Xbox console generation

We've seen another round of responses today from both Sony and Microsoft regarding the UK CMA's investigation into the ActiBlizz deal, and the new docs provide some pretty interesting insights into the two companies' strategies. Chief among which is a little hint from Microsoft at when we can all expect the next console generation to start.

Tucked into Microsoft's latest statement, the company says that it doesn't expect to launch a new console until the fall of 2028, with gaming generations typically coming around "every eight years" or so. (Thanks, VGC.)

"The Parties [Microsoft and Activision] do not dispute that some portion of gamers are likely to re-assess their console ownership at the start of a new generation,"

But they also note that this is an event that only occurs approximately every eight years [...] the next new generation of consoles are not expected to be released before the fall of 2028 at the very earliest."

If true, that'd make the current generation a year or so longer than the last one, as Xbox One and PlayStation 4 stuck around for seven years in total. Of course, that doesn't include the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro mid-gen upgrades; there's definitely a chance we could see something similar to those systems this generation.

We reckon eight or so years sounds about right, especially considering we've not yet moved on from the 'cross-gen' period during the current console cycle. We just hope that the many dev teams out there get chance to make use of the fantastic Xbox Series X and Series S hardware by 2028!

Does an eight-year console cycle sound about right to you? Let us know in the comments below.

[source assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, via videogameschronicle.com]