XBOX SERIES X — EVERYTHING WE KNOW SO FAR
Posted by melaniejayneashford
SERIES X RUNDOWN
Are you looking forward to Xbox Series X? Confused by all the announcements that have been flooding your feed lately? Check out our handy guide to the latest console from Microsoft.
With the constant updates from Microsoft expect to see more of these in the future, but for now, here’s what we know.
LAUNCH TITLES
When you buy a new console, it makes sense to buy one of those bundled boxes that come with a game. Or at least, to buy a new game, so you can see how good your updated console is. There have recently been a series of games confirming their availability at launch, most notably, Fortnite. With the recent Inside Xbox we also heard about a plethora of games coming to the Series X, check them out here.
The current list of confirmed launch titles is:
- Fortnite
- Gears 5
- Halo Infinite
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Scorn
- The Ascent
- Yakuza: Like A Dragon
There are some major titles there, so Series X will have a great line-up on launch. Titles like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (you can find all the details here) haven’t been given dates yet, although we can assume it’ll be close to launch if it’s Holiday 2020.
We can also expect to see more original titles, as most of that list is games that are already released.
Image Credit: Polygon
SMART DELIVERY
Smart delivery is Xbox’s fancy new term for cross-play, except it’s a bit more than that. It will allow you to play games you already own on your Xbox One, on Series X, for free. Gone are the days when you have to buy a second copy of your favorite game for an updated console. The reason Microsoft is calling this ‘smart delivery’ is because it isn’t just for Xbox One to Series X — they are looking at the future of their consoles as a whole. So whatever replaces Series X will have smart delivery, allowing you to play Series X games you own, on that future console.
The current list of Series X games that will have smart delivery is:
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- Call of the Sea
- Chorus
- Cyberpunk 2077
- DIRT 5
- Gears 5
- HALO Infinite
- Madden NFL (with a time limit: you’ll have to buy the game by the end of this year, and upgrade your console by the end of March 2021)
- Rainbow Six Siege
- Scarlet Nexus
- The Ascent
- The Second Extinction
- Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines 2
- Yakuza: Like A Dragon
This is already a fantastic list, and it’s still early days in terms of announcements and confirmations. Expect this list to grow as soon as the world reopens for business.
Image Credit: Reddit
AESTHETICS AND TECH FOR THE SERIES X
The new Xbox will be larger than Xbox One. It’s only a millimeter difference in width and much smaller in length, but its breadth is much bigger. If you times width x length x breadth, you get volume, and Series X will have a higher volume. It sounds like it will be roughly the same size, but chunkier.
Series X will be able to run any Xbox One game. Microsoft has confirmed this, but there has been no word on Xbox 360 games. I would imagine that they aren’t going to work, but that’s just my opinion.
Xbox is seeking to decrease load times with Series X. The current word is that Series X can reduce a minute of loading time to seconds. Microsoft’s Project xCloud game streaming software will reduce installation times.
Another cool addition to Microsoft’s console will be the ability to minimize and save multiple games. The Xbox One can only handle saving one minimized game.
Even the controller is getting a work-out, with Microsoft bringing back rumble triggers.
I purposefully haven’t gone into the specs, as I’m not a techie person, but if you are interested in those, they can be found here.
I definitely think the Series X is worth it, even right off the bat at launch. You’ll get a ton of improved specs, a great list of titles to choose from, and an all-round excellent gaming experience. Unfortunately, there is still no word on the price. Series X is set to launch during ‘Holiday 2020’, meaning the festive season in December. There is currently no specific launch date set. The new console is currently on track for it’s original launch date, and is not delayed by coronavirus.
What would you like to see in the new Xbox console? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @thecognetwork. We also have all the recent Inside Xbox Trailers in one place here, and a breakdown of everything we know (and can guess) about Assassin’s Creed Valhalla here. As always, thanks for reading COG!
