Microsoft’s head of Xbox and gaming, Phil Spencer, has confirmed the company isn’t working on a streaming-only console. Rumors previously suggested that Microsoft’s next-generation Project Scarlett console would ship with both a high-end version, and a “cloud console” with limited amounts of local compute for things like like controller input, image processing, and collision detection.
Spencer admitted that cloud gaming is “one of the directions the industry is headed” and that it is an “inevitability.” However, that doesn’t mean Microsoft has any plans to move away from downloads and disc-based games.
“We have more compute devices around us than we’ve ever had, whether it’s your phone, a Surface Hub or an Xbox,” Spencer said. “The world where compute devices are gone and it’s all coming from the cloud just isn’t the world that we live in today.”
Microsoft launches its xCloud game streaming service in October, beginning with the ability to stream games from your Xbox One to your smartphone. We tried out an early version of the service and were impressed, but how the experience translates to real-world conditions remains to be seen.
Microsoft’s Project Scarlett console will include 8K graphics, SSD storage, and ray tracing support when it launches during the holidays next year. Microsoft is including a custom-designed CPU based on AMD’s Zen 2 and Radeon RDNA architecture, and it’s promising this new processor will be four times more powerful than the Xbox One X. Microsoft is also using fast GDDR6 RAM, and is focusing on improving framerates in games.
