FTC v. Microsoft doc leak outs detailed plans for mid-gen Xbox refresh Categorical Occasions

The US Federal Commerce Fee’s case in opposition to Microsoft did not in the end block the corporate’s proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, however leaked paperwork from the case are giving us an unusually detailed take a look at Microsoft’s near-future plans for the Xbox. Courtroom paperwork revealed by the Verge embody a slide deck, full with renders, that element a mid-generation refresh of each Xbox Collection consoles, plus a revamped controller with an up to date design and new options.

The most important modifications are coming to the Xbox Collection X. Codenamed “Brooklin,” the up to date console appears like a wedding of the unique boxy monolith that’s the Collection X and the cylindrical design of Apple’s previous “trash can” Mac Professional. The console could be all-digital, ditching its optical drive however stepping up from 1TB to 2TB of inside storage. The port on the entrance modifications from USB-A to USB-C, and the console would come with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 upgrades.

On the within, the console’s CPU and GPU would use a 6 nm manufacturing course of as an alternative of the present 7 nm course of. As a result of the specs are altering, this implies energy consumption will go down, and the deck signifies that the console’s energy provide might be 15 p.c smaller than the present Collection X (that measures out to round 270 W, based mostly on the 315 W capability of the present energy provide). An “all-new southbridge” will “modernize IO,” and a “new low-power standby mode” would use simply 20 p.c as a lot energy as the present console’s standby mode.

The refresh for the Xbox Collection S is codenamed “Ellewood,” and it’s kind of much less thrilling. The Collection S will get the identical “all-new southbridge” because the Collection X, Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 would spruce up its wi-fi connectivity, and the “low-power standby mode” would scale back energy consumption whereas the console is not getting used. There isn’t any point out of an up to date manufacturing course of for the principle CPU/GPU, nonetheless; the principle draw of the {hardware} could be a 1TB SSD improve on the identical $299 value as the present 512GB mannequin (Microsoft presently sells a 1TB Xbox Collection S for $349).

The deck signifies that each consoles could be accompanied by a revamped controller codenamed “Sebile.” Whereas the present Collection X/S controller is similar to late-model Xbox One controllers, Sebile appears like a considerable revamp, together with a built-in swappable rechargeable battery (no extra juggling AAs or shopping for separate battery packs), “precision haptic suggestions,” an accelerometer, and “modular thumbsticks” that may be changed extra simply in the event that they put on out.

The slide deck features a detailed timeline for launch; the Sebile gamepad would launch in late Might of 2024 for $70, adopted by an announcement for the brand new console refreshes in June or July. The brand new Xbox Collection S refresh would launch in late August, adopted by the brand new Xbox Collection X in late October; new storage choices for each consoles could be introduced within the first half of 2025. Microsoft would use $199 Black Friday gross sales to filter stock of the present 512GB Xbox Collection S, and each current consoles will go away after their refreshes launch.