Microsoft has confirmed exactly one thing about the new Xbox, on 19 June 2025: it signed a multi-year strategic partnership with AMD to develop chips for a whole range of devices. Officially, there’s no release date, no price, no specs and no word on backward compatibility. So this article doesn’t tell you what’s expected, but what was actually said, and above all what that means if you’re buying right now.
The only official announcement and what it says
The post went up on Xbox Wire on 19 June 2025 and was signed by editor-in-chief Joe Skrebels. In it, Microsoft announced that it will co-develop chips with AMD across a portfolio of devices, which according to the announcement also includes its own future consoles and the cloud. The second key sentence says that Xbox is actively building its next generation across console, handheld, PC, cloud and accessories.
Lisa Su, chair and CEO of AMD, said that AMD will expand its console work and design a full roadmap of gaming silicon combining Ryzen and Radeon for consoles, handhelds, PCs and the cloud. Sarah Bond, president of Xbox, talked about the role of Windows: Windows and Xbox are working together to make Windows the number one platform for gaming. The announcement also contains a line about the philosophy behind it all, an Xbox experience designed for players, not locked to a single store or tied to a single device.
Microsoft hadn’t released anything newer as of 11 September 2026. No showcase, no specifications, no release window.
What’s confirmed and what isn’t
| Item | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Partnership with AMD on chips for the next generation | confirmed | Xbox Wire, 19 June 2025 |
| The next generation includes console, handheld, PC, cloud and accessories | confirmed | Xbox Wire, 19 June 2025 |
| Focus on Windows as a gaming platform | confirmed | Sarah Bond quote, same source |
| Release year or date | not announced | not stated by Microsoft |
| Price | not announced | not stated by Microsoft |
| Specific chip, architecture, performance | not announced | not stated by Microsoft or AMD |
| Backward compatibility and library transfer | not announced | not mentioned in the announcement |
| Microsoft’s own handheld | not announced | no device revealed |
The table is valid as of 11 September 2026. The numbers floating around forums and roundup articles don’t belong in the right-hand column, because none of the parties involved has confirmed them.
What follows from the wording and what’s only inferred from it
One thing can be read directly from the text of the announcement. Microsoft isn’t talking about a console but about a range of devices, and in a single sentence it lists console, handheld, PC, cloud and accessories side by side. So according to its own announcement, the next Xbox generation isn’t one piece of hardware under your TV, but several devices sharing a common foundation. The emphasis on Windows in Sarah Bond’s quote fits that too.
The second thing is already interpretation, not fact. The line about an experience not locked to a single store or tied to a single device is commonly read as a promise of a console running Windows and third-party stores. Microsoft didn’t say that, and there’s a difference between that quote and a claim about what the console will be able to do. What has actually happened so far is that other manufacturers’ hardware is heading in a similar direction: ASUS’s ROG Xbox Ally handheld PC runs Windows 11 Home with the Xbox interface, and it isn’t a console. The categories are covered in the article handheld gaming consoles.
Should you hold off and wait?
Waiting only pays off when there’s something to wait for in the near future and when you lose something by buying earlier. Neither applies here. With no announced date, there’s no defined end to the wait, and current consoles are getting cheaper while their catalog isn’t shrinking. The differences between the models are covered in the Xbox Series X vs S comparison, and for a sense of what’s included in the price, see how much an Xbox costs.
You can decide based on three situations:
- You don’t have a console and want to play now. Buy one. The current generation is in full swing, games keep coming out, and the current console will pay for itself before a new one arrives.
- You have a Series X or S and it works for you. Do nothing. Upgrading within a generation makes no sense, and there’s no known date for the next one anyway.
- You’re undecided and only want to play occasionally. Put off the purchase and stream in the meantime. How that works is explained in what is cloud gaming, and what’s in each subscription level is in the overview of Game Pass tiers. From November 2026, though, the cloud has a monthly hour limit, which Microsoft announced on 3 September 2026, so this route stops being enough for daily play.
One more thing argues against waiting. If you already own games, you can stream them from your own console outside the living room, as we describe for Xbox Remote Play, so current hardware isn’t aging as fast as it seems.
PlayStation is in almost the same situation
Sony is at the same stage and just as silent, so there too you’re deciding without a date or a price. What’s known about Sony’s next console is summed up in the article what we know about the PS6, and the buying decision is covered in wait for the PS6 or buy a PS5 Pro. If you’re still choosing between platforms, you’ll find a comparison in the article PS5 or Xbox Series X.
FAQ
Microsoft hasn’t announced a date or even a year. The only official statement about the next generation is from 19 June 2025 and concerns the partnership with AMD on chip development. It contains no release window, and Microsoft hadn’t released anything newer as of 11 September 2026.
Microsoft hasn’t announced a price. The amounts showing up in forums and roundup articles have no source at Microsoft or AMD. Until a price announcement, the only reference point is the prices of the current generation.
Microsoft hasn’t said anything about backward compatibility or library transfer yet. The June 2025 announcement talks about an experience not tied to a single device, but that isn’t the same as a promise that your old library will carry over.
That isn’t confirmed. Microsoft announced a focus on Windows as a gaming platform and an experience not locked to a single store, but it hasn’t described what the console will actually be. So far only other manufacturers’ handhelds with Windows and the Xbox interface are heading in that direction.
With no announced date, there’s nothing concrete to wait for. If you want to play and don’t have a console, buy the current generation and you’ll get plenty of use out of it. If you already have a Series X or S, there’s no reason to change anything, because there’s no big leap within a generation.
This article will be revised after every Microsoft announcement, and speculation won’t be added to it even then. More articles about Xbox and gaming around it are in the Xbox hub on Gamers Together. Information verified as of 11 September 2026.
Thumbnail photo: Der. Bellemer, CC BY 4.0.