During Microsoft’s E3 2018 media briefing, Xbox boss Phil Spencer announced work had begun on “the next Xbox consoles”. Here’s the quote in full:
“The same team that delivered unprecedented performance with Xbox One X is deep into architecting the next Xbox consoles, where we will once again deliver on our commitment to set the benchmark for console gaming.”
While confirmation that Microsoft is working on a new set of Xbox consoles (note the plural) wasn’t particularly surprising, hearing it come from Phil Spencer’s mouth on-stage at this year’s E3 was. Why do it now? That’s what I asked Spencer during an interview that took place just a few hours after Microsoft’s media briefing.
Spencer said he wanted to make a statement: Microsoft is committed to video game consoles. They’re here to stay.
“We think people playing great console games is critical to our success,” Spencer told Eurogamer.
“It is how most people think of an Xbox. An Xbox is something you plug into your TV. It’s the world’s most powerful console – I like saying that! – and you get to play great games on your television. I want that to continue. And I don’t want that to just continue in words. I want it to continue in action. In the last two years we’ve shipped the S console, which I love, and the X console – we said what it was going to do, and I love the fact we were able to deliver that.