It has finally happened! Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has revealed the new name and look of its latest console. Microsoft's next generation console is officially called Xbox Series X.
Xbox Series X, the console that was once codenamed "Project Scarlett," will launch the holiday season of 2020. The design and the name of the console was revealed during the Game Awards 2019 on December 12. Microsoft presented a short trailer that showed a glimpse of the new console during the event. The new console looks more like a PC tower than any other console. Xbox Series X is also far taller than its predecessor, Xbox One X.
Microsoft's Chief of Xbox, Phil Spencer, also appeared at the event to say a few words about the console. Spencer explained that the Xbox Series X will be four times more powerful than the Xbox One X. Not only that, but the upcoming console will have more memory and better graphics. Xbox Series X's design will allow the console to be more powerful but a lot quieter than its predecessors.
"There's always this tension between design and the kind of acoustics and cooling and function of the console," Phil Spencer told reporters from GameSpot. "And we were not going to compromise on function. I'm just incredibly impressed with the design that they came back with."
Along with the console reveal, Microsoft also took the opportunity to showcase Hellblade 2, the game from gaming developer, Ninja Theory. The graphics shown in the Hellblade 2 trailer was said to be captured in the new console's gaming engine. Microsoft has also said that the new console will launch alongside a new game in the Halo franchise.
Going back to the console's name, Microsoft said in the past that the gaming system's name would indicate what the system can do. However, Spencer did not explain on how the new name fulfilled that goal. Many people have speculated that the name could be complicated so as to allow for different versions of the console to come along in the future. Microsoft suggested that is a possibility, but did not confirm the theory.
Microsoft was not the only company to bring surprises to the Game Awards. Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation also revealed the name of their new console. PlayStation 5 will also launch holiday 2020. Sony, however, has not yet revealed the design of its new gaming system.