The new Xbox Series X is officially slated to launch this Winter during the 2020 holiday season. Microsoft gave the lowdown on more of the machine’s specs and how it will focus on compatibility.
The console itself will have 12 Teraflops of power and a custom-build processor based on RDNA 2 and Zen 2 architectures. According to Microsoft, this means it will perform twice as well as the Xbox One X and have four times the processing power of the Xbox One.
It’ll also have Variable Rate Shading, which is a technique that can improve frame rate and resolution by prioritizing things to render. There will also be DirectX raytracing that will enhance visuals in the lighting, shadows, and acoustics department.
As for some of the points more relevant to the gameplay experience, Microsoft claims that load times will be cut down due to the Xbox Series X custom-built SSD, and players will be able to immediately jump back to where they left off in multiple games without loading by using the Quick Resume feature. Dynamic Latency Input (DLI) will optimize latency between online players. The console will use HD 2.1 with new Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) features, which will automatically adjust your display’s refresh rate to match the game you’re playing.
But what Microsoft is really touting as the main point of the Xbox Series X is compatibility. The Series X will work with backwards-compatible games from the Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Additionally, players who play an Xbox Game Studios-exclusive game on Xbox One will be able to get better versions of the game on Xbox Series X without needing to pay extra using the Smart Delivery feature. That said, this feature is open to other developers as well, and one notable title confirmed to use this feature will be Cyberpunk 2077.
Even more information on the Xbox Series X will be continuously shared throughout the months leading up to the holiday 2020 release.
