Xbox to Announce New Hardware at Gamescom (Update: Not Anymore)

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By Andrew E. Freedman
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(Image credit: Benedek Alpar / Shutterstock.com)

Editor's Note 1:40 p.m. ET: Xbox's Larry Hryb has edited his post to suggest new "Xbox One bundles and accessories." Hryb admitted to the error on Twitter. Our original story is below.

We may see new Xbox hardware sooner than expected. Microsoft will be at Gamescom in Germany next month, and it's bringing some surprises. On Xbox Live director of programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb's blog, he wrote that there will be "all-new Xbox hardware and accessories."

Microsoft first hinted at the next generation of Xbox devices at E3 2018. It's reportedly being developed under the codename of Scarlett, and may be a family of devices rather than just a new console. Most rumors point at a release in 2020, so it's a bit early for most details.

It's possible that the new hardware will just be new peripherals--many have been waiting for a new Xbox Elite controller--but it's also possible that it will start shedding new light on its new console at this event. We'll find out when Microsoft holds its event on August 21 at 7:30am PT.

The Xbox One first launched in November 2013, and has gone through several models, including the Xbox One S with support for 4K video playback and upscaling games from 1080p to 4K. In 2017, the Xbox One X with upgraded specs and the ability to play games in 4K, debuted. If you don't count the staggered feature launches with new hardware, that would make this generation of console for Xbox last seven years.

Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.

13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • velocityg4
    I wonder if they are working on a new game plan. Instead keep launching incremental updates to sell more units. Then eventually old ones will be retired by game developers who need certain specs. I think the gaming market has matured enough for this. People are already used to it with smartphones, tablets and computers.

    Perhaps even get to the point where Sony and MS are releasing a new model every year. With games in general supporting 4 year old models or newer. Newer models just getting better detail and/or framerates depending on resolution.

    Perhaps the XBox One will be the last new generation. From here forward it'll just be incremental updates.

    I'm not saying it will happen. It could and would make sense for selling more units.
    Reply
  • Ryguy64
    I think it will be the Microsoft XSwap. It will let you play your Xbox games on the TV or handheld.
    Reply
  • bigdragon
    The XBox One released back in 2013. I would be surprised if a new platform doesn't launch in 2019. Nintendo's Switch release, the growth of PC gaming, and Microsoft's lagging behind Sony provides multiple incentives for them to try and push a new console out before Sony does. 2020 seems like too far away to expect a new XBox.
    Reply
  • techy1966
    I hardly think they are going to release a next gen console right now since they just got the Xbox One X out the door and if they do are they crazy it is way to soon for a next gen console. Not only that but if they already have a new next gen ready for release then it will for sure suck and won't be worth buying. When you hear the strong rumors of what Sony is working on for their next gen I would think MS would like to wait for AMD to get their 7nm Ryzen's out the door and then be ready to have those for MS a long with maybe Navi or even something better.

    I am pretty sure MS is just going to release or show off a shrunk down Xbox One X. I also hate the idea of them releasing a console based off of different performance levels. I 'm sorry but we see how crappy this all works out in the PC world but hey whatever I am not a console user so my vote does not matter on this.
    Reply
  • why_wolf
    Probably a new/cheaper S model and maybe a new/cheaper X model. Doubt they'll do more than tease the next generation model.

    Side note MS needs to fix the naming convention they are using with Xbox. They really screwed it up with the whole Xbox One thing. Now with the shift to have a high/low console out at the same time its way to easy to confuse people over which is which. Probably just use the car model convention to keep things straight. So Xbox "insert Year" followed by either S for low end or X for high end.
    Reply
  • AgentLozen
    I was thinking something like Why_Wolf described. This is probably a shrunk down XBox of some sort.

    Reading these other comments has gotten me thinking though: what if they just made an upgrade to the XBox One X that used an x86 CPU and an modern AMD video card? When you consider that the hardware architecture hasn't changed much since 2013, all of the software that they've released for the XBox One should be compatible and any new software they release would be supported by old hardware.

    Gears of War 7 for XBox One would be completely compatible with the next gen XBox.

    Gears of War 9 for the next gen XBox would be completely compatible with the XBox One. Since this is a hypothetical next gen game, it would know what kind of hardware it was running on and modify the visual settings to accommodate it
    Reply
  • drtweak
    Well at least even if it is a new console, the way MS is going we will still be able to play all the same games since the Xbox is using the OneCore now so it sounds like as long as they keep that we won't have to keep our old consoles to play our old games (Even though they are getting more and more games backwords compatible as it is right now)
    Reply
  • Giroro
    It's probably just a 2TB XboneX, or something.
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    21152588 said:
    I wonder if they are working on a new game plan. Instead keep launching incremental updates to sell more units. Then eventually old ones will be retired by game developers who need certain specs. I think the gaming market has matured enough for this. People are already used to it with smartphones, tablets and computers.

    Perhaps even get to the point where Sony and MS are releasing a new model every year. With games in general supporting 4 year old models or newer. Newer models just getting better detail and/or framerates depending on resolution.

    Perhaps the XBox One will be the last new generation. From here forward it'll just be incremental updates.

    I'm not saying it will happen. It could and would make sense for selling more units.

    You mean like with a laptop. Dell has a Latitude line, the 55X0, and every year the X goes up and they put a new CPU in it with some other minor hardware changes. They basically keep up with whatever the CPU vendors do.

    Could work but I doubt it would be done. The hardware is specialized and not produced for anyone else but them, even though there is hardware that's similar CAPU wise this one is still specialized to Microsofts needs.

    21152652 said:
    The XBox One released back in 2013. I would be surprised if a new platform doesn't launch in 2019. Nintendo's Switch release, the growth of PC gaming, and Microsoft's lagging behind Sony provides multiple incentives for them to try and push a new console out before Sony does. 2020 seems like too far away to expect a new XBox.

    Well the XBox One X just launched and its still the most powerful console out there. I Don't see them releasing a new one since the hardware is specialized.
    Reply
  • bigdragon
    21153890 said:
    21152652 said:
    The XBox One released back in 2013. I would be surprised if a new platform doesn't launch in 2019. Nintendo's Switch release, the growth of PC gaming, and Microsoft's lagging behind Sony provides multiple incentives for them to try and push a new console out before Sony does. 2020 seems like too far away to expect a new XBox.

    Well the XBox One X just launched and its still the most powerful console out there. I Don't see them releasing a new one since the hardware is specialized.
    The X doesn't define a new console generation though. The X is still an XBox One. It's a redesign with upgrades. Historically, console generations changed every 5 to 6 years. 2018 is 5 years and 2019 will be 6 years. Microsoft has a choice of pushing X-exclusive games or releasing a new console generation. I think they'll release a new generation in 2019. I don't think the XBox One console generation will be allowed to last as long as the 360 generation did.
    Reply