In a new interview, Xbox President Sarah Bond quelled rumours that a new Xbox console wouldn’t release and instead, she said it will be very premium.
Despite all the rumours that Xbox is being removed from retailers (like Costco), Xbox has come out and confirmed that they are following the Xbox Series S/X with a next-generation console in collaboration with AMD. Not only that, Xbox President Sarah Bond has just revealed a few details about the new console in an interview with Mashable this week. Before the interview, it was suggested that the next Xbox console is rumoured to be a hybrid system capable of playing both Xbox console games and PC games. When the Xbox console was brought up to Bond, she vaguely suggested that could be correct.
Bond said, “Well, I can tell you you’re right, that the next-gen console is going to be a very premium, very high-end curated experience,” adding, “You’re starting to see some of the thinking that we have in this handheld, but I don’t want to give it all away.” Relating the next-generation Xbox to the recently released Xbox ROG Ally X could spell issues for some users, considering the handheld PC launched at a very premium price point of $999.99. It’s worth mentioning, the ROG Xbox Ally X also allows users to access Steam, GOG, and other storefronts outside of the Xbox store, and Xbox consoles haven’t allowed this functionality.
So, while Bond did relate the next-gen console to the recently released ROG Xbox Ally X, she could have meant many things that the ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X do that the Xbox Series S/X doesn’t, and that could be the hybrid PC nature of the handheld. The “thinking” Bond refers to could even be the storefronts available on ROG Xbox Ally X not available on the Series consoles. Microsoft’s CEO of Gaming, Phil Spencer, said in an interview with Polygon way back in March 2024 that he would like to see other storefronts on Xbox home consoles in the future, and the handheld hybrid is a good start.
The only thing that has been confirmed is Xbox will launch next-gen consoles after Xbox Series, and Sarah Bond’s claim “some of the thinking that we have in this handheld” will be used for it.
