Microsoft job postings suggest new Xbox console development?

By Adam Rosenberg March 8, 2011

Microsoft launched its Xbox 360 gaming console in 2005 and it’s still going strong today. More than that, gaming as a whole has reached new peaks of popularity since the latest console generation began, with everything from online gaming to digital content delivery to mobile technology to high-definition displays inspiring larger numbers of people to embrace interactive experiences. The traditional 5-6 year console life cycle no longer applies as a result of these changes, though that doesn’t mean the industry’s top companies aren’t looking ahead to what’s next.

It certainly seems that Microsoft is. A series of new job postings on LinkedIn (spotted by a forum member at Beyond3D) pretty explicitly point to long-term development plans for a next-generation console. Three positions are being filled: graphics architect (Xbox hardware), performance architect (Xbox hardware) and hardware verification engineer (Xbox console). A snippet from the graphics architect posting’s job description may be most telling: “The team is responsible for defining and delivering next generation console architectures from conception through implementation.”

To be clear, these open positions do not necessarily indicate that work is underway on a next-gen Microsoft console. You can bet that somewhere within the depths of the company’s research & development department, someone is sketching out what the future of Xbox might look like. But these positions specifically could mean any number of things.

Perhaps Microsoft is looking at improving the current console’s internal hardware. Or maybe the company is at long last considering a leap into the portable gaming space. It could even simply be a case of employee turnover, with newly vacated positions needing to be filled. There are any number of possibilities. Now you’re thinking about them all though, right?

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…

Gaming

Xbox and Embracer’s mass layoff explanations aren’t good enough

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer during Updates on the Xbox Business | Official Xbox Podcast.

The wave of layoffs that has happened over the past year in the video game industry is well-documented. Some of the biggest culprits are Embracer Group, which has laid off nearly 1,400 workers across several of its studios since the start of a restructuring program last July, and Microsoft, which laid off 1,900 developers across Xbox, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard in January. After relative silence around these layoffs, leadership at both companies finally tried to offer more transparently into what happened.

Neither of their statements are good enough.

Gaming

Every key detail from Xbox’s business update: new console, multiplatform games, and more

Microsoft just released the latest episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, and it contained lots of crucial details on the future of Xbox. Microsoft addressed everything from how many games it will make multiplatform to the arrival of Activision Blizzard games on Xbox Game Pass to future Xbox hardware.

If you don't want to listen to the full 23-minute podcast and want more details than what's shared in the Xbox Wire post about the discussion, here's a quick rundown of the biggest points made during the episode.
Four Xbox games are going multiplatform
To kick things off, Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, addressed the multiplatform Xbox game rumors. "We made the decision that we’re going to take four games to the other consoles. Just four games, not a change to our kind of fundamental exclusive strategy,” he said. “We’re making these decisions for some specific reasons. We make every decision with the long-term health of Xbox in mind, and long-term health of Xbox means a growing platform, our games performing, building the best platform for creators, reaching as many players as we can."

Gaming

Xbox says its next console will be gaming’s ‘largest technical leap’ ever

Xbox Series X on a table.

During today's Xbox Business Update, Sarah Bond, president of Xbox at Microsoft, reaffirmed the gaming company's commitment to hardware. She confirmed that Xbox is already looking ahead to its next console, which she teases will be a major technical leap.

The news came at the end of a 22-minute podcast where Xbox shared its vision for the future. The panel, featuring CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer, Bond, and Matt Booty, president of game content and studios, addressed rumors that Xbox would be bringing its games to other platforms and ditching hardware. While there was some truth to the first point, as four unnamed Xbox exclusives are headed to other consoles, the hardware rumors weren't correct.