'Xbox-Next' Rumour Suggests Microsoft Could Launch Another Console Before 2027

A few months ago, a huge leak stemming from Microsoft's Activision Blizzard case outed a potential Xbox Series X console refresh for next year - we covered Xbox's 'all-digital' Series X plans when they first leaked back in September. Those plans seemed believable given that they came directly from FTC files, however a new rumour is suggesting that this refresh may no longer be in the pipeline - and that Microsoft could launch its next-generation Xbox sooner than we might think instead.

A new ResetEra post has dug up some tweets from 'Kepler', a dataminer who's made seemingly accurate claims about PlayStation and its PS5 plans in the past. In one reply, Kepler hinted that 'Xbox-next' — Microsoft's next console — will launch before 2027.

These tweets are fairly old now and should be taken with a huge pinch of salt, and yet, we have more evidence that adds a bit more credibility to this rumour. Speaking on a recent podcast, well-known journalist Jeff Grubb discussed these new Xbox rumours, while also corroborating some of Kepler's past claims about PlayStation.

Here's a clip of this discussion:

Still following? Well, to sum things up, there's a chance that Xbox's Series X refresh may no longer happen and that a new, more-powerful system could launch around 2026 or so. Would this be a 'proper' next-gen console like Xbox Series X|S? Who knows, but it sounds like more of an upgrade than the previously-leaked all-digital system - and Xbox has gone on record to say that Series X is 'basically a mid-gen console' already.

As we said previously, this is all rumour and heresy right now and should definitely not be taken as a concrete plan over at Microsoft or anything. Still, it's an interesting rumour to ponder - there's a chance the next generation could come around quicker than we're all expecting!

Will next-gen really come around as soon as 2026? Go ahead and discuss this rumour down in the comments below.