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Following its announcement of the ROG Xbox Ally X, the company has solidified its partnership with AMD for all its upcoming consoles for what seems like years to come. Not only will that cover the handhelds, but also across its next-generation consoles to cover both living room and handheld gaming.
The partnership is to co-engineer silicon and improve its gaming capabilities. Upgrading the graphics for improved visuals, immersive gameplay, and layered experiences, and, of course, embedding AI into the technology. All of which is crucial for improving what consoles can do in such a compact form factor.
However, it also clarifies its stance on making Windows the number one platform for gaming. With Microsoft behind Xbox, it aims to make Windows a viable option for gaming, especially on handhelds, as the Steam OS version of the Legion Go demonstrates a cheaper and less demanding offering that delivers greater performance.
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To combat this, Xbox discussed how it’s reducing its reliance on Windows in its Xbox environment and ensuring that Windows doesn’t fall behind Steam OS. Something that would be great to introduce into the desktop environment as well, to enhance Windows gaming significantly.
“This is all about building you a gaming platform that’s always with you, so you can play the games you want across devices anywhere you want, delivering you an Xbox experience not locked to a single store or tied to one device. That’s why we’re working closely with the Windows team to ensure that Windows is the number one platform for gaming.
Sarah Bond, President of Xbox
Xbox consoles now just Windows PC?
One of the other targets the President announces in the video is about “delivering you an Xbox experience not locked to a single store or tied to one device.” That could imply the ability to access other stores and platforms, moving beyond just the Xbox Store, and even the option to access Steam on the console.
Along with maintaining compatibility with your previous Xbox games, it appears the company is moving toward a unified system. The Xbox Series X is already set to be a PC system with a streamlined skin and OS, so it would make sense to bring that to consoles as well. They might just utilize that bigger form factor, without a screen or battery, to provide a stay-in-place gaming console with better performance.
Xbox + AMD announcement
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