The annual Game Developers Conference is coming up next month in San Francisco, and Microsoft has now announced it will be at the event with a variety of panels. One of them will feature next-generation Xbox leader Jason Ronald discussing the “vision shaping the future of Xbox.”
A panel called “Building for the Future with Xbox” will take place on Wednesday, March 11, featuring Ronald sharing insight into Microsoft’s vision for the platform today and into the future.
A description of the panel states that Xbox has a “legacy of innovation,” singling out things like the Xbox console platform itself, Xbox Live, Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and the Rog Xbox Ally most recently. Whatever Microsoft has cooking for its next Xbox will be just the latest evolution.
“Xbox has continually evolved to meet players where they are. As we look ahead, we remain focused on empowering game creators and enabling seamless play across devices,” the description said. “Join us for a conversation about the vision shaping the future of Xbox and how we’re building a more flexible, connected future for game creators and players everywhere.”
The “flexible, connected future” is likely a reference to Microsoft’s ambition to look beyond exclusivity and release more of its games on historically competitive devices. Xbox president Sarah Bond said the idea of exclusive games is “antiquated,” and some believe Microsoft will release all of its big games on rival platforms. The strategy breaks from decades of tradition, but there have been signs of success, at least from a monetary perspective. Forza Horizon 5 on PS5, for example, has reportedly earned more than $300 million from its PS5 edition alone. Some of Microsoft’s biggest games this year, including Forza Horizon 6, Halo: Campaign Evolved, and the Fable reboot, are all coming to PS5.
As for the next Xbox, Microsoft has confirmed it’s working with AMD on a new console. AMD’s CEO, Lisa Su, recently let slip that this new console could launch in 2027, but this is not confirmed.
It’s been a challenging time for Xbox overall, with Microsoft’s latest earnings report showing the Xbox gaming division vastly underperformed compared to other segments of the tech giant. Hardware sales are particularly weak for Xbox, continuing a trend of three consecutive financial years of revenue decline with a drop of 32%.
Microsoft is also hosting panels at GDC that highlight the company’s big push into AI, and specifically AI at Xbox. A panel on Thursday, March 12, called “Gaming AI at Xbox: Responsible Innovation for Player Experiences,” will see Xbox’s AI executives Fatima Kardar, Haiyan Zhang, and Sonali Yadav digging into what’s worked–and what hasn’t–for Microsoft’s efforts with AI in gaming so far. The panelists will discuss “how AI could shape the way game creators think about gameplay experiences in the future, how AI helps solve design challenges while creating great player experiences, and how developers can get involved in shaping the future of AI in gaming in a responsible way.”
The subject of AI has been contentious at Microsoft and other technology companies.
Another Xbox panel at GDC, “Leveling Up Player Engagement and Monetization with Xbox Play Anywhere” will feature Xbox developers talking about how the company uses its “powerful monetization engine” called AR7.1 to help publishers “reach and active players” to “drive engagement and revenue growth.”