Next Xbox Gets New Update from Microsoft

Microsoft is now openly talking about and advertising the next Xbox, even going as far to set expectations for some features for the console. Xbox is one of the three big gaming companies alongside Nintendo and PlayStation, but their reputation has changed a lot since the Xbox 360. The Xbox One got off to a really bad start due to its always online DRM policy, the forced Kinect bundle, and much more. While the bulk of this was reversed within a year of the console’s launch, it hung a cloud over the Xbox One generation and it didn’t help that a lot of the first-party games were just okay at best.

Not only that, but Halo started to stumble with a bump launch for Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5 failed to impress longtime fans. The Xbox brand began to show its cracks, but still did make some leaps forward with Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Play Anywhere, and more. Xbox was even a leader in bringing crossplay to the console space, but still, PlayStation has continued to outpace Xbox in terms of sales. Now, with Xbox bringing major titles to PlayStation 5, many have wondered what Xbox’s future is in the industry.

Well, Xbox isn’t dropping out of the console race anytime soon. Xbox has released a new video announcing that it has signed a multi-year deal to manufacture parts for its next Xbox. While we don’t know what this new console looks like or what it will even be called, Xbox has confirmed it is in active development and even noted that it will give players full access to their backward compatible library. This was largely a given because Xbox has prided itself on letting people play games all the way back from the original Xbox on modern consoles, but it’s great to hear it reaffirmed. Xbox is the only modern console that allows players to natively play their old games straight off the disc. PlayStation and Nintendo have legacy games too, but their solutions are not as simple or efficent.

On top of that, Xbox seems to be teasing that Steam could come to the console. There have been extensive rumors that this would happen and Xbox seems to be leaning into them now. Xbox’s Sarah Bond teased that the next Xbox won’t be limited by one storefront and that you’ll be able to play your games anywhere you want. This has opened up the idea that even PlayStation games may be playable on the next Xbox, as games like Marvel’s Spider-Man and The Last of Us are on Steam. If Steam comes to Xbox, then it stands to reason you could play those games on the Microsoft-owned console. Xbox’s new handheld will already begin to take advantage of this later this year. However, it does make some wonder: what’s in it for Xbox?

Steam is its own business and if everyone buys their games through Steam, then Valve and the original game publisher get all of that money. It’s hard to imagine Xbox being able to negotiate any kind of a cut there, but we’ll see what happens.

What do you think of this new Xbox? Let me know in the comments.