Big new Xbox console details revealed by insider including release date

Fresh details about the upcoming new Xbox console, including a release window, have been revealed by a reputable insider.

Jez Corden, a Microsoft and Xbox insider who is the editor of Windows Central, recently appeared on an episode of The Xbox Two Podcast and revealed the console will be more like a PC and revealed a release date for it.

It comes after a Call of Duty leaker who posts as @TheGhostOfHope on X / Twitter claimed the 2026 Call of Duty title will not run on PS4 or Xbox One consoles and that the game is being developed for a brand new Xbox console which will release the same year.

Corden said (via The Gamer): "The idea that developers have already gotten the next-gen Xbox's devkit, that's just not accurate. And also, the next Xbox is Windows based, most people assume.

"The whole idea of the next Xbox is that it's gonna be a PC in essence but with a TV friendly shell that also has a specific set of specs in mind, so developers will be building for Windows PC in a way but in such a way that they know exactly what the specs will be, so they can optimise exactly for it.

"Maybe the Call of Duty stuff is accurate but the devkit talk is more about what kind of specs they've been told to target for the next Xbox. I'm pretty sure new hardware is not 2026, it's 2027."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Microsoft completed a deal to acquire Activision Blizzard in October 2023 for $69bn but faced huge opposition from rival companies and a lawsuit was filed against the acquisition before it was complete.

Court documents from that case confirmed Xbox was already working on a new console to succeed the Xbox Series X/S in 2023 and a recent report claimed that new console "has been fully approved and costed all the way up the chain".

The documents also stated Xbox is planning to release the console by 2028 but it could be sooner than that.

There were rumours that Microsoft was planning to release a new console in 2026 called Xbox Prime but this speculation was quickly shut down by Corden.

None of this has been confirmed by Xbox or Activision Blizzard at the time of writing.

For more from indy100, check out our best 100 video games of all time and the huge Nintendo Switch 2 tech details that have been revealed in official documents.

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