The Xbox Series X/S home consoles have been out for a little over seven months. As the one-year anniversary for both consoles draws near, Microsoft has reaffirmed that its current console models are here to stay, with no hardware refreshes expected anytime soon.
During the 500th episode of Podcast Unlocked, Xbox head Phil Spencer discussed the hardware road map for both consoles and noting that he does not expect either console to have a model refresh in the near future. “There’s nothing that’s going to come out next year that’s going to make you feel like, oh, I should have waited,” Spencer told IGN. “These are the consoles that we have in markets for years. And we built them with that in mind, and I love the tech that’s in there and that capability, and that’s where our focus is going.”
With Spencer seemingly confirming that the future-proof build of both the Series X/S, it feels unlikely that either console will see a model refresh. During the previous generation, Microsoft released the Xbox One, which lasted for three years until it was succeeded by the Xbox One S in 2016. A year later, Microsoft released the Xbox One X, which gave the original hardware a substantial boost. In 2019, Microsoft released an all-digital version of the Xbox One S.
“We don’t have to go do hardware just to go do it. We want to do hardware because it actually creates new opportunities,” Spencer states regarding the Xbox Series X/S. “And I’ve said before, it could be at the lower end that we find more immediate opportunities.”
Yet, Spencer did not shut down the possibility of the future hardware models launching in the Xbox Series lineup as the company continues to explore ways to get more people playing Xbox products and services. On the question of a potential update in the future, Spencer says the team is “having those conversations right now.”
“I’ve said before, it could be at the lower end that we find more immediate opportunities. There’s something for us to do that allows more people to play with xCloud,” Spencer said. “Is there something to do at a higher-end? We’re having those discussions right now. I love the capability of the hardware team and it will be kind of a constant conversation.”
This comes with no surprise for Xbox as the company has made it clear that as it expands the Xbox ecosystem to other devices like smart TVs and streaming sticks, the Xbox game console hardware will continue to remain the “flagship experience” for people looking to experience games through the Xbox brand.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
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