Project Scorpio is a 4K-capable and VR-ready model of the Xbox One – one held up as the “most powerful gaming console ever built” – that will launch in fall 2017.
Confirming the rumors to be true, Microsoft officially announced the hardware at its E3 2016 showcase. It wasn’t the only new model of Xbox One in attendance at the Los Angeles Convention Center though, given the slimmer Xbox One S was also showcased at the event.
[zerggaming]When it comes to Project Scorpio, though, Microsoft is “holding nothing back,” beefing up the hardware’s innards to boast six teraflops of power and an 8-core CPU. For those uninterested in the technical specifics, it’ll allow games to run natively in 4K resolution while also supporting full virtual reality experiences – such as Bethesda’s plans for a VR build of Fallout 4.
Speaking with The Verge, Phil Spencer highlighted the importance of pushing the technical boundaries with Scorpio, but stressed that the advent of new hardware won’t fragment the core Xbox community.
“The important thing for Scorpio is that it’s a dramatic step up for us in terms of hardware capability. Because as we saw 4K gaming and really high-end VR taking off in the PC space, we wanted to be able to bring that to console. Project Scorpio is actually an Xbox One that can natively run games in 4K and is built with the hardware capabilities to support the high-end VR that you see happening in the PC space today… when it ships it will be the most powerful console ever built.”
Project Scorpio is still a ways away, with Microsoft tentatively placing the hardware for release in fall of next year. Elsewhere in the Xbox family, the Xbox One S will make its debut in August starting at $299.