Xbox Scarlett - What We Know So Far
The next generation of home consoles is almost here, and Microsoft — based on what we've seen thus far — appears to be leading the charge. The company teased its follow-up to the Xbox One, Project Scarlett, pretty heavily at E3 2019. And along with talking up the console's capabilities, we also got a window of time we can expect Scarlett to launch in.
Below, you'll find everything we know so far about Scarlett, Microsoft's next-generation Xbox console.
What is Xbox Scarlett's release date?
It feels like we're still in the dark about many things related to Scarlett. But one thing we do know, however, is when the console is expected to launch. Microsoft has been adamant that we're going to see Project Scarlett sometime in Holiday 2020, which means we could see the new console in either November or December of next year.
The Xbox One launched on Nov. 22, 2013. The Xbox 360 arrived on Nov. 22, 2005. The O.G. Xbox first hit stores on Nov. 15, 2001. If Microsoft doesn't launch Scarlett in November 2020, we'd be shocked.
How much will Xbox Scarlett cost?
This is probably going to be the biggest question about Scarlett between now and its official unveil: how much is it going to cost?
We actually took a closer look at this very topic in another post, but we'll summarize. We don't know exactly what Scarlett will cost right now, but looking at past industry trends, we wouldn't be surprised to see it launch at $500. Why? Because $500 appears to be the most gamers are willing to spend on a new home console. The Xbox One X showed that a console can thrive at that price point if it offers a premium experience. The PlayStation 3, which launched at $600, showed there is a limit to the amount gamers are willing to spend.
We'll undoubtedly get more information on Scarlett's pricing early next year, so stay tuned.
What are the specs on Xbox Scarlett?
For both the Xbox One X and Project Scarlett, Microsoft released teaser videos talking up each console's capabilities. They're full of all the buzzwords you'd expect, and while you might feel the need to roll your eyes at some of it, the videos do give us an idea of where Microsoft wants to position its hardware.
Based on Microsoft's teaser trailer for Project Scarlett, here's some of what you can expect from the system:
- Faster load times
- "Four times more powerful than the Xbox One X"
- Up to 120 frames per second
- Next-gen ray tracing
- SSD
- Backward compatibility
We'll undoubtedly learn more about Scarlett's technical specs as we draw closer to the console's official reveal. But we have to say: so far, so good.
Which games are coming to Xbox Scarlett?
And yes, the games. You can have an incredible video game console, but without games, it's just a fancy piece of tech and nothing more.
The next-generation Xbox — Project Scarlett — is likely Microsoft's focus going forward, which means any new first-party titles you see from the company in the future will be targeted toward Scarlett first. And there may be no bigger first-party game than Halo: Infinite.
We don't know much about Halo: Infinite right now, but what we do know is this: it's coming Holiday 2020, during the same release window Microsoft gave Project Scarlett. That almost certainly means it's a launch title for the system, and as such, it'll be tasked with selling Xbox fans on why Scarlett is a necessary purchase.
But Halo: Infinite won't be all. Though we don't have any other solid announcements at this time, you can safely assume a Forza title will show up for Scarlett's launch, along with a few other surprises.