Report: 10th gen Xbox due out in 2026 with next-gen optimized Call of Duty game

Microsoft's next Xbox console could release sometime in 2026 with Call of Duty at or near the system's launch.

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New reports suggest that the next-gen Xbox console and Xbox Series successor hardware could be out by 2026. Sources have told credible leaker TheGhostOfHope that next year's Call of Duty game is being developed on devkits for Microsoft's Gen 10 Xbox, potentially indicating that the new Xbox could see a release in 2026. Documents from the FTC v Microsoft trial show that Microsoft expects Sony to release a PlayStation 6 in 2028.

Not much is known about the next Xbox, but Microsoft has repeatedly confirmed a new console is on the way despite the lack of hardware growth at the company. We've postulated that the future of Xbox hardware could be fragmented, meaning we could see some sort of handheld Xbox system accompanying a new console.

Here's what Xbox president Sarah Bond said about the new Xbox console back in February 2024:

"When we look at hardware, it's where you really get the flagship seminal experience of Xbox. It also represents a developer target. Our developers can build the specs of our hardware, and we invest to make sure when they do that, the games are going to run great on our hardware but they're also going to be able to be accessed across any screen because of all the other investments we make.

"So we're giving them an easy way to access as many players as possible. And we actually have more creators right now building for Xbox than ever before by nature of those investments.

"We've got more to come. There's some exciting stuff coming out in hardware that we're going to share this holiday season and we're also invested in the next generation roadmap.

"And what we're really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions that they're building."

During an annual shareholders Q&A session in December 2024, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told investors that hardware innovations would continue:

"More importantly, I think, long term, as a company, we can bring the best of AI innovation, cloud innovation, console innovation, PC innovation to build the best games that can be enjoyed by gamers everywhere."

More recently, Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer talked about hardware in a January 2025 interview with Gamtertag Radio:

"Our own hardware...it's fundamental to what Xbox is. It's not lost to me that I've said over and over that 'box' is in the name of our brand.

"Let's go build innovative hardware that people want to use to play, whether that's in their hands, whether it's on their television or even other places.

"I love our hardware team and I spent some time with them just this week, and the roadmap that they have, and I think we're learning a lot from this."

This console hardware saturated market, which has seen PlayStation vastly outpacing Xbox across two generations, coupled with selling loss-leading hardware, has pushed Microsoft to prioritize digital content and services--hence Game Pass and the newer trend of selling all games everywhere all at once, even rival platforms.

It's possible that the next Xbox will utilize some sort of dedicated AI chip, potentially an NPU (neural processing unit), in order to facilitate more AI-related tasks for the platform. Microsoft has gone all-in on AI and has created Muse, a generative AI toolset that can literally make gameplay on-the-fly with just player inputs.