Tuesday, December 19th 2023
Microsoft's Next-Gen Xbox for 2028 to Combine AMD Zen 6 and RDNA5 with a Powerful NPU and Cloud Integration
Microsoft Xbox Series X/S, their hardware refreshes, and variants, will reportedly be the company's mainstay all the way up until 2028, the company disclosed in its documents filed as part of its anti-trust lawsuit with the FTC. In a presentation slide titled "From "Zero Microsoft" to "Full Microsoft," the company explains how its next gen Xbox, scheduled for calendar year (CY) 2028, will see a full convergence of Microsoft co-developed hardware, software, and cloud compute services, into a powerful entertainment system. It elaborates on this in another slide, titled "Cohesive Hybrid Compute," where it states the company's vision to be the development of "a next generation hybrid game platform capable of leveraging the combined power of the client and cloud to deliver deeper immersion and entirely new classes of game experiences."
From the looks of it, Microsoft fully understands the creator economy that has been built over the gaming industry, and wants to develop its next-gen console to target exactly this—a single device from which people can play, stream, and create content from—something that's traditionally reserved for gaming desktop PCs. Game streamers playing on consoles usually have an entire creator PC setup handling the production and streaming side of things. Keeping this exact use-case in mind, Microsoft plans to "enable new levels of performance beyond the capabilities of the client hardware alone," by which it means that not only will the console rely on its own hardware—which could be jaw-dropping powerful as you'll see—but also leverage cloud compute services from Microsoft.
Before all else, the hardware. Microsoft dropped its first confirmation that its partnership with AMD for the semi-custom SoC at the heart of its consoles, will continue into the late 2020s. AMD holds both x86 and Arm licenses, and the CPU component of this chip could feature either Arm or x86-64, and if Microsoft picks the latter, it expects to use AMD's "Zen 6" microarchitecture" for its CPU. Given that AMD plans to launch "Zen 5" in 2024, "Zen 6" is highly likely to not only release, but also mature by 2028. Microsoft will definitely look to have a hybrid CPU core admixture (similar to Arm big.LITTLE), where there are two or more kinds of CPU cores in an SoC that operate at entirely different performance/Watt bands from each other.
The GPU will either be co-designed with AMD, or be licensed from it; and will be based on "Navi 5," which is very likely the generation of AMD GPUs based on the RDNA5 graphics architecture, which is at least two generations ahead of the current RDNA3. Microsoft also wants the silicon to feature an NPU for on-device AI acceleration. AMD's XDNA NPU driving the "Hawk Point" mobile processor already claims performance at par with Intel's NPU driving the Core Ultra "Meteor Lake," with the company expected to step up performance in 2024 with XDNA2 that debuts with "Strix Point."
As for the graphics software stack, Microsoft is expected to release the next generation DirectX API sometime between now and 2028. The company's 2024 release of the Windows 12 PC operating system could serve as a good springboard for a new DirectX version. The slide references a "next generation" DXR component. It also talks about dynamic global illumination; a generational uplift in geometric fidelity with micropolygon rendering optimizations; and a proprietary super resolution technology that leverages AI. The company also touches upon its next generation universal controller, codenamed "Igraine," with a "direct to cloud" connectivity.
Sources:
El Chapuzas Informatico, Red Gaming Tech, VideoCardz
From the looks of it, Microsoft fully understands the creator economy that has been built over the gaming industry, and wants to develop its next-gen console to target exactly this—a single device from which people can play, stream, and create content from—something that's traditionally reserved for gaming desktop PCs. Game streamers playing on consoles usually have an entire creator PC setup handling the production and streaming side of things. Keeping this exact use-case in mind, Microsoft plans to "enable new levels of performance beyond the capabilities of the client hardware alone," by which it means that not only will the console rely on its own hardware—which could be jaw-dropping powerful as you'll see—but also leverage cloud compute services from Microsoft.
The GPU will either be co-designed with AMD, or be licensed from it; and will be based on "Navi 5," which is very likely the generation of AMD GPUs based on the RDNA5 graphics architecture, which is at least two generations ahead of the current RDNA3. Microsoft also wants the silicon to feature an NPU for on-device AI acceleration. AMD's XDNA NPU driving the "Hawk Point" mobile processor already claims performance at par with Intel's NPU driving the Core Ultra "Meteor Lake," with the company expected to step up performance in 2024 with XDNA2 that debuts with "Strix Point."
