The last few years have been strange. xboxAnd really the entire console market. Microsoft appears to have conceded the monopoly war that was at the heart of the so-called console wars. Gears of War and forza With PlayStation, halo You will soon join them. This, along with the declining market share of the Xbox Series X|S, has led many to believe that Microsoft is looking to get out of the hardware business entirely.
This story isn't entirely new. People have been speculating about Xbox prioritizing software since the PS4/Xbox One era. These theories largely stem from Microsoft's reluctance to put all its energy into strong exclusive games, reversing the strategy adopted by Nintendo and Sony. Although the company itself has generally pushed back on such claims and reaffirmed its commitment to strong first-party games. But that is not the case today. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer is pouring cold water on the monopoly strategy. red waterfall's historic failure, and Xbox boss Sarah Bond recently disavowed the practice, calling it “outdated.” At the same time, Bond and Spencer insist that Xbox won't fully exploit the console space, but the company's next steps may not be what some people expect.
What we actually know about the next 'Xbox'
First of all, it is necessary to look at what has actually been confirmed through the official channel Xbox and its partners. First of all, we know that Microsoft is indeed making another home console. As Bond has confirmed it himself, there is no question about it at this point. Last summer, the Xbox boss announced a multi-year partnership with AMD for “a next-generation hardware lineup across consoles, handhelds, PCs, cloud, and accessories.” This partnership recently surfaced on the ROG Xbox Ally, an enthusiast-level portable PC with a number of strings attached.
In the same AMD partnership announcement, Bond's language focused heavily on themes of seamlessness, cloud gaming, and gaming services, declaring his intention to make Windows, not Xbox, “the best platform for gaming.” To many, this reads as a commitment to Xbox as a broader entity, much like the way Apple has developed interconnectivity and feature parity across its various devices. This interpretation is supported by the ROG Xbox Ally, a portable PC running Windows 11 that, despite its name, is not the smaller Xbox Series X or S. Understanding this framework will help you analyze Xbox's business strategy and predict where the company will go next.
Windows 11 and cloud gaming are essential for Xbox's next-generation home device
Before ROG Xbox Ally was officially announced last year, Windows Central's Jez Corden reported that Xbox had internally delayed a long-rumored exclusive handheld game reportedly in development with ROG Xbox Ally. Corden's report claims that Xbox plans to release this first-party device eventually, but will focus on optimizing Windows 11 for gaming in the meantime.
The same report claims that Microsoft is also developing a “next-generation Xbox cloud system,” which seems especially plausible considering the company's Play Anywhere campaign. This suggests that the next Xbox will be cloud-centric, perhaps built around network capabilities rather than raw performance. However, other information suggests that power within the system is still a priority for Microsoft.
Corden later reported that “the next Xbox will essentially be a full Windows PC” and will be compatible with “third-party stores like Steam, GOG, and Epic.”
AMD says the next-gen Xbox could launch in 2027.
On a recent earnings call, AMD CEO Lisa Su mentioned the progress of the AMD-powered Steam Machine before mentioning the progress of Xbox's next console. “Development of Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox with AMD semi-custom SoC [system on a chip] “It's progressing well enough to support a 2027 launch.” As others have pointed out, this doesn't necessarily mean Microsoft's next console will be released. will do According to AMD's estimates, it will be released in 2027.
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Next Xbox APU likely leaked
In the fall of 2025, YouTuber Moore's Law Is Dead revealed what he claimed were the specifications of the next Xbox's APU, or Accelerated Processing Unit.
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144mm² SoC (N3P) + 264mm² GPU (N3C/P) = 408mm²
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Probably 250-350W TDP (estimate, not 100%)
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68 x RDNA 5 CU (disabled up to 70 CU)
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Total of 4 shader engines = 3 x 9 WGP + 1 x 8 WGP
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Each shader engine has two shader arrays. 4) At least 24MB L2 cache for GPU
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Up to 3 Zen 6 + 8 Zen 6c with 12MB L3 cache
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192-bit memory bus with up to 48GB of GDDR7
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NPU with up to 110 TOPS @ 6W or 46 TOPS @ 1.2W (2 power consumption modes)
As always, these types of leaks should be taken lightly. Moore's Law Is Dead has made numerous predictions in the past, none of which turned out to be true. However, he accurately predicted elements of the PS5 Pro and Sony's PSSR upscaling software, which suggests some level of reliability. He also claimed that this APU will be ready to launch in 2027, which is consistent with AMD's own official story.
What does this tell us about the next Xbox?
Taking all the above information together, we can say that Xbox will further strengthen the parity between consoles and PCs, developing Windows 11 as a gaming hub. You don't have to look any further than the ROG Xbox Ally to see that this is possible. The handheld is a dedicated Windows device, and it signals Xbox's desire to attract more gamers into its ecosystem rather than getting back in the ring with rival consoles. There's also the fact that the Xbox Windows launcher has been updated to include games from Steam, GOG, and EGS, which suggests an additional desire to appeal to PC users.
There will almost certainly be another Xbox, but it probably won't be like the previous one. At this stage, Xbox has little to no chance of surpassing Sony and Nintendo in terms of console sales. Therefore, entering the substantial global PC market would be a much smarter move, especially since Microsoft is already a pillar of that market. However, a 2027 launch for the next Xbox is likely impossible due to RAM shortages and economic conditions. A better bet is for it to launch around 2030 or so. By then, Xbox will be the bridge between PC and console gaming.
