Random leaked documents from the FTC’s lawsuit against Microsoft have pointed to a November 2028 release date for the next-gen Xbox, but new rumors say the new Xbox gaming console will arrive in 2026. This is a significantly shortened window and will cut the current Xbox Gen9 family down to about 6 years, two of which were largely limited by chip shortages. It’s worth mentioning that this document was published in May 2022, and a lot has likely changed since then.
Leaks from the lawsuit also show that Microsoft was considering a potential mid-term update for the Xbox Series X, scheduled for late October 2024. This console was codenamed “Brooklin” and was a cylindrical digital Series X. The documents also state that funding for intermediate consoles (Ellewood, a 1TB Xbox Series S, and Brooklin, the aforementioned Series X upgrade) has been approved.
Moving on to new reports, the news about the next generation of Xbox came from Giant Bomb reporter Jeff Grubb, who shared the information during the recent Game Mess Decides broadcast, so should be taken with a grain of salt.
There are rumors from a person who was involved in leaks about this on the PlayStation side. But this person also says that Xbox will have its next console, Xbox Next, in 2026, whether it’s a Pro or a full next generation.
This insider claims that some things have been canceled and that they will release Xbox Next faster than originally planned. Perhaps pushing back the start of the next generation by a couple of years.
If Microsoft plans to release a next-gen console at the end of 2026, it will be part of fiscal year 2026. This would move any next-gen plans into the midst of Microsoft’s Fairhaven vision, which is the name given to the hardware, software, content and services business strategy for mid-Xbox life cycle for the period 2025-2027.
In terms of hardware and software, the next generation of Xbox may be focused less on pure performance and more on deep AI integration. Microsoft has invested heavily in AI, including OpenAI.
It’s possible that Microsoft’s next generation of Xbox could have dedicated built-in AI accelerators, potentially NPUs (neural processing units), working in conjunction with a highly specialized system on a chip.
Other leaks from the lawsuit hint that Microsoft could use an ARM64 processor instead of an x64. The reason for this choice may be AI. Another big reason why Microsoft would choose such a chip is cloud computing, which ARM is better suited to integrate with.
