- In a recent interview, Xbox head Phil Spencer said that Microsoft plans to talk more about backward compatible games coming to Xbox Series X in August.
- We already knew that the Xbox Series X was going to be able to play thousands of Xbox, Xbox 360, and Xbox One games at launch, but this was the first we’d heard about an August event.
- Recent reports have claimed that Microsoft will reveal the rumored Xbox Series S in August.
At long last, Microsoft showed off new games coming to Xbox Series X during its Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month. New games in the Forza Motorsport, State of Decay, and Fable franchises were officially confirmed, we got a taste of Avowed from Obsidian Entertainment, and we saw Halo Infinite in action for the first time. The reactions were somewhat mixed, as most of the games did not appear to be anywhere close to ready, but the good news is that the Xbox Series X will be backward compatible with thousands of old games on launch day. In fact, in an interview that took place shortly after the event last week, Phil Spencer hinted at another event to discuss those games.
Speaking with iJustine and her sister Jenna Ezarik on their Same Brain podcast, Xbox chief Phil Spencer talked about all of the work the team had put into bringing so many old games to the Xbox Series X, and said he is “encouraged to talk more about it” next month. “I think August we’ll have more to say on that,” he added.
Microsoft has been hyping up backward compatibility on the Xbox Series X for months now, but this is the first time we’ve heard anything specific about a potential event in August. Multiple reports have suggested that Microsoft would follow up the Xbox Games Showcase with another event in August to reveal the rumored Xbox Series S console, and Spencer’s confirmation that something is happening in August got the internet buzzing. Notably, Spencer’s seemingly innocuous quote also happened to start making the rounds right after a white next-gen Xbox controller leaked online, which some people believe might belong to the so-called Xbox Series S.
At this point, it’s worth noting that when Microsoft laid out its Xbox 20/20 roadmap, it promised “monthly moments throughout the rest of the year,” and followed through in May with a first look at Xbox Series X gameplay. But in June, all we got was radio silence, and we had to wait until close to the end of July for the big showcase. In other words, we have no idea what Microsoft’s plans are and how the pandemic is affecting those plans, but all signs are pointing to another event in August with more next-gen news, even if it isn’t on quite the same scale.
In the meantime, there’s still plenty that we don’t know about either the Xbox Series X or the PS5, but Sony has done a better job of explaining its strategy for the next-generation than Microsoft to this point.
