New Xbox console out this year as Microsoft boast of ‘largest technical leap’ for next gen

Looks like the FTC leaks are accurate after all (Picture: Microsoft)

What is rumoured to be a redesigned Xbox Series X and a new controller are due out this autumn, as Xbox fuels talk of a next gen in 2026.

Microsoft has finally commented on long-standing rumours of it bringing certain Xbox exclusives to rival formats, with confirmation of four unnamed titles arriving this year.

Its reasons for not say what they are (it’s blatantly Hi-Fi Rush, Pentiment, Sea Of Thieves, and Grounded) make little sense but Microsoft has been slightly more forthcoming about its hardware – in the sense that it chose to bring up issue unbidden.

Although the rumours about games going multiformat have been lighting up headlines for over a month now several sources have also talked about a new generation of consoles in 2026, including a Switch style hybrid console.

Microsoft didn’t confirm any specific plans, but Xbox president Sarah Bond stated that: ‘We’re also invested in the next generation roadmap and what we’re really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you’ve ever seen in a hardware generation.’

That seems a very difficult promise to keep, given the diminishing graphical improvements seen in recent generations, but while she gave no indication of when exactly the new consoles would be released the mere fact she’s talking about them now suggests they’re probably no more than two or three years away.

That would line up with the idea that the current generation has peaked in terms of console sales, with Sony reporting this week that it expects to sell less PlayStation 5s in 2025 than in 2024. Xbox Series X/S sales have been underperforming all generation, so for that reason alone it would make sense for Xbox to want to clear the table and start again.

The next gen Xbox rumours had suggested a traditional home console model and a Switch style hybrid device and while none of the assembled Xbox execs talked about that during the podcast, Spencer did nothing to dissuade the notion when interviewed by The Verge.

The new controller is codenamed Sebile (Picture: Microsoft)

‘I’m a big fan of handhelds,’ he said when asked why he keeps liking tweets talking about Xbox portables. ‘I’m a big fan, but nothing to announce.’

He then added: ‘We’re kind of learning from what Nintendo has done over the years with Switch, they’ve been fantastic with that. So when I look at Steam Deck and the ROG and my Legion Go, I’m a big fan of that space.’

All of which seems about as unsubtle a clue as you could get, that the rumours are substantially true.

The one thing that wasn’t rumoured was the idea of new hardware this year, although Microsoft themselves already managed to leak that last year, by accidentally making classified documents public during their court case with the Federal Trade Commission – documents which also hinted at the newly rumoured hybrid device.

These included a new controller, with haptic feedback similar to the PlayStation 5’s DualSense, and a redesign of the Xbox Series X in a new cylindrical form with no disc drive – a redesigned Xbox Series S was mentioned but not pictured.

Speaking to The Verge, Spencer pretended not to know about the leaks, even though at the time he tried to dismiss them as ‘old’ and not their ‘real plans’ but, as seems even more obvious now, that’s clearly not true. At least in terms of the basic details.

Officially, all Bond promised was ‘more console and controller options’ this ‘holiday’ but even as vague as that is, it matches up perfectly with the FTC leaks.

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