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Xbox One

For months, the Internet has been buzzing about the upcoming Sony PlayStation 4 Neo, a major refresh of the game panel that'south said to deliver significantly improved graphics, a faster variant of the CPU core (with a bump to 2.1GHz, upwardly from 1.6GHz) and maybe back up for Ultra Hard disk drive Blu-ray playback. Throughout it all, there's been little information on what Microsoft might answer with, even though the Xbox 1 is significantly less powerful than the current PS4 and is arguably in even more need of an update than its Sony rival. Now, a new written report claims that Microsoft is prepping a new arrangement for 2022 with support for the Oculus Rift.

The written report, by Kotaku, claims that we'll see a 2TB system arrive subsequently this year in a smaller, thinner form factor, but that a faster and more powerful Xbox 1 won't arrive until 2022. Similar Sony, Microsoft is rumored to be moving to an Apple-like model in which games volition be supported across a range of devices. This allows both companies to confine back up to a static ready of products, then migrate that back up over time. Neither company has unveiled details of how this support model volition work, however, so our ability to draw inferences as to its office is limited.

Full Windows 10 integration, Oculus Rift support?

One major point Microsoft is obviously pushing going forrard is the idea that all games should have simultaneous releases across the PC and Xbox markets and exist cantankerous-compatible, including franchises similar Halo. This was a pop idea when the company offset announced it, but that popularity has taken some significant hits of late.

As of this writing, about of the Windows Shop titles have been ugly railroad train wrecks. The outset game, Rise of the Tomb Raider, ran reasonably well, but Windows Shop titles don't support modding, multi-GPU configurations, and have express support for features like disabling Five-sync. Unlike games built on Steam, they're also locked to a single operating organization. This fits well with Microsoft'due south "Windows 10 is the merely OS we'll always release again" philosophy, and exceptionally poorly with anyone who cares about multi-Os support. Some of these missing features take been added in updates, some are on the table for inclusion in the Ceremony Update, and some, similar modding support, have no ETA.

The platform might ally with Oculus Rift to bring full support for the VR platform to the next Xbox One, the report said, and that its GPU will be technically capable of 4K. This "technical" adequacy is nearly certainly a bullet signal rather than a genuine feature, much as information technology volition be for the "PlayStation 4K." While 14nm graphics and Polaris should evangelize a significant improvement over current-day visuals, no $100 SoC is going to be 4K-capable at significant frame rates.

What's also striking almost this report is that Microsoft plain isn't planning to launch an updated platform until 2022, well after Sony (the PS4K is expected to get in this yr, perhaps just before the launch of PlayStation VR.) That would mean Microsoft is going to cede the banner of improved console performance to Sony through the Christmas 2022 season, and no refreshed Xbox SKU with a 2TB HDD is going to stem the tide of cash flowing to Sony if information technology takes an even more than decisive pb in the console wars.