The next gen Xbox will allegedly not be a single console but a Windows-based device that other manufacturers can make their own versions of. Considering the Xbox Series X/S isn’t even four years old yet, you wouldn’t normally expect to start hearing about its replacement for at least a year or two – probably more given the pandemic meant the first two years of this generation started very slowly. And yet by Microsoft’s own admission they are working on a next gen format, one that will allegedly involve, ‘the biggest technological leap ever in a generation.
’ Given how many unsubtle hints have been dropped about portables , it seems almost certain that at least one variant will be a handheld or hybrid device but the latest insider rumour suggests it might not necessarily be made by Microsoft themselves. Previously, there’s been some debate as to whether Microsoft would even continue to make new consoles, if it’s pursuing a more multiformat publishing approach, but they do seem to have made it clear that they are. However, a tweet from Windows Central’s Jez Corden suggests that not only will the next Xbox have ‘a heavy Windows slant’ but that it will be a ‘reference device for manufacturers.
’ Although the wording is a little vague this seems to imply that other companies will be allowed to make Xbox consoles with the same basic specifications but with additional (or less) features of their own. The next Xbox has a heavy Windows slant and will be a refer.