Microsoft Announces Their Next-Gen Console, Dubbed “Project Scarlett”

Microsoft hit the E3 stage today and revealed the first details about their next gaming console. The next-gen Xbox has been dubbed “Project Scarlett” and will look to push the Xbox back to the forefront of console gaming. After taking a healthy beating at the hands of Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft is taking a step back and focusing on what matters most for gamers: Gaming. Their hearts are in the right place, but will their next console restore them to their former glory?

Microsoft spent a lot of time talking about load times, and how frustrating they can be. Their plan to combat this is with an all-new SSD that can act as virtual RAM, essentially eliminating the need for long “elevator scenes” that allowed for the game to load in the background. That, combined with an all-new custom processor from AMD and the latest in Zen-2 and Navi technology will make Project Scarlett a wildly powerful console. It will most certainly have to be to hold up to the performance that Microsoft bragged it will be capable of.

The next step in gaming will see consoles capable of 8K resolution, running at up to 120 FPS (frames per second). Even more so than that, we’ll also see a whole new level of gaming presented to us, one that won’t require physical discs at all. During their press conference, Microsoft also revealed plans for a cloud-based streaming service. This service will be capable of delivering all your favorite Xbox games to you regardless of the device you’re using.

This will be a necessity if the next Xbox plans to truly compete with Sony’s next-gen console and the upcoming Google Stadia gaming service. Both will feature heavily upscaled graphic and performance capabilities, all while taking full advantage of cloud based streaming, and play anywhere gaming models.

Either way, the next Xbox sounds incredible, and I can’t wait to play some of the titles they announced today. Project Scarlett is set to drop during the holiday season next year, but you don’t have to wait that long to get your first fix. Check out the official reveal video below, and let us know what you think in the comments!