Microsoft’s next Xbox console is rumoured for 2028 now, and the it’s set to be the most expensive Xbox to date by some distance. With AI companies buying up required components for their data centres, the knock-on across consumer electronics is being heavily felt by consumers. That’s now about to have a further knock-on effect ... Next Xbox set to cost in region of £1000, releasing in 2028
Microsoft’s next Xbox console is rumoured for 2028 now, and the it’s set to be the most expensive Xbox to date by some distance.
With AI companies buying up required components for their data centres, the knock-on across consumer electronics is being heavily felt by consumers. That’s now about to have a further knock-on effect on Microsoft’s plans for its next Xbox console.
The current plan for whatever the next generation Xbox sees Microsoft pointing towards a 2028 release for the device. As per a piece from Fortune magazine (via Dark Horizons), Microsoft is initially looking to release a new handheld, which should arrive next year. And then the new Xbox will be around for the end of 2028.
The current rumoured price of the device? Somewhere between $1200 and $1800. Or in UK money, around £900 to £1345 on today’s exchange rate. Microsoft may choose to subsidise the price of that a little to make it slightly more affordable, but that’s its decision that it’s yet to make.
AI data centres are using high end graphics chips and memory, which sits at the heart of the problem here. You try buying a laptop with 32GB of RAM in it at the moment: last Christmas you could do so for around £600, now it’s near-impossible to find one under £1000.
With Sony also battling component prices for its upcoming PlayStation 6, there’s increased resignation that the next generation of games consoles will be the hardest to afford, priced more in line with gaming PCs than standalone gaming devices. The chances of component prices dropping anytime soon is incredibly thin, and end users will be bearing a large part of the brunt of that, in the price they ultimately pay.
Inevitably, details of the new Xbox are being kept heavily under wraps, and any kind of reveal isn’t expected until the back end of next year at the absolute earliest. But if you want one, it might be an idea to start saving up now…
