This year will find gamers presented with a feast of epic proportions, with the official launch of a new console generation. Both Sony's PS5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X are tapped to arrive before the holiday season, and while the former has kept official announcements close to the chest, Microsoft has been forthcoming about their upcoming and notably beastly console. This week, Head Of Xbox Phil Spencer penned a letter to the gaming community, revealing new information about some of the key features Series X has to offer.
Explaining that Series X will have quadruple the processing power of its predecessor Xbox One, Spencer cites higher frame-rates and more expansive open-worlds as one of the immediate benefits. The presence of DirectX Raytracing will also help deliver hyper-realistic lighting and sound effects, music to the ears of graphic-snobs worldwide. Not to mention the console's Solid State Drive, which will render load-times all but obsolete.
Yet some of the most enticing features come by way of quality-of-life changes. The newly implemented Quick Resume will allow players to run multiple games at once and switch between them at their load-free leisure; no closing necessary, making game-jumping a seamless process. Naturally, many are excited to see full Backward Compatibility, with Series X promising "four generations of consoles" stretching back to the OG Xbox and the Xbox 360 -- expect load-time benefits to shine here. Last but certainly not least is Smart Delivery, a truly appealing feature that ensues gamers will have to buy a game once and once alone; all subsequent improved versions will be included with the initial purchase. In other words, no more double-dipping on remasters -- we can only hope Sony follows suit in that regard.
Check out Spencer's full open letter right here, and sound off -- are you ready and willing to shell out the major ducats when Xbox Series X lands later this year?