Three new Xbox consoles are coming this fall in different colors and with larger SSDs. Microsoft announced that pre-orders are now open and the hardware will launch on October 15, just one day after confirming that Indiana Jones and the Great Circlehis biggest game of 2024, will also be released for PlayStation 5 early next year.
The new console variants were already announced at the Xbox Showcase alongside Microsoft’s Summer Game Fest. These include:
- All-Digital Xbox Series S, 1TB SSD, Robot White – $350
- All-Digital Xbox Series X, 1TB SSD, Robot White – $450
- Special Edition Xbox Series X 2TB SSD Galaxy Black – $600
The new hardware will be released at the same time as major first releases in the fall such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 And Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 in one of the biggest game launches for Microsoft in a long time. Some of the upcoming games like Towerborne are initially exclusive to PC, while others like Indiana Jones are already confirmed to be released for PS5 a few months after release (The edge Reports that it could appear on Sony’s rival platform as early as April 2025).
“When I look at this, I see our franchises getting stronger. Our Xbox player count is higher than ever this year. So I look at this and say, ‘Okay, player count for the console platform is increasing, our franchises are stronger than ever,'” said Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming. said on Wednesday during an Xbox livestream in reference to the ongoing multiplatform offensive. “And we run a business, and it’s definitely true that within Microsoft, the bar is high for us in terms of the performance we have to give back to the company, because we get a level of support from the company that is just incredible and what we can do.”
He continued:
I’m looking at how we can make our games as strong as possible. Our platform continues to grow, both on console, on PC and in the cloud, and I think it’s just going to be a strategy that works for us. And the last thing I’ll probably say is I think there’s a lot of pressure on them as an industry right now. It’s been going on for a long time, and now people are looking for ways to grow, and I think we as fans and players of games have to expect that there’s going to be more changes in some of the traditional ways that games are developed and distributed. That’s going to change, that’s going to change for all of us. But the end result has to be better games that more people can play. If we don’t focus on that, I think we’re focusing on the wrong things.
Microsoft has been reinforcing this post-console strategy throughout the year, not only with games like Sea of Thieves for PS5, but also with investments in other hardware ecosystems, including PC gaming handhelds like the Asus Rog Ally which just got a major upgrade That puts it neck and neck with the Steam Deck. The company has also brought Game Pass to Samsung TVs and Amazon Firesticks, making it easier than ever for gamers to bypass expensive gaming hardware entirely thanks to streaming via the cloud.
How the future of the Xbox console itself will unfold remains to be seen. Microsoft has promised to continue making hardware, with the next console representing its biggest leap yet in terms of technical capabilities. In the meantime, however, it doesn’t sound like we’ll be getting a mid-generation refresh of the Xbox Series X like the long-rumored PS5 Pro that’s set to unveil in the next few months.
