Latest news with #Xbox-branded
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Microsoft confirms next Xbox with AMD chip, cross-platform game support
The upcoming Xbox will support multiple devices, third-party game stores, and backward compatibility. Built on Windows and powered by AMD, it marks a shift to an open and unified gaming ecosystem New Delhi Microsoft has confirmed that it is working on next-generation Xbox console in partnership with AMD, with a focus on making gaming more accessible across platforms. Xbox president Sarah Bond shared in a video posted on the official Xbox YouTube channel: 'We've established a strategic, multi-year agreement with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices, including our next-generation Xbox consoles.' Rather than being a standalone console, the new Xbox is part of a larger shift towards a cross-platform ecosystem. 'Designed for players, not tied to a single store or device, and fully compatible with your existing Xbox game library,' Bond said. Windows-first and multi-store support The new console will be based on a Windows-first approach, positioning Windows as the primary operating system for gaming. This strategy could open the door to third-party platforms such as Steam, expanding beyond Microsoft's own store. The approach is expected to be similar to what Asus is doing with its upcoming Xbox-branded handhelds. Backward compatibility and ecosystem integration A major feature of the next Xbox is backward compatibility, allowing users to play titles from their existing Xbox game library on the new hardware. This move supports continuity for long-time users and reduces the friction typically associated with hardware transitions. A broader Xbox platform The announcements underline Microsoft's shift in strategy: Xbox is no longer just a console but a broad, adaptable platform. It is designed to work seamlessly across devices, third-party stores and cloud services, all unified under the Xbox brand.
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
Microsoft working on next-gen Xbox video game console
The Xbox Series X. Semiconductors powering the new hardware will be made in collaboration with AMD, said Bond. — Unsplash SAN FRANCISCO: Xbox president Sarah Bond on June 18 confirmed that her team is working on a new Xbox video game console. "We're investing in our next generation of hardware line-up across console, handheld, PC, cloud and accessories," Bond said in a video posted on X. Semiconductors powering the new hardware will be made in collaboration with Silicon Valley-based Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). "We've established a strategic, multi-year partnership with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices, including our next generation Xbox consoles." Microsoft earlier this month unveiled its first Xbox-branded handheld gaming devices, touting them as a way to play its vast library of titles anywhere. Two "ROG Xbox Ally" models made in a partnership with Taiwan-based ASUS will be available by the year-end holiday season, Bond said during an online event showcasing games heading for the platform. Microsoft promised to disclose pricing and release date details for Xbox Ally in the coming months. Both Xbox handhelds appeared similar to Microsoft console controllers in terms of buttons, toggles and grips but looked elongated to provide room for center screens. "At Xbox, our vision is for you to play the games you want with the people you want, anywhere you want," Bond said in the video. – AFP
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Microsoft working on next-gen Xbox video game console
SAN FRANCISCO: Xbox president Sarah Bond on Tuesday confirmed that her team is working on a new Xbox video game console. 'We're investing in our next generation of hardware line-up across console, handheld, PC, cloud and accessories,' Bond said in a video posted on X. Semiconductors powering the new hardware will be made in collaboration with Silicon Valley-based Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). 'We've established a strategic, multi-year partnership with AMD to co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices, including our next generation Xbox consoles.' Microsoft earlier this month unveiled its first Xbox-branded handheld gaming devices, touting them as a way to play its vast library of titles anywhere. Two 'ROG Xbox Ally' models made in a partnership with Taiwan-based ASUS will be available by the year-end holiday season, Bond said during an online event showcasing games heading for the platform. Microsoft promised to disclose pricing and release date details for Xbox Ally in the coming months. Both Xbox handhelds appeared similar to Microsoft console controllers in terms of buttons, toggles and grips but looked elongated to provide room for center screens. 'At Xbox, our vision is for you to play the games you want with the people you want, anywhere you want,' Bond said in the video.
