Rumors said that the next generation of Xbox, Project Scarlett, could be a console family. Now Phil Spencer says: No, Microsoft is focused on developing a high-end console as a successor to the Xbox One.
Where did the idea come from that there could be multiple consoles? That also came from Phil Spencer. He used the term “Game Consoles” in the plural at E3 2018.
One might have interpreted “Gaming Consoles in production” – this statement from Spencer was related to the “next generation of Xbox.”
According to insider reports that came out gradually, it was thought that “Project Scarlett”, the generation after the Xbox One, could consist of two consoles:
- Anaconda – the high-end console, which would compete with the PlayStation 5
- Lockhart, a slightly trimmed-down, cheaper version
It was expected that Microsoft would expand its range with a console family, similar to the current stronger Xbox One X and the slightly trimmed-down Xbox One S.
Xbox One will only have one console as next-gen successor
This is what Phil Spencer says now: In a recent interview with Business Insider, Phil Spencer says that Project Scarlett is the only next-gen console that Microsoft is working on.
“Last year we said consoles and then released one console and now we’ve detailed another console,” says Spencer.
“Technically speaking, that’s plural,” said Spencer, laughing in the interview.
At the moment, they are focused on Project Scarlett and bringing it to the stage.
The “Lockhart” console or a counterpart will therefore not come.
What was the other console? Apparently, Spencer is referring to the second console as the “Xbox One S All-Digital Edition”, a current generation console that no longer has a drive.
This was introduced between the previous “console” statement and the current statement that they are only making one console.
Whether another console will be released after Project Scarlett in 2021, akin to the Xbox One X, is currently not known.
It is expected that Project Scarlett will come out at the end of 2020 and will compete with the PlayStation 5.
Clever solution from Microsoft
What’s behind this: There actually were “concrete reports” that Microsoft was working on two consoles for the next generation. However, these plans were not officially presented and can therefore be easily denied.
It is quite possible that Microsoft changed plans one and a half years before the release and is now making it look like Spencer meant a very different console with the plural than everyone assumed.
From Spencer’s laughter and the remark “Technically speaking, that’s plural”, one can assume that Microsoft changed its plans for the end of 2020 and is now cleverly playing it off.
