Microsoft promises "the largest technical leap you will have ever seen"

During Thursday night's special episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, there was plenty of news about the future strategy for Xbox. This included a debunking of the rumors that Microsoft was about to abandon the concept of exclusive games, an announcement of a summer event in June, the confirmation that Activision Blizzard's games will be added to Game Pass starting in March and that Game Pass now has over 34 million subscribers.

However, there was also another highlight, namely talk of future hardware. Anyone who was worried that Microsoft was about to leave Xbox as a console can now put their fears aside. Not only was it confirmed that there will be new Xbox hardware this year (probably an updated Xbox Series X, possibly with a new controller - or a portable Xbox, which has been widely rumored), but also the next generation was confirmed to be on the way.

And it seems that Microsoft is going to go all out. Xbox president Sarah Bond said that we can look forward to the biggest generation jump we have ever seen, which may indicate that Microsoft now wants to release a console that can compete with a respectable PC:

"We're also invested in the next-generation roadmap. What we're really focused on there is delivering the largest technical leap you will have ever seen in a hardware generation, which makes it better for players and better for creators and the visions that they're building."

Leaked FTC documents from the Activision Blizzard trials revealed that Microsoft expects next-gen to start 2028, but there have been conflicting rumors claiming that it could be way earlier - or later. What such a beast might cost is unclear, but considering that people buy smartphones for the equivalent of €1300/£1100 on an annual basis, there should still be an interest in something similar, or what do you think?