Microsoft’s E3 press conference took place on Sunday, June 11, and it featured the much-awaited reveal of the Xbox One X, the tech giant’s next-generation console. It launches on November 7 for $499.
While the specs of the new system were revealed ahead of its official presentation, we learned more details by the hand of Microsoft’s top execs and developers. Among other things, backward game compatibility is an official feature.
Phil Spencer and several studio heads took us through the several new games coming to the platform. Without further ado, here is all we learned and confirmed about the upcoming Xbox One X.
Xbox One X: Specs and features
Formerly known as Project Scorpio, the Xbox One X now has an official name. “The most powerful console ever” got its codename in honor to the Scorpio Engine, the 6-teraflop chip that powers the console.
The system is the smallest of the Xbox One lineup, roughly the size of two controllers put together side to side. It sports a gray look instead of the black and white options we’ve seen before, but the craftsmanship is best appreciated in the inside.
Microsoft reengineered the inner components of the platform to withstand the power of the Scorpio Engine. With 12 GB of GDDR5 memory and 1 TB of storage, the console represents actual hardware and technical innovation for gamers and developers alike.
The Xbox One X supports full 4K resolutions, textures, and assets at 8 million pixels. Through ‘supersampling’ techniques, it is smart enough to downscale the output for 1080p TVs retaining better quality to not leave anyone out of the great experience it provides.
A liquid-cooled vapor chamber commonly used in servers and workstations controls the temperature, which makes the Xbox One X capable of supporting HDR, Dolby Atmos features 4K UHD BluRay playback, a wider color gamut, and more while maximizing efficiency.
Xbox One X: Game list
Phil Spencer started the extensive showcase of new games with Forza Motorsport 7, the next installment of the popular racing series by Microsoft. It runs at native 4K and 60 fps, and it was revealed along with the 2018 Porsche 911 GT2RS.
There will be a wide catalog of supercars available to gamers, who will also be able to experience the best competitive experience on Xbox One X. More driving circuits, track conditions, and dynamic elements will be available in Forza 7.
Assassin’s Creed Origins was the next highlight of the conference, with a launch date revealed for October 27 this year. Set in Ancient Egypt, players take the role of Bayek, the first man in the lineage of the Assassin’s Brotherhood.
More RPG elements are present in this installment of the series, including a falcon companion that serves the player as a vantage point to see landscapes from above. The engineers enhanced the gameplay mechanics to fit the new setting.
Audiences also got a closer look at Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, the massively multiplayer online experience that is coming to Xbox One as an exclusive for PC. The survival ‘battle royale’ game will hit consoles around the end of the year.
State of Decay 2, on the other hand, was confirmed to release next Spring for both PC and Xbox One. It introduces co-op mode with up to three other players, and it adds stronghold settlement, the zombie survival, and resource gathering elements we know from the first game.
Mojang had a short segment of the presentation to announce the unification of cross-platform gaming, which means console, PC, VR, and mobile Minecraft players will be able to hang out in the block universe in massive community-run servers later this year.
Minecraft is also getting a Super Duper Graphics Pack launching this fall, which puts it up to speed with the 4K standards of the Xbox One X. This will include new blocks, HDR support, better lighting, and so on.
Other in-house games introduced at the presentation were Metro Exodus, a dystopian survival adventure game coming next year; The Darwin Project, an Overwatch-esque brawler with e-sports elements; and Deep Rock Galactic, a 2D game with resource-mining and shooting elements included.
Third-party studios came next, introducing Dragon Ball Fighter Z with original anime-like graphics, 3v3 clashes. It will release in 2018. Black Desert, on the other hand, looked like a new take on a medieval RPG with different classes, abilities, magic skills and enemies.
The Last Night and The Artful Escape were two unique displays of creativity at Microsoft’s conference: The first one being a Blade Runner-inspired adventure and the other a 2D platformer with psychedelic music elements in the mix.
Code Vein is coming next year, an action RPG from Bandai Namco that goes full post-apocalyptic vampire dystopia with dramatic exosuits and powerful abilities. Super Lucky’s Tale, in contrast, is a friendly platformer aimed at young gamers.
Sea of Thieves, the much-hyped open world multiplayer adventure, got a big chunk of the exhibit to showcase its gameplay. Highlights included a co-op mode, user-generated scenarios, and naval battle mechanics as a team of players sought after treasure.
The presentation closed with a brief look at Square Enix’s Life is Strange, an extended presentation of Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor’s new nemesis system mechanics and the world premiere of Anthem’s gameplay footage.
Phil Spencer came back to the stage to announce that Xbox Backward Compatibility Program already had a library of more than 385 Xbox 360 games available for Xbox One players, but that it was adding original Xbox titles as well later this year.
It means that those who get an Xbox One X later this year not only will be able to enjoy all of these upcoming titles but also classics as old as Crimson Skies, which had success in the original system back in the day.
Price, release date, and availability
Microsoft’s Xbox One X will launch on November 7 worldwide for $499. No bundle deals were announced, but there should be offers due to the holiday season.
Source: Microsoft