It doesn’t seem like any hardware manufacturer is in a hurry to release new devices right now with the ongoing RAM crisis spurred on by AI, but it appears that Microsoft had previously planned to release its next Xbox later this year.
That’s according to prominent Call of Duty insider ‘TheGhostOfHope’ on X. In a bombshell post, the renowned leaker revealed that Microsoft’s decision to delay its next console to 2027 has ‘hurt’ the marketing plans for this year’s Call of Duty, which is heavily rumoured to be Modern Warfare 4.
“Sources indicate to me that the delay on the next Xbox has « hurt » a lot of CODs marketing plans as they wanted Modern Warfare 4 to be a launch title and draw a lot of hype to compete with people’s attention alongside GTA VI,” the post reads.
Although Modern Warfare 4 is not yet confirmed to be this year’s Call of Duty game, it’s heavily rumoured to be the case. Infinity Ward is thought to be leading the charge on this one with its last game, Modern Warfare 3, launching in 2023.
While there’s plenty of interesting tid-bits about the future of Call of Duty in the post, it’s the idea of Xbox potentially launching a new console later this year that has some gamers caught up. With only six years since the launch of the Xbox Series X|S, announcing a brand new console for this year would make this one of the shortest console generations we’ve ever seen.
Xbox is yet to announce what its new console will look like, but it’s heavily implied that Microsoft is planning more of a PC approach to its next hardware iteration. Advancements like the gaming-focused Windows 11 on the Xbox ROG Ally X are thought to be laying the groundwork for a machine that can double up as a productivity device if needed.
Epic Games also recently stated that it’s looking to have its storefront available on the next Xbox hardware from day one. This indicates that the console will have a more open operating system than the current Xbox, which right now limits gamers to purchasing games and software from the Xbox store alone.
We previously reported that the next Xbox was planned to be right around the corner, as revealed by an AMD earnings call early in the year. According to CEO Lisa Su, Microsoft is currently planning a launch in 2027.
Xbox saw some major changes over the weekend with former CEO Phil Spencer retiring from his role on Friday. His exit was matched by Sarah Bond, previously Xbox’s president, with Asha Sharma now taking over Spencer’s role at the head of the company.
According to TheGhostOfHope, Spencer had apparently hoped to retire after the launch of the next Xbox. However, a combination of the hardware price crisis pushing the release back and the company’s rocky sales record has likely forced the move a little early.
The Xbox Series X|S has remained on the backfoot ever since the start of its generation. While the PlayStation 5 has achieved over 92 million units sold, the Xbox Series X|S has achieved less than a third of that at 28.3 million.
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