Engadget
3 days ago
- Business
- Engadget
Xbox's AMD partnership sheds light on the future of the division's ecosystem
Your Yahoo privacy setting is blocking social media and third-party content You can Allow your personal information to be shared and sold. Something went wrong. Try again. You can update your choice anytime by going to your privacy controls, which are linked to throughout our sites and apps. This page will now refresh. Microsoft has no plans to get out of the console business anytime soon. The company has been reiterating for a while that it's going to make at least one more generation of Xbox consoles. It's now been confirmed that AMD will power the upcoming hardware, as it did with the Xbox Series X/S . Xbox president Sarah Bond made the announcement in a short video . Under the multi-year partnership, Xbox and AMD are "advancing the state of art in gaming silicon to deliver the next generation of graphics innovation; to unlock a deeper level of visual quality; and immersive gameplay and player experiences enhanced with the power of AI, all while maintaining compatibility with your existing library of Xbox games," Bond said. A leaked presentation from May 2022 (which was part of the massive Xbox leak the following year) indicated that Microsoft had yet to make a decision about the processor and GPU for the next Xbox console(s), suggesting in one slide that it planned to strike an agreement with AMD to supply those and in another that it yet had to make an "Arm64 decision." As we now know, the company is doubling down with AMD. On the surface, the AMD agreement is the main news coming out of Bond's announcement. But, if you read between the lines, there are lots of other interesting details to tease out from what she said in the short video. For one thing, the AI aspect of Bond's carefully crafted statement lines up with details in the leak (and other developments ) about Microsoft embracing artificial intelligence and machine learning in future Xbox games, including for things like AI agents. So the company is likely to keep going down that path. Bond said that Microsoft and AMD will "co-engineer silicon across a portfolio of devices including our next-generation Xbox consoles, in your living room and in your hands," implying that the company is planning more handhelds beyond the Xbox-branded ROG devices that are coming later this year. Those are also powered by AMD. In addition, Bond said the next-gen of Xbox devices will maintain "compatibility with your existing library of Xbox games." Xbox has made a commitment to backward compatibility, but that's still welcome to hear. Those are fairly interesting nuggets, no doubt, but there were two other things Bond said that I think are starting to shed more light on the future of the Xbox ecosystem. First, she said that her team is "building you a gaming platform that's always with you, so you can play the games you want across devices anywhere you want, delivering you an Xbox experience not locked to a single store or tied to one device." That "single store" phrasing is a chin stroker, especially in light of the new user interface Xbox is making for the ROG handhelds. The Windows-powered devices won't only allow users to play games from the Xbox PC app, Xbox consoles via remote play and the cloud. They'll integrate games from other PC storefronts, such as (which is run by Microsoft-owned Activision Blizzard), Steam, GOG and more. Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass users have long had access to EA Play games as part of their subscriptions. Ubisoft+ is on Xbox consoles too . Perhaps this concept of not being "locked to a single store" will start to work in other ways. Valve said a few years ago that it would be happy to integrate Game Pass into Steam , for instance. Likewise, Microsoft has said it would welcome Steam and the Epic Games Store app onto its PC app store (though Valve and Epic probably wouldn't want to give Microsoft a cut of game sales). Maybe we might finally see those come to fruition in the next few years. But how might those integrations work on an Xbox console? Bond hinted at that too. She said Xbox is "working closely with the Windows team to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming." Sure, that could be a reference to PC gaming. But Bond didn't explicitly state that, which has me wondering if the next Xbox console might be more of a Windows PC that sits under your TV. That would align with comments made a few months back by Jez Corden of Windows Central , who said the next Xbox is "a PC, in essence, but with a TV-friendly shell." As with the likes of the Steam Deck and other handheld PCs, this would potentially give game developers a specific set of specifications to work with (though ensuring their games are optimized for as many desktop and laptop configurations as possible will still be a complex task). Perhaps the user interface Xbox is debuting on the Ally X devices is a sign of things to come on larger displays. Moreover, the Xbox and Windows teams are stripping out unnecessary aspects of the operating system in the Xbox Ally handhelds to make them run more efficiently. What's to stop them from doing the same in the next Xbox console? That could enable Xbox to offer a more unified ecosystem across all platforms, while streamlining things for developers who want to make games for both PC and Xbox. Don't forget that Microsoft has been making a real effort to make Windows run more smoothly on ARM-based processors as part of its Copilot+ PC push. We might have to wait two or three more years to get a fuller sense of Microsoft's vision for the future of Xbox consoles. But it certainly has the opportunity to knit its platforms more closely together and make playing Xbox (and PC) games across devices a more seamless experience.
Express Tribune
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Handheld 'ROG Xbox Ally' devices unveiled
Microsoft on Sunday unveiled its first Xbox-branded handheld gaming devices, touting them as a way to play its vast library of titles anywhere, as reported by AFP. Two ROG Xbox Ally models made in a partnership with Taiwan-based ASUS will be available by the year-end holiday season, Xbox president Sarah Bond said during an online event showcasing games heading for the platform. "The Xbox Ally is an Xbox you can hold in your hands, bringing together the power of Xbox and the freedom of Windows," Bond said. "On this Xbox, you can play games across your entire library, including all the Windows PC game stores from Xbox and to Steam, GOG (Good Old Games platform) and Ubisoft Connect." The peek at Xbox Ally came just days after the release of Nintendo's Switch 2, the handheld console that could score record early sales for the Japanese Super Mario creator. The Nintendo device, which features a bigger screen and more processing power, is an upgrade to the Switch that became a global phenomenon with hit games such as "Animal Crossing." Microsoft promised to disclose pricing and release date details for Xbox Ally in the coming months. Both Xbox handhelds appeared similar to Microsoft console controllers in terms of buttons, toggles and grips but looked elongated to provide room for center screens. "When you power on your Xbox Ally, you'll boot directly into the Xbox full screen experience, a new feature optimized specifically for handheld gaming," Microsoft said in a release. "The Xbox Ally and Xbox Ally X are perfect for players looking to take an approachable gaming experience with you during travels – – whether it's between airports, or between the comfiest chairs in the living room."
