PlayStation will soon announce the hotly anticipated PlayStation 5 Pro, but will Xbox have its own mid-generation console? Many have been wondering, and with PlayStation finally making the plunge to announce its mid-generation refresh, it can only be a matter of time before Xbox announces its own mid-generation refresh, right?
Well, not quite. According to the latest rumors surrounding a mid-generation console for the Xbox Series S|X, Xbox is opting to go all in on the next generation instead. For those in the know about tech and Xbox in particular, you might be familiar with the cylindrical Xbox that leaked via FTC documents during the FTC vs. Microsoft proceedings surrounding Microsoft’s proposal to acquire Activision Blizzard. Unfortunately, Xbox has seemingly abandoned that project and its design and instead is launching three new Xbox series console variants in the holiday of 2024.
The new consoles don’t offer anything in the way of a true “mid-generation refresh” as the PS5 Pro would, but the new variants do give consumers more variation with increased memory. The three new models are:
- An All-Digital Xbox Series X – 1TB SDD
- An All-Digital Xbox Seres S – 1TB SSD
- A Special Edition Xbox Series X – 2TB SSD
Rumors suggest that Xbox is working on an Xbox handheld, though. Outside of the rumors, Xbox’s Phil Spencer even hinted that he’d like to see one in the future. In an interview with Polygon, Spencer said, “I can then go build a single version of my game that spans more hardware and reaches more customers. And I would say for players, it reduces the friction. Like, if I want to go play my console games on the go with a handheld, I don’t want only to be able to buy one brand of handheld. Right? […] I want everything that we’re doing in the hardware space to be great. But if somebody chooses to go play today [somewhere else], I don’t want them to feel like a lesser Xbox [player].”
So, for the moment, at least, it’s going to be a while before we see new hardware coming to the Xbox platform. While there are nothing but rumors out there at the moment, we’ll be sure to keep you updated when official information is released.
What do you think of PlayStation’s announcement of a PS5 Pro? Do you think it’s needed this console generation? Let us know in the comments or in our community forum.
