Microsoft today revealed more details about its new Xbox that will debut later this year. The company partnered with Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry to talk about the technology that powers the new console, also known as codename Project Scorpio.
Polygon has a solid recap of the announcement here. Essentially, Project Scorpio will improve upon the existing Xbox One in a variety of ways; Microsoft has said it will be “the most powerful console ever.” It will run at 6 teraflops, which is more than what the PlayStation 4 Pro — Sony’s competing console that is an upgrade from the PS4 — offers. There is upgraded RAM and a faster AMD processor. Project Scorpio will also have VR support and run games in native 4K resolution. The external ports will look similar to the Xbox One.
Microsoft did not provide details on what the new Xbox will look like; its official name; price; and other information. Xbox One games and backward-compatible Xbox 360 games will run on Project Scorpio with better performance. Digital Foundry did show Forza MotorSport 6 in action on the new console, but there weren’t other game demos or details about other titles. Polygon noted that there will not be Project Scorpio-specific games.
Project Scorpio is expected to hit store shelves later this year, and potentially this fall. You can expect more details to come at the E3 gaming conference in June.
As part of its most recent quarterly earnings report, Microsoft said Xbox Live monthly active users reached a record 55 million — up 15 percent from the same quarter last year. Gaming revenue for the quarter clocked in at $3.6 billion — that’s nearly 14 percent of Microsoft’s total revenue for the quarter, which demonstrates the importance of the company’s gaming arm.
Microsoft released the Xbox One in November 2013. It debuted the Xbox One S, a redesigned and smaller version of the Xbox One, in August.
