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Microsoft at E3 2018 says it's building the next Xbox game console

The software giant said during its press conference kicking off the largest game show in the world that it's still got more Xboxes coming.

Ian Sherr Contributor and Former Editor at Large / News
Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. As an editor at large at CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.
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Ian Sherr
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Get ready for at least one more generation of these things.

 Josh Miller

Editor's note: Are you looking for the latest on Microsoft's E3 2019 press conference? Of course you are. And if you need info on all out E3 2019 coverage, it's all here too.

With all the talk about cloud gaming this year, a technology that allows you to play high end games over the internet to any device no matter how powerful, fans have begun to wonder: Will Microsoft and Sony stop making Xbox and PlayStation consoles?

Well, Microsoft is planning at least one more generation of Xbox consoles. "Our hardware team... is deep into architecting the next Xbox consoles," said Phil Spencer, Microsoft's press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. He promised that the team will continue to "deliver on our commitment to delivering the benchmark on console gaming."

Watch this: Fallout 76 first look shown at Microsoft's E3 2018 conference

That's no small promise to make. Building video game consoles is expensive, and takes years of research and development. They're also a big bet -- design the device with chips and software that's hard to manage, and game makers may be less inclined to build their next title for your device.

By comparison, game streaming works the same way no matter what device you have. That's part of the appeal for game makers like Electronic Arts, which showed off a new cloud gaming service that allows you to play games in a similar way you watch Netflix. EA's likely to release its service in the next couple years.

The CEOs of other major game companies have started to indicate they're preparing for a streaming future too. Yves Guillemot, head of French game maker Ubisoft, recently told Variety that he sees the era of the dedicated video game console coming to an end rather soon.

Watch this: E3 2018: Cuphead expansion adds new story, character on Xbox One first

"There will be one more console generation and then after that, we will be streaming, all of us," he said. 

So far, though, it appears we're going to be living in the world of consoles for at least a little bit longer.

E3 2018: What to expect: All the rumors and early news from the year's biggest gaming show 

E3 2018 coverage at CNET: All of our E3 2018 coverage in one place

E3 2018 coverage at GameSpot: Wall-to-wall coverage of the show from our sister site, GameSpot