New Xbox hardware may be powered by ARM chips

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A new Qualcomm job listing suggests future Xbox hardware will use ARM Snapdragon chips.

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During the FTC v Microsoft trial, we were privy to a lot of behind-the-scenes information that we shouldn't have seen. A particular document had been accidentally attached to an exhibit file, and suddenly some of Microsoft's internal plans and ruminations on future Xbox consoles had been leaked--alongside reams of other data. The leaks suggested that Microsoft could have picked ARM to make future next-gen Xbox hardware in some form.

Now according to a new Qualcomm job listing, that might actually happen. Qualcomm is hiring a director of sales for its Surface team, and interestingly enough, Xbox is directly mentioned as well: The role is to "support the sell-in activities for the next generation of Surface and Xbox products built on Snapdragon solutions."

Here's more about the responsibilities of the role:

• Support the sell-in activities for the next generation of Surface and Xbox products built on Snapdragon solutions
• Identify and promote strategic business opportunities for Qualcomm in these areas
• Work with internal and external stakeholders including legal, finance, business units, marketing and field teams to help define the next generation Surface and Xbox portfolios
• Manage global demand profile for assigned product portfolios including demand planning, long lead forecasting, and channel inventory
• Leverage internal data sources in conjunction with industry data sources like IDC to develop accurate long lead forecasts

Relevant reading: Opinion: What the future of Xbox console hardware could look like

According to the files mentioned above, Microsoft VP of gaming devices Jason Ronald spoke to Phil Spencer about investigating ARM use-cases in Xbox hardware back in mid-2022:

"The developer ecosystem is familiar with x64. Inertia says it stays on that path. But performance gains, sustainability, and costs difference mean that we should do the diligence on ARM."We need to finalize our decision criteria so that we can make a decision by end of this CY."

It's likely that a lot of things have changed since then given the $68.7 billion Activision acquisition, inflation, and the current ongoing tariff-affected economic environment.

It's also unclear whether ARM chips would find their way into an actual dedicated console, or if they'd be used for handhelds or perhaps Microsoft's rumored Keystone streaming-only console device. It's also possible that Microsoft is making a low-powered hybrid compute platform that would fill a gap in the ecosystem for low-cost, high-margin subscription-based game access.