Microsoft has officially revealed its newest gaming console — the Xbox Series X, aka Project Scarlett. Featuring a PC-like design, Xbox has finally joined the PC Master Race (except, it’s a joke). Set for a US holiday 2020 release date, here’s what you need to know about the next-gen console that was announced during Game Awards Show 2019.
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Xbox Series X Revealed – Features up to 8K support and Ray Tracing
The design of Xbox Series X is unlike previous generations. From what it looks to be an all-metal chassis, the rectangular square shape is made to operate at best regardless of the orientation. This means you can position it horizontally or vertically on a surface without worrying about performance degradation. Microsoft is describing its work as an “industrial design” that “enables us to deliver four times the processing power of Xbox One X in the [quietest] and efficient way.”
Speaking of power, the next-gen Xbox console is powered by a “custom-designed processor leveraging the latest Zen 2 and next-generation RDNA architecture”. It supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing that’s popular with Nvidia graphics cards. Furthermore, most games will run in 4K @ 60fps — even with the “possibility” of 120fps — and “8K capability”.
Cloud gaming like Google Stadia seems to be the inevitable future of playing games as the Series X is “designed for a future in the cloud”. While we wait for that future, you can still play games from four previous Xbox generations thanks to backward compatibility.
Outside the console, a new Xbox Wireless Controller is also included. The new size and shape are said to “accommodate an even wider range of people.” Functionality-wise, there’s a new Share button for capturing screenshots and game clips. The new controller will be compatible with Xbox One, Windows 10 PCs, and will be included with every Series X.
To provide the fanbase a glimpse of the Series X’s graphical capabilities, the reveal shows the new Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 processing in real-time. The game will launch in 2020 along with Halo Infinite.
