Although it won’t be released until winter this year, it looks like 2017 will be the Year of the Scorpio as rumours are already starting to build around Microsoft’s hugely anticipated new console. Just last week, the head of the Halo franchise exclaimed that the plans for the Xbox Scorpio were beefier than he expected. A quick glimpse at the specs that have been unveiled quickly illustrates how Microsoft is hoping that their next console will be the most powerful gaming device of all time.
Whilst the Xbox Scorpio is just a stop-gap after the Xbox One, it looks to follow the path set by the PlayStation 4 Pro by delivering a phenomenally powerful console that adapts to the trend of 4K and virtual reality gaming. Virtual reality gaming will be exclusive to Xbox Scorpio so it puts the console in an odd place where it’s not a generational leap even though it offers new functionality not available to standard Xbox One owners.
Although the PlayStation 4 Pro is an impressive device, the Xbox Scorpio aims to eclipse the competition by having no less than 6 TFLOPS for the GPU to use that will definitely help speed up the gaming action and deliver a much greater degree of graphical depth.
Thankfully all current Xbox One games and accessories will be fully playable on the upcoming Scorpio console. However it’s the way that the console will integrate with 4K, virtual reality and online gaming trends that will be key to the Scorpio’s success. Only time will tell how these experiences are presented and enhanced by the new console.
It’s expected that the Scorpio will have greater Windows 10 integration which will make it much easier to integrate with PC gaming technologies. Many Xbox executives even said that the console will use Windows 10 versions of games rather than modified Xbox One builds. Maybe we’ll see greater support for other browser-based games too which require advanced plugins. So whether gamers were wishing to head over to Betway to play their quick and easy card games, or wanted to engage in the current wave of virtual reality titles that are flooding the PC market, it will be much easier thanks to Xbox Scorpio. At least that’s the hope.
Whilst it’s tempting to see the Scorpio as an ‘Xbox Two’, it’s important to remember that this is more of a mid-cycle release that seeks to take advantage of the unexpected popularity of 4K gaming. I’m sure we’ll see an even more powerful console from Microsoft after the Scorpio launches some years down the line.
Although many consider Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro as a muddled and rushed attempt to fulfil 4K gamers’ needs, it’s hoped that the Scorpio will offer true 4K gameplay thanks to the 6 TFLOPS of power which means that it’s at least 43% more powerful than its rival. That’s a massive difference considering that the Scorpio has almost the power of an extra standard PlayStation 4 to work with.
All of this shows that whether you’re playing the next Halo title or just taking it easy with a gambling game, we could soon be enjoying some seriously impressive Xbox gaming in 2017 which looks absolutely stunning given those graphical capabilities.
Asher is a games journalist, former News Writer (Gaming) at Windows Central. They contributed 1110 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: wrote over 1,100 ICXM pieces on Xbox news, hardware reviews, and platform commentary before joining Future plc’s Windows Central in 2017.