The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are coming this year, seven years after the two consoles’ predecessors went at it. Both companies are going for higher frame rates, faster processing, more power and a flurry of exclusive games in another edition of the console wars.
Here, the focus will be on Microsoft’s newest addition to the Xbox family with the Xbox Series X. This is everything we currently know about the Series X.
Look
The console takes more of a tower look rather than the usual variation of a slimmer and slimmer rectangle. There is one slot on the front for game discs, which is also a 4k Ultra HD Blu Ray disc drive.
Release Date
Holiday 2020 is the current window for the release date, per Microsoft.
An Xbox product page in some regions inaccurately listed the launch date for Xbox Series X as Thanksgiving 2020. We are committed to launching Holiday 2020
— Larry Hryb (@majornelson) March 18, 2020
Specs
The console is said to be four times faster than the Xbox One, according to a letter from the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer. It will use an AMD Zen 2 processor and have 12 TFLOPS of GPU performance in the RDNA 2, compared to the Xbox One Xs 6 TFLOPS. There will also be DirectX raytracing for the first time in a console system. Microsoft expects frame rates of up to 120 frames per second. 16 GB of DDR6 RAM and 1 TB of internal storage round off the basic specs.
Exclusive Games
Obviously, with Xbox comes Halo. Halo Infinite will launch with the console in the holiday season of 2020, yet the game will release on PC, signaling the end of truly exclusive titles.
A few games coming out around the same time as next-gen consoles include Assassins Creed: Valhalla, Dirt 5, and Hellblade 2: Senua’s Saga. Alongside new releases, the Xbox One will have full backwards compatibility with Xbox One games.
Price
Last generation, the PS4 released at $399 while the Xbox One released at $499 in what could be seen as a mistake by Microsoft. This led to larger launch sales and overall longevity of the console’s sales. The PS4 sold 110.4 million units, fourth-most all time. The Xbox One paled in comparison, moving 46.9 million consoles.
The price for the Xbox Series X is still to be determined. Currently, it seems as if they won’t release a price until Sony releases the price for the PS5. The price might undercut Sony’s, rumored to be between $450 and $500. The PS5 event expected in August might release details of the price.
