Microsoft’s Project Scorpio is arguably the most anticipated gaming console of the year. It has been touted as the most powerful console ever. The console will hit the store shelves before the holiday shopping season this year. During a Twitter interaction with fans, Xbox chief Phil Spencer talked about Scorpio’s performance, first-party games, and more.
There will be more first-party games in 2017 than in 2016
A fan was keen to know whether Project Scorpio would have a Boost Mode similar to Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro. Sony has announced that its upcoming Boost Mode would speed up the performance of old games on PS4 Pro. Without directly referring to the Boost Mode, Spencer said he was “very confident” in the way Scorpio would run existing Xbox One games.
I'm very confident in the way Scorpio will run existing XB1 games.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 7, 2017
During the Twitter Q&A session, a fan asked when the console would be unveiled. The Xbox head said he was “eager” to show off what his team has created. “Should be a fun year,” Spencer added. He also discussed the upcoming Xbox One titles. Spencer told fans that he felt “very good” about this year, and there would be more first-party games in 2017 than last year.
I'm eager to show what we have as well. Should be a fun year.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 7, 2017
I feel very good about this year. Should have more 1P games than last year, great diversity + launching new IP. Good year.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) February 7, 2017
Microsoft to release a new IP
The Microsoft executive also revealed that there would be a new IP this year. The IP is widely believed to be Rare’s Sea of Thieves. Spencer said he had a “ton of confidence” in Rare’s creative director Gregg Mayles. The arrival of a new franchise should be welcomed by Xbox fans, especially after Microsoft canceled Scalebound.
Phil Spencer also suggested that Xbox backward compatibility could come to Windows 10 PCs. However, the backward compatibility is likely to face several hurdles. The Xbox head said running backward compatibility reliably on all different PC hardware configurations “would be a lot more work” than Xbox One. The software giant is expected to officially unveil Scorpio at E3 event. But the company may hold its own event to launch the product.
Project Scorpio to be a powerhouse console
Project Scorpio will be capable of supporting virtual reality (VR) and 4K gaming without making performance compromises. It would feature an octa-core processor, six teraflops of power, and 320GB/second of memory bandwidth. While Scorpio would have six teraflops of processing power, the Xbox One has 1.3 teraflops, Xbox One S has 1.4 teraflops, and Sony’s latest PlayStation 4 Pro comes with 4.2 teraflops of power.
Spencer said in October that the Project Scorpio would have a “premium” price tag. So, don’t expect it to be cheap. Last month, he clarified that Microsoft would continue to support the Xbox One and One S for years to come. There were speculations that the company could drop support for the Xbox One after Project Scorpio is announced. Scorpio would also support Xbox One S’ peripherals.
