Xbox Series X (INTRODUCING)

 INTRODUCING THE XBOX SERIES X 

Previously codenamed Xbox Project Scarlett, the Xbox Series X was announced during the Game Awards in 2019, and according to Microsoft, was designed to transport players into the “future of gaming”. Built around impressive new hardware from AMD, including Navi graphics architecture and a Zen 2 CPU, the Series X console will minimize or even eliminate load times on blockbuster gaming titles, helping you get into the action as soon as possible. Data suggests that the Series X is four times more powerful than the current Xbox One X, offers four times better performance than the current generation, representing “the biggest generational leap” in the history of the Xbox. Much has been said of the Xbox and its rival the PlayStation 5, and although both offer eyewatering specs, we won’t know for sure which will come out on top as the ultimate console until we get our hands on both in November. Diving deeper into the specs of the new Series X, Microsoft has promised 120 FPS as well as support for 8K, and ray tracing that’s supported by dedicated hardware. A spokesperson for the company said that the new device offered “frame rates we’ve never seen before.” Microsoft says that the Series X will be the world’s most powerful games console, powered by Zen 2 and RDNA 2 architectures, helping developers leverage 12 teraflops of GPU processing, aided by variable-rate shading (VRS) technology, designed to stabilize the framerate and increase resolutions for games. The console will also add support for DirectX raytracing, so that the games will feature true-to-life lighting, accurate reflections, and realistic acoustics in real-time, adding to the immersion. By introducing a new SSD, game worlds can be larger and more dynamic than ever, and load in a flash. Thanks to a new Quick Resume feature, multiple games can be suspended and picked up later at a moment’s notice, without having to spend an age waiting for the loading screen to disappear. Another new technology introduced on the console is Dynamic Latency Input (DLI), which will optimize latency from the Xbox Controller, ensuring that input is synchronized immediately. This will make controls more precise and responsive, and thanks to HDMI 2.1 support, other peripherals can take advantage of reduced latency, too. An exciting new addition to the Xbox is Smart Delivery, which will allow players to access the best version of their game without having to pay for a second copy for the Xbox Series X. The idea is that, if you already own the Xbox One version of a game, you’ll unlock the Series X version, too, so you don’t need to wait around for the console to be released to access the latest and greatest titles. Halo Infinite, for example, will launch alongside the Series X, and it can be purchased for the Xbox One and later “converted” when you upgrade your console.

What really matters to gaming fanatics is the internals. Xbox Series X will come with eight Zen 2 CPU cores at 3.8GHz, and when paired with 12 teraflops of GPU power, the system offers unbeatable power and performance. The Series X will render detailed, photo-realistic environments in seconds, and offers improved draw-distances that don’t compromise on speed. 4K resolution at 60 FPS is also possible, and in some cases, 120 frames per second will be supported. One of the most valued features is backward compatibility, with Microsoft promising that the console will support Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, and accessories and controllers from previous models will also be supported, which will be a relief to some.

Microsoft is including a solid-state drive in the Xbox Series X, and it will feature a terabyte of internal storage and that can be expanded via an external hard drive. This will sit alongside 16GB RAM, a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc drive, and Project xCloud, which is Microsoft’s streaming platform that will allow you to play more than 50 games on your Android device, streaming directly from the cloud over Wi-Fi or your mobile network, similar to Google’s Stadia concept.

What’s particularly interesting to note regarding specifications is that the PlayStation 5, at least on paper, is significantly less powerful than the Series X. Of course, there’s more to a games console than its storage capacity and processing power - Microsoft often has a distinct lack of exclusives on its platform, which pushes users back to Sony. But whilst both consoles use GPUs based on AMD’s rDNA 2 architecture, they’re far from the same; the PlayStation 5 will be limited to 30 compute units, with a max boost clock of 2.23GHz, whereas the Xbox Series X will have 52 compute units, with a constant clock speed of 1.8GHz. It’s hard to give an accurate comparison without benchmarks from both, and the truth is that the extra power might not matter if Sony is able to optimize its on-console tech.

AN IMPRESSIVE COLLECTION OF GAMES 

In late July, Microsoft upped the ante on its new console by confirming a whole host of new games and IPs coming to the platform on release. Halo Infinite is the blockbuster title here, offering open-world gameplay that takes you on the next chapter of the Master Chief story. The next-generation Forza Motorsport was announced, described as “automotive entertainment reimagined for a new generation.” Everwild from developer Rare is another title that has been teased, whilst the next evolution in the State of Decay franchise was confirmed, though it won’t make launch. Obsidian Entertainment lifted the lid on Avowed, a brand new first-person RPG set in the studio’s Pillars of Eternity world, marking Obsidian’s first “big game” for Xbox since its acquisition in 2018. It has been reported that the game will be set on Pillars of Eternity’s world, which will be welcome news for fans of the franchise, though there’s no news on a release date just yet. We do know, though, that the title will be coming to Windows 10, too. Tetris Effect was confirmed to be exclusive to the Xbox platform for a limited time, whilst Destiny 2 and its upcoming expansion, known as Beyond Light, will be coming to Xbox Games Pass. Other titles confirmed include As Dusk Falls, The Medium, and The Gunk. Aviation geeks will also be pleased to hear that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 will be making its way to the platform in 2021. Confirmed to be dropping on Windows 10 on August 18 after a year of public alphas, gamers can take to the skies and experience the joy of flight in the next generation of the franchise, where the world is quite literally at players’ fingertips. Although we don’t have an exact release date for the Xbox Series X just yet, we do know that the console will be the most expensive in Microsoft’s history.