to deliver four times the processing power of Xbox One X in the most quiet and efficient way, something that is critically important in delivering truly immersive gameplay. We also designed Xbox Series X to support both vertical and horizontal orientation. It's bold and unique, very much like our fans around the world and the team of collaborators and innovators who built it.
The name Xbox is an expression of our deep history in gaming, our team's unrelenting passion, and our commitment to both our fans and the future of gaming at Microsoft. It also signifies our belief that a gaming console should be for just that - gaming.

Alongside Xbox Series X, we also unveiled the new Xbox Wireless Controller. Its size and shape have been refined to accommodate an even wider range of people, and it also features a new Share button to make capturing screenshots and game clips simple and an advanced d-pad derived from the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller. The new Xbox Wireless Controller will be compatible with Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, and will be included with every Xbox Series X.

The possibilities of what Xbox Series X enables developers to achieve was also brought to life this evening with the unveiling of Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. A sequel to the award-winning Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice from world-renowned developers Ninja Theory, the game is being built to leverage the full power of Xbox Series X. The footage shared tonight was captured in-engine and reflects the power of Xbox Series X available to developers to deliver new universes, experiences and games in ways you have never imagined.

Bringing Developers' Dreams to Life with Xbox Series X
Games today deliver amazing visuals and tell an array of different and deep stories. That's why, when we started work on Xbox Series X, it was vital we continue to advance state-of-the-art visual capabilities for developers, while also ensuring they could realize even greater feeling, emotion and empathy in their games. With Xbox Series X, we will elevate the way games look, play and feel. We will also remove the technical barriers faced in previous generations and enable developers to create more expansive, immersive gaming worlds that invite more players to play.

From a technical standpoint, this will manifest as world-class visuals in 4K at 60FPS, with possibility of up to 120FPS, including support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and 8K capability. Powered by our custom-designed processor leveraging the latest Zen 2 and next generation RDNA architecture from our partners at AMD, Xbox Series X will deliver hardware accelerated ray tracing and a new level of performance never before seen in a console. Additionally, our patented Variable Rate Shading (VRS) technology will allow developers to get even more out of the Xbox Series X GPU and our next-generation SSD will virtually eliminate load times and bring players into their gaming worlds faster than ever before.

We are minimizing latency by leveraging technology such as Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and giving developers new functionality like Dynamic Latency Input (DLI) to make Xbox Series X the most responsive console ever. Xbox Series X is also designed for a future in the cloud, with unique capabilities built into the hardware and software to make it as easy as possible to bring great games to both console and elsewhere. Xbox Series X will deliver a level of fidelity and immersion unlike anything that's been achieved in previous console generations.

One Console, Four Generations of Gaming
One of the things we're most proud of with Xbox Series X is the promise we're delivering to our fans who have and continue to invest with Xbox. Thanks to backward compatibility, you can expect your gaming legacy, thousands of your favorite games across four generations of gaming, all your Xbox One gaming accessories, and industry-leading services like Xbox Game Pass to be available when you power on your Xbox Series X in Holiday 2020.

Building on our compatibility promise, with Xbox Series X we're also investing in consumer-friendly pathways to game ownership across generations. Leading the way with our first-party titles including Halo Infinite in 2020, we're committed to ensuring that games from Xbox Game Studios support cross-generation entitlements and that your Achievements and game saves are shared across devices. As we branch out and extend gaming to more players around the world, console gaming will remain at the heart of our Xbox offering. Game creators around the globe are already hard at work building content for Xbox Series X and our 15 Xbox Game Studios are developing the largest and most creatively diverse lineup of Xbox exclusive games in our history. On behalf of Team Xbox, we're excited to enter the future of console gaming with you and can't wait to share more in 2020.

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84 Comments on Microsoft Unveils Xbox Series X, Available Holiday 2020, and "Senua's Saga: Hellblade II"

#2
seronx
ZeppMan217
Is that a joke?
The Xcube Monolith is so beautiful.
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#3
Paganstomp
WOOT! No RGB lights!!! First day buyer here! :D
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#4
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
ZeppMan217
Is that a joke?
Microsoft discovered SFF gaming PC in 2019.

