Home Technology Microsoft expected to launch smaller, cheaper Xbox One variant during E3

Microsoft expected to launch smaller, cheaper Xbox One variant during E3

Microsoft is believed to be working on a new smaller and cheaper Xbox One which is expected to be launched during the upcoming E3 event, reports Kotaku.

That is not all as the Redmond based company is also rumored to announce two new Xbox streaming devices during the same event which still is about 2 weeks away. Besides these, there are also two new Xbox models in the pipeline and are likely to be released within the next two years.

Coming to the smaller Xbox One, details are scarce at the moment though word on the street is that it will come with 2TB of internal storage. There will also be a 40 percent reduction in size with the new version, and might include support for 4K video, those privy to the matter revealed.

However, a more comprehensive update to the Xbox line up is due next year as part of a larger game plan. That includes a move to merge gaming across Xbox and Windows 10, something that is now being implemented under Project Helix. Microsoft had already been stressing on this for some time now as per Microsoft’s grand plan to project Windows 10 as the single platform that developers need to create more games and apps for. Maybe we might have more detail on this during the E3 event.

Meanwhile, there also are reports of the Scorpio, as the new console is being referred to internally, will come with integrated support for VR, something that is being brought about with a likely partnership with Oculus. However, what’s not clear at the moment is whether Scorpio will have integrated support for the Oculus Rift headset or will stop short at enabling streaming of games to the headset unit.

These apart, a more powerful GPU capable of supporting 4K game is almost a certainty with the new Scorpio. Microsoft has also hinted at adopting an incremental approach to releasing new Xbox consoles where new hardware upgrades would be launched more frequently. Similarly, the games too would have both forward and backward compatibility across both Xbox consoles as well as Windows 10 PCs.

More details on these are awaited and maybe Microsoft will be spilling the beans during the upcoming E3 event itself.