AMD hints at a 2027 launch window for Microsoft's next Xbox console

The long-time hardware collaborators are moving toward their most advanced console silicon yet

by · TechSpot

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.
TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust.

What we know so far: AMD's most recent earnings call did more than summarize quarterly results – it may have quietly pinned down the launch window for Microsoft's next Xbox. During the event, CEO Dr. Lisa Su remarked that development of Microsoft's "next-gen Xbox featuring an AMD semi-custom SoC is progressing well to support a launch in 2027." The phrasing was cautious yet noteworthy. While not an outright confirmation, it's the most specific timeline the chipmaker or Microsoft has offered to date.

The relationship between AMD and Microsoft dates back more than a decade, with the Xbox One, Series X, and Series S generations built on custom AMD silicon. Each iteration has relied on a system-on-chip (SoC) built around AMD's CPU and GPU cores, blending x86 architecture with Radeon graphics on a unified die. The upcoming Xbox appears set to continue that lineage, but with a significant leap in technical design.

Industry watchers have pointed to an APU internally codenamed Magnus, rumored to use AMD's next-gen Zen 6 and Zen 6c CPU cores alongside a GPU built on the unreleased RDNA 5 architecture. If accurate, this would represent a potentially huge performance leap over the Zen 2 and RDNA 2 components powering the current Xbox Series consoles, delivering gains in compute efficiency, bandwidth, and ray-tracing performance.

Combined, these advancements could enable more sophisticated hybrid rendering workloads and higher refresh rates at 4K. It could even pave the way for cloud-augmented gaming scenarios that Microsoft has hinted at in the past.

Microsoft's own documents have painted an evolving picture of this hardware roadmap. During its 2023 FTC trial related to the Activision Blizzard acquisition, internal slides suggested a "next generation hybrid game platform" targeting a 2028 debut.

That design focused on integrating local and cloud computing, potentially leveraging both ARM64 and x64 instruction set architectures. Yet later leaks surfaced showing a revised schedule: a 2026 tapeout for the SoC silicon and the first developer kits shipping between late 2026 and early 2027 – details now seemingly aligned with AMD's carefully worded statement.

AMD's comment arrives as the company narrows its broader strategy around higher-value enterprise computing. While gaming remains a visible showcase for its technology, Su has emphasized the enterprise segment as a growth priority, particularly amid shifting demand and rising memory costs across the PC market.

Even so, the Xbox SoC program underscores how AMD's semi-custom division continues to anchor its partnerships in consumer hardware cycles that extend for years.

// Related Stories

For Microsoft, a 2027 launch aligns neatly with historical console cadences. The Xbox Series X debuted in 2020, seven years after the Xbox One, and another seven-year gap would maintain the rhythm of major generational resets. Whether the next Xbox truly delivers on the hybrid ambitions outlined in past internal plans will depend on how AMD's Zen 6 and RDNA 5 architectures mature over the next 18 months.