Mike Snider, USA TODAY Published 1:26 p.m. ET April 30, 2020 | Updated 1:49 p.m. ET April 30, 2020
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Microsoft unveiled the Xbox Series X, the next version of its popular Xbox console, will launch during the 2020 holiday season. USA TODAY
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Microsoft has already provided a look at its new Xbox Series X video game console, due this holiday season.
Next week, the game maker and software giant will unveil some of the games coming to the much-anticipated gaming system. Microsoft has scheduled an online First Look at Xbox Series X Gameplay event for May 7.
“You want to see games for the Xbox Series X? We want to show you games for the Xbox Series X,” reads a post on the official Xbox Twitter feed. “Check out First Look next-gen gameplay from our global developers partners within #InsideXbox on