Microsoft's Next-Generation Xbox to Focus on AI, Rumors and Plans
TapTechNews June 3rd, according to industry insiders, Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console will focus on developing artificial intelligence functions.
Previously, in the legal dispute between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, chat records of some company executives were made public, which revealed that Microsoft plans to launch its 10th-generation game console in 2028. TapTechNews noted that since these chat records were released in May 2022, it's not clear whether Microsoft still plans to release the new console in this time window.
Jez Corden, an editor of the tech media WindowsCentral, recently disclosed a rumor about the next-generation Xbox console, which is said to be equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU). Reportedly, this chip dedicated to artificial intelligence operations will be manufactured by Qualcomm, and Microsoft and Qualcomm have cooperated frequently in client-side artificial intelligence solutions in recent years, and the relationship between the two companies is also getting closer.
Corden also said that the next-generation Xbox console may natively support Microsoft's intelligent assistant Copilot. This artificial intelligence assistant debuted in May 2023 and has now landed on multiple platforms including Windows 11 PCs and mobile devices, and is integrated into Microsoft 365 applications and the Edge browser. Introducing Copilot to the next-generation Xbox devices will continue this trend, but Corden admitted that it's not yet clear exactly how the intelligent assistant will be integrated on the console.
The same industry insider also revealed that Microsoft plans to use the next-generation Xbox console as a reference design for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), that is, Microsoft hopes to allow third-party manufacturers to make their own Xbox-branded consoles. However, Microsoft is still selling the current-generation consoles at a loss. In this case, the only feasible way for original equipment manufacturers to make a profit while maintaining price competitiveness is for Microsoft to share the profit share from digital software sales with them, which is also the strategy that Microsoft currently uses to make up for the loss of consoles.
It's worth noting that Microsoft executives have repeatedly emphasized that the next-generation Xbox console series will offer the largest 'technological leap' ever in a single console generation.