Just waiting for the 2349080324709 mini-ITX cases that will look exactly like this.
Posted on Reply
#5
ZeppMan217
It's not even stylized, like Apple's trash can. Much bigger, too.
Posted on Reply
#7
Chomiq
Here's our new mitx machine... I mean gaming console. Where the hell am I suppose to place it? Single fan on top, try fitting this in your living room.
Shitty announcement to be fair. No major details about the console and new pad has share button added in the middle, rubberized triggers and some improved ergo. I guess it's still better than Sony but that really isn't much.
120 fps will probably be limited to 1080p in performance mode. Here's hoping 4k 60 means no checkerboarding or any tricks like that.
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#8
Valantar
Have to say I really like the design. Also good to see living room equipment abandon the "flat and deep" form factor that was originally based on furniture for holding CRT TVs, which doesn't really go along with modern slim flat panels. This would look stunning standing by itself, though I could see it being difficult to fit for people with cramped setups.

Fingers crossed that they haven't gone complete nitwit and made Xbone peripherals incompatible this go around. The new controller looks nice, but I would like to bring my two current ones with me, thanks.
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#9
ShurikN
I'm liking the design. Definitely not going to buy the console, but at least it looks nice. Also that concave top is a cool touch
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#10
64K
It will be interesting to see what the specs are. It somewhat affects what will be required for the next few years on PC hardware for PC gaming.
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#11
Dammeron
Well, a console named XBox finally became a proper box, after like what... 2 decades?

I think this form factor will work well, since it allows to place a bigger, low-RPM fan in it.
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#12
Rahnak
Wait, what? I had no idea they were already announcing the new console. Damn.
I kinda like the boxy shape, but I'm not sure how well it will work for people that actually have their console in the living room.
The controller seems like a downgrade on the d-pad though. Which is a shame because the current controller is very nice.
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#13
Animalpak
Corsair One teaches...

But way before was Silverstone the first with that chimney design. And is highly effective with cooling.
Posted on Reply
#15
blobster21
<put_console_name_here> : don't give a damn
Hellblades sequel : shut up and take my money
Posted on Reply
#16
ShurikN
Oh and another thing. The name is (in classic Xbox fashion) absolutely horrible...
Posted on Reply
#17
MisterKarate86
Microsoft please hire me, I can do a much better job naming your products believe me
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#18
jabbadap
So they are really going to call it Xbox Series X?
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#19
Rahnak
jabbadapSo they are really going to call it Xbox Series X?
Yes. After the xbone, you get xsex. Seems like natural evolution.
Posted on Reply
#20
steve360
Xbox SeX

SeXbox

Take your pick.
Posted on Reply
#21
Vya Domus
I have a theory that they make these things look so bizarre on purpose to draw more attention.
Posted on Reply
#22
FreedomEclipse
~Technological Technocrat~
The name Xbox is an expression of our deep history in gaming, our team's unrelenting passion, and our commitment to both our fans and the future of gaming at Microsoft. It also signifies our belief that a gaming console should be for just that - gaming.
Yawwwwwwwwwwwwn.

'Their unrelenting passion and commitment to fans and the future of gaming at Microsoft' didn't stop them from leaving the pc platform and shutting down or repurposing all their studios that were making games for the pc
Posted on Reply
#24
Valantar
RahnakWait, what? I had no idea they were already announcing the new console. Damn.
I kinda like the boxy shape, but I'm not sure how well it will work for people that actually have their console in the living room.
The controller seems like a downgrade on the d-pad though. Which is a shame because the current controller is very nice.
Fighting game fans will absolutely love that d-pad. And if it's anything like the dished one for the Elite controller it will still be good, even if I also prefer a standard ➕ shape.
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#25
Keullo-e
S.T.A.R.S.
I guess it's finally time to get a Xbox One X (and a PS4). Last time when I had a current gen console, PS2 was the thing.
Posted on Reply
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