Summary
- The next-gen Xbox hardware has reportedly moved past the concept stage of development as of recently.
- Microsoft might soon turn toward making devkits, negotiating parts supplier contracts, and figuring out the rest of the logistics essential to launching a new console generation.
- The next-gen Xbox lineup, which is rumored to include a handheld device, could arrive between 2027 and 2028.
The next-gen Xbox hardware is no longer in a conceptual stage of development, according to a new report from an established industry insider. The claim suggests that Microsoft might soon turn toward making devkits and other preparations for its next iteration of Xbox consoles.
Microsoft has been sporadically teasing its follow-up to the Xbox Series X/S since 2024. Several of the company’s top executives previously said that the next Xbox hardware will offer the “largest technical leap” ever seen in a single console generation, albeit without elaborating on the matter.

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The company’s research and development efforts may have recently passed a major milestone, with Windows Central‘s Jez Corden reporting that “Xbox’s next-gen console hardware has now moved past its early pitch stages,” citing sources close to Microsoft. Elaborating on its current stage of development, the insider said that the Xbox Series X/S successor “has been fully approved and costed all the way up the chain.” With this phase reportedly complete, Microsoft should now be able to focus on producing the first devkits, seeking developer feedback, negotiating supplier contracts, and handling other logistics essential to launching a new console generation.
Next Xbox Generation May Once Again Include 2 Consoles
2020 marked the first occasion on which Microsoft launched a new console generation comprised of two distinct models from day one. Industry watchers have long speculated that the company will stick with that strategy during the tenth console generation, with the Series X getting a conventional successor and the Series S being replaced by a portable device. This theory was further strengthened after Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer confirmed that the company is working on an Xbox handheld, even though he noted that the gadget was still in a prototype stage of development and had not yet been greenlit as of late 2024.
Xbox’s next-gen console hardware has now moved past its early pitch stages and has been fully approved and costed all the way up the chain.
Next-Gen Xbox Console(s) May Arrive by 2028
Released in late 2020, the Xbox Series X and Series S started development circa 2016, roughly three years after the Xbox One hit the store shelves. If the new generation of Microsoft’s consoles follows a similar timeline, it could debut around 2027. According to some private company communications that surfaced online in 2023, Microsoft executives previously projected that the next Xbox console generation would arrive in 2028. Whether they altered their internal expectations in the meantime is unclear.
As things stand right now, Microsoft is unlikely to reveal its Xbox Series X/S successor(s) in the immediate future. Based on its track record over the past 25 years, the company will officially lift the curtain on the fifth iteration of Xbox consoles between 6 and 12 months ahead of their planned market release.
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