Report: Next-gen Xbox PC is not locked in for 2027 launch

The industry believes that Microsoft could launch its new next-gen Xbox PC sometime next year, but new reports say that nothing has been locked into place just yet.

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AMD CEO Lisa Su recently confirmed the new SoC design for the next-gen Xbox PC is "progressing well," and based on the current pace of development, the new Xbox chip could be readily available in time for mass production to allow for a console release in 2027. This led to speculation that the new system, which is expected to be a Windows 11 PC that masquerades as a console, could indeed launch next year.

Nothing has been confirmed or announced by Microsoft, and while Microsoft has been co-engineering the new AI-enabled Xbox chip closely with AMD with advanced new features (technical details here), info about launches are handled by marketing and not another company's CEO. In any case, new reports from Windows Central suggest that Microsoft isn't yet ready to lock in a 2027 launch for the new Xbox PC.

• Read more: AMD on next-gen Xbox: 'We'll go beyond making custom chips for Xbox consoles'
• Read more: AMD CEO says its new semi-custom SoC is ready for next-gen Xbox launching in 2027
• Read more: The next-gen Xbox console runs full Windows 11: Steam, Epic Games Store, fresh OEM designs

Details and specifics are slim, but Microsoft's hesitancy stems from the Xbox PC environment, which is slowly becoming more console-like. Microsoft reportedly wants to shore up and streamline more Windows 11 processes to enable better gaming experiences--in short, Microsoft needs more time to make sure the unification of the Xbox OS and Windows 11 goes smoothly.

As for Microsoft's own comments on a next-gen Xbox release date, the company commented on Gen 10 console launch timing in the FTC trial from 2023.

At the time, Microsoft believed that the 10th console generation would start in 2028"at the very earliest," not in 2027.

"The Parties do not dispute that some portion of gamers are likely to re-assess their console ownership at the start of a new generation. But they also note that this is an event that only occurs approximately every eight years. Indeed the next new generation of consoles are not expected to be released before the fall of 2028 at the very earliest," Microsoft lawyers had said at the time.

So much has changed in that short amount of time, with the games industry shedding tens of thousands of workers while artificial intelligence hungrily gobbles up the same parts needed for console production.