The Xbox website was updated with a new blog post from Xbox head Phil Spencer. It’s essentially a Xbox Series X rundown, comprising a list of information about the next-generation platform and a list of promises from the Xbox team. Most of the information is centered around the services Microsoft’s Xbox division is offering, which third parties have to choose to opt into. The post also includes a new announcement concerning the Project xCloud streaming service and its inclusion with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which is good news for anyone planning to look into that.
Spencer started off the post by stating, “You Are the Future of Gaming.” What that means, if you sift through the friendly marketing language, is that Microsoft is showing its hand with a focus (at least initially) on being as consumer-friendly as possible considering the impending debut of new hardware. This will include making additions to the Xbox Game Pass service, making an effort to have more accessory compatibility, and Smart Delivery improvements.
The big news here is that in September 2020, Project xCloud will be rolled out as an included part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which already combines Game Pass with Xbox Live Gold. Spencer also confirmed accessories like the Elite Controller or Adaptive Controller will work with Series X out of the box, and backwards compatibility will include any Xbox One game that doesn’t require Kinect on day one. That’s the plan, and the plan is also for older games from previous gens to look, run, and play better on Xbox Series X.
There’s a lot of information in the post and a lot of it serves as a Xbox Series X rundown of information that isn’t necessarily news, but the above seem to be the major highlights.
Xbox Series X will launch later in 2020.
