E3 2016: Microsoft Unveils New Xbox, Project Scorpio, For Holiday 2017 Release

Microsoft's next console "is a monster"

Not content with announcing just one console at E3, the Xbox One S, Microsoft has also revealed details of the long-rumored Project Scorpio.

Project Scorpio is a new, super-powerful Xbox One console, designed from the ground up for 4K HD and VR gaming. The technical specs sound impressive - 6 teraflops of power (about 40% more powerful than Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 Neo); eight CPU cores; over 320GB/s of memory bandwidth. It is, as one person in Microsoft’s unveiling video put it, “a monster”.

But Microsoft is keen to stress that Scorpio isn’t a completely new Xbox - it’s simply another (albeit more powerful) version of the Xbox One, a machine that will be fully compatible with all existing Xbox One games, and which won’t receive its own exclusives. Instead, that raw power will instead be put to use to ensure that games will be able to run at 4K HD. In theory there could also be framerate advantages for many games, of course - particularly for titles running on Xbox One at uncapped framerates; but if you’re hoping for a slew of shiny new games taking advantage of the raw potential of Scorpio, it seems - for the moment, at least - that you’re going to be disappointed.

“Gamers have never had more choice in how and where they play,” Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, said in a press release issued following the reveal. “We are bringing our biggest games lineup ever to Xbox One and Windows 10, uniting gamers across networks on Xbox Live and expanding the Xbox One family of devices with the addition of Xbox One S and Project Scorpio to give gamers more choice in how and where they play. There’s never been a better time to be an Xbox gamer.”

No price point has been set, but Project Scorpio (almost certainly not the console’s final name) is due to launch at the end of 2017.

 

Dale Morgan

Dale Morgan

Founder, Editor in Chief
When Dale isn't crying over his keyboard about his never-ending workload, he's playing games - lots of them. Dale has a particular love for RPGs, Roguelikes and Metroidvanias.
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