Microsoft ‘has already started’ working on future Xbox Series console iterations

Microsoft has already begun working on future Xbox Series console iterations, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has suggested.

In a new wide-ranging interview with Kotaku, the exec was asked if Xbox could look to introduce faster solid-state drives in new Xbox consoles, in order to match the speeds of PlayStation 5’s own drive.

Xbox Series X already features a custom SSD which has been praised by the press. However, its raw throughput performance is said to be half that of PS5’s.

Spencer said: “I think, like you’ve seen in past generations, that we will iterate on hardware. We’ve already started, right? Our team doesn’t go away, when we kind of lock the spec.

“Some of it is cost. That’s always the important thing. How do you drive down the cost of the console in the parts that are there, but also just looking at areas in terms of what are the next iterations that you might do?”

Last month Spencer said that Microsoft was “absolutely” planning for more console hardware in the future, regardless of the growth it sees from its cloud gaming technology, xCloud, which allows players to stream games to smartphones and eventually, PC and console.

Yahoo Finance asked Spencer whether the investment in cloud gaming could see the forthcoming console generation become the last, and the exec replied:

“We’re about putting the player at the center. It’s not about the device in the middle anymore. You see that in every other form of media: my TV is with me wherever I go, my music is with me wherever I go.

“I’m in control of the experience and I think gaming is going through that same transformation, which is why as you say, if you’re a Game Pass subscriber you can now play your great games on our Xbox console, on your PC or now on your Android phone via streaming.”

Spencer added: “In terms of future hardware, absolutely I think we’re going to see more console hardware down the road. Just like in video, just like in music it’s not that streaming has cut off device innovation. I think we’ll continue to see that and that’s absolutely what we’re planning for.”

Multiple publications including The Verge and GameSpot recently compared Xbox Series X and Xbox One loading times using backwards compatible games. While Series X load times were better across the board, they varied depending on who was testing them, as noted by Ampere Analysis analyst Piers Harding-Rolls.

Xbox Series S ($300/$300/£249) and Xbox Series X ($499/€499/£449) will both launch on November 10. Spencer expects the cheaper console to outsell Xbox Series X over the course of the generation.

Further reading

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Microsoft has revealed the Xbox Series X/S software launch line-up

30 titles will be available on day one, including 20 which support Smart Delivery