Microsoft is previewing its Xbox Series X with real-time gameplay next week – but admits the new console’s games could be delayed due to coronavirus
- Microsoft will demonstrate real-time gameplay of the Xbox Series X next week
- Xbox’s Phil Spencer says the console will be on time but games may be delayed
- The demonstration will be the biggest insight into gameplay yet
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Microsoft has good and bad news for those eagerly awaiting its Xbox Series X.
On the positive side, Microsoft said it’s set to give its biggest preview of the of the next-generation console to date next week – a demonstration that will include snippets of real-time gameplay.
Additionally, as noted by a report from CNBC, the company suggests that Microsoft is slated to release the Series X on time despite obstacles created by a coronavirus pandemic.
Microsoft is set to reveal real-time gameplay for its upcoming Series X console next week and says that some games may be delayed by the coronavirus pandemic
‘Overall, I think we’re in line with where we thought we would be,’ Xbox’s Phil Spencer told CNBC.
On the other hand, Spencer said that game production could be a different story altogether, meaning some titles may take longer to materialize than previously anticipated.
‘I’d say the bigger unknown is probably the game production,’ Spencer told CNBC.
‘Game production is a large scale entertainment activity now, you have hundreds of people coming together, building assets, working through creative.’
Microsoft said it will showcase third-party titles next week but plans to reveal its own games in June according to The Verge.
Microsoft had previously listed ‘Thanksgiving 2020’ as the Series X’s potential release date on many of its official sites but has since clarified to give a looser release date of ‘Holiday 2020.’
While an upcoming showcase of real-time gameplay will be a major reveal, Microsoft has already given a detailed rundown of hardware on its upcoming console.
The Series X will be using a an AMD Zen 2 CPU with eight cores which run at 3.8GHz each in addition to a custom AMD RDNA 2 GPU with 12 teraflops of power.
In addition to the heavy processing power, Microsoft said it will also have room for removable storage in the back of the console – specifically 1TB removable expansion cards.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer has previously announced that the upcoming console will have 12 teraflop of GPU performance, which is two times more powerful than the latest Xbox One X and four times more powerful than the specs of the original Xbox One.
Thanks to a new solid state hard drive, Microsoft says the Series X will also be able to pause and resume multiple games instantly.
As was previously revealed, this means that players will also be able to instantly start playing their favorite games even after a system reboot.
Microsoft has also previously said that the Series X will run games at 4K resolution with the possibility of running 8K resolution with frame rates of up to 120 frames-per-second.