Xbox Series X Controller
Image: Microsoft

It's a well-known fact that companies like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo are always working on new hardware, and even though the Xbox Series X and S are still reasonably fresh-faced, it should come as no great shock to learn that their successors are already on the drawing board – and Liz Hamren, CVP of Gaming Experiences & Platforms at Microsoft, is happy to admit as much.

The catch? We're not going to see the fruits of these labours for "many years". Boo.

Speaking in a video briefing this week, Hamren said:

Cloud is key to our hardware and Game Pass roadmaps, but no one should think we're slowing down on our core console engineering. In fact, we're accelerating it. We're already hard at work on new hardware and platforms, some of which won't come to light for years. But even as we build for the future, we're focused on extending the Xbox experience to more devices today so we can reach more people.

She added that, despite the expansion into cloud gaming, Microsoft remains committed to creating the world's best dedicated gaming hardware:

While we continue to expand in PC and mobile, console remains our flagship experience, we want to deliver the most powerful, capable consoles in the world, devices that empower our players to enjoy amazing games for years to come, including gameplay we can't even imagine yet.

What do you make of Hamren's comments? Give us your thoughts down in the comments below.

[source eurogamer.net]