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Phil Spencer Still Reckons Xbox Isn’t Ready For A Mid-Gen Console Refresh

Series Y, though?

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With discourse continuing to burn around video game performance standards, especially when it comes to high-profile console games targeting the lower end of framerates, attention naturally turns to the impending three-year anniversary of the current PS5 and Xbox Series X|S console generation and whether there’s a need for a PS4 Pro/Xbox One X-style hardware refresh.

It’s become especially topical with recent blockbuster titles like Baldur’s Gate 3, which is (for now) skipping an Xbox release entirely thanks in part to the less-powerful Series S making feature parity across all platforms difficult.

Speaking to Xbox Daddy, Phil Spencer, at this year’s Gamescom in Germany though, IGN has learned that upgraded models of the Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S aren’t really a consideration for Xbox right now.

“No, no. We’re focused right now on the increased storage Xbox Series S,” Spencer told IGN in response to questions around the possibility of a mid-generation refresh for Xbox Series X/S. “But no, like I said, we’re kind of at the end of the beginning in my mind. So I think we need to let devs settle on this hardware and get the most out of it.

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“But in terms of increased frame rate and increased resolution, I just look at what goes on on PC with high-end GPUs and high-end CPU, and it’s not always just about pixel count or frame resolution. I think there’s lighting techniques. There’s a bunch of things that go into what makes a game look and feel great. And we have a ton of headroom as an industry there.”

Xbox does, of course, have something of a “refreshed” console on the horizon with the 1TB Xbox Series S Carbon Black console launching in just a week on September 1st, for $549. While this new version will feature double the storage of the current Xbox Series S it won’t come with any performance benefits.