As for the graphics software stack, Microsoft is expected to release the next generation DirectX API sometime between now and 2028. The company's 2024 release of the Windows 12 PC operating system could serve as a good springboard for a new DirectX version. The slide references a "next generation" DXR component. It also talks about dynamic global illumination; a generational uplift in geometric fidelity with micropolygon rendering optimizations; and a proprietary super resolution technology that leverages AI. The company also touches upon its next generation universal controller, codenamed "Igraine," with a "direct to cloud" connectivity.
70 Comments on Microsoft's Next-Gen Xbox for 2028 to Combine AMD Zen 6 and RDNA5 with a Powerful NPU and Cloud Integration
Lemme see if you understand: That graph was removed from Tweaktown's article because it's inaccurate and misleading. Phil Spencer said it's in the single digits and he was asked about it because Microsoft doesn't disclose the data.
Plus, Microsoft is a Trillion Dollar company, and Nintendo is not. AI is a major cash flow for NVIDIA, DLSS and RTX for GAMERS is not.
I think (and this is my theory) Xbox is being treated as an investment fund for the +$100B Microsoft usually has in cash. The moment Xbox hardware is too much of a burden or a limiting factor they will become a third party and turn Game Pass into a service for their exclusives only. Nothing would really happen because I bet it's within their expectations and paying a 30% cut to Sony is better than having less than 20% of the console market.
And I do agree, its unlikely the profits are huge. But what MS did gain for all that money is a strong position in the gaming market. And they still post yearly results that are positive. Xbox is growing YoY. Whatever that takes.
I'm not saying they should pack or sell their assets. I'm saying it makes no sense keeping the Xbox hardware after investing so much because it's obvious they can't steer clear from the abyss.
The fact remains, gaming grows YoY and Xbox grows too. Whether it keeps pace doesn't matter, there is growth. Mobile has been growing faster than ANY console for years. Doesn't mean consoles do bad, nor does console growth mean the PC gaming growth is bad. The market diversifies, and grows, people have more than one device. When tablets came out, we already had to conclude it wasn't replacing any device much, it was mostly in addition to other devices doing pretty much the same thing. It can exist between mobile and laptop just fine. The laptop still is very much alive. The desktop is alive. Consoles are alive. Cloud gaming isn't removing much in the non-cloud gaming space either - its just yet another way to access content, people use it when they have no better options, and not to replace a lower-latency, higher quality experience.
MS with their IP & reach could easily be the top gaming company in a decade!
There will be new consoles. What people don't appreciate is that we are into PC and are now on AM5 and it is a real investment to build a powerful PC. The Xbox is basically a 5800X/6700/6800 combination that translates to AM4 but still cheaper than building a similar PC. Sony have already released info on PS5 Pro but that Network does not have the potential of Gamepass for penetration. Even in 2028 there may be requirements for 8K, Faster networking hardware and just faster general hardware so yes I would expect a box to get onto Gamepass will be relevant to MS.
There is a ton of matchbox vs hotwheels in PS vs MS but at the end of the day the PC is better for getting more Japanese Games, thanks to the Playstaion and the console/PC line is so blurred that Console ports are for the most part if you have a similar or faster AMD system nice.
Xbox Series X is a great piece of hardware and so is PS5. You can enjoy most of the games you enjoy on PC, except for PC centric games, with good graphics and no managing of video options / drivers. The problem with the console, specifically Xbox, is subscription centric.
Everything is a subscription these days and it's beyond annoying. There is some relief with Steam that I control what I want to buy and how often I want to budget gaming.
One good thing about the PS5 is its quality of games, disc centric, and not forcing me into a subscription service. Not sure how much longer that will last.
Its an advantage, but only if you use these desktops for different purposes. I always move parts from my gaming PC to the HTPC downstairs, the latter being practically free.
If its about the amount of work involved, sure. The PC always loses from a console. You pay that advantage in time with limitations the PC doesn't have. Similar things apply to it in comparison to smart TVs, digital settop boxes and smartphones/apps to drive your content. You can indeed get the services brought to your door. It also means you lose control over your content.