Microsoft plans to introduce its next Xbox gaming console in 2028

While plans may have possibly changed, the expected launch timeframe was mentioned at a meeting in May 2022, attended by top company executives including CEO Satya Nadella, CFO Amy Hood, and head of gaming Phil Spencer, as reported by Axios.

Excerpts from the meeting transcript were made public as part of Microsoft's legal battle with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which is attempting to block Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

During the meeting, one of Microsoft's executives inquired if the next Xbox gaming console might depart from having fixed hardware specifications.

"One of the strengths of consoles has been providing developers with a clear target platform, and has been really effective in this," said Anuj Gosalia, corporate vice president of immersive experiences.

Another question read: "Is the plan for 2028 to maintain this model or introduce a more flexible model akin to Windows capabilities?"

"We've already embarked on this journey with Xbox One and Xbox One X, furthering it with Series S/X," replied Kevin Gammill, corporate vice president of gaming ecosystems.

"We need to become even more flexible in the future with the 10th generation but also provide the ability for creators to leverage unique hardware capabilities."

Regarding the potential launch timing of new hardware in statements provided to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority last year, Microsoft's lawyers stated, "The next new generation of consoles are not expected to be released before the fall of 2028 at the very earliest."

Microsoft and Sony both released their current-generation consoles, Xbox Series X/S and PS5 respectively, in November 2020.

Although both companies have previously introduced significant upgrades to their consoles after 3-4 years on the market, current supply issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have impacted the adoption rates and may have affected the timelines for any planned mid-cycle hardware refreshes.

In June, Xbox boss Spencer stated that a potential mid-cycle upgrade for Series X was not a priority for Microsoft, and he reiterated this in interviews published last month.

"As soon as you start introducing mid-generation refreshes, you present developers with a multitude of questions about which platform they should focus on," he told Eurogamer.

Spencer added, "If we enter a console world where every two years, we have three or four closed ecosystems that are upgrading their hardware every two years, I start to wonder - how does that benefit creators or players? To me, it feels like we are introducing a ton of complexity for creators and players in something that used to be very simple. And perhaps there's another model for us."

He also told IGN that he believes "we're kind of at the end of the beginning" of the current console cycle. "So I think we need to let devs settle on this hardware and get the most out of it."