In a new video, Xbox president Sarah Bond revealed a partnership with AMD to co-engineer chips for “next-generation Xbox consoles.” But the real news isn’t about the hardware. It’s about Microsoft’s vision for what Xbox is becoming: a Windows-powered gaming platform that’s not locked to one device or storefront.
Bond emphasized that the goal is to let players “play the games you want, with the people you want, and wherever you want.” This means Windows will be the backbone of Xbox moving forward, unifying the experience across consoles, PC, handhelds, and the cloud. Check out the video below:
What This Means For Xbox
Bond emphasized that the goal is to let players “play the games you want, with the people you want, and wherever you want.” This means Windows will be the backbone of Xbox moving forward, unifying the experience across console, PC, handhelds, and the cloud.
This shift has been building for years—Xbox consoles already resemble gaming PCs in both interface and architecture. But now, with Microsoft’s recent collaboration with Asus on the ROG Xbox Ally (a Windows-based handheld that supports Steam and other storefronts), the writing’s on the wall: the next Xbox will be a specialized gaming PC at heart.
Even more intriguingly, Bond teased that this new generation won’t be tied to a single store. This opens the door for future Xbox hardware to support apps like Steam or the Epic Games Store—a radical change from the closed ecosystems we’ve seen in console gaming. Backward compatibility will remain a priority. Microsoft promised that current Xbox game libraries will work on the next generation of hardware. Expect major leaps in graphics and AI-driven features, but with continuity in your game collection.
With PC gaming hardware getting increasingly expensive and complex, Microsoft’s move could make “PC gaming” more affordable and accessible—bringing console pricing models to high-performance, Windows-powered devices. If Microsoft follows through on this vision, the next Xbox won’t just compete with PlayStation—it could reshape the landscape of gaming itself.
Source: Polygon
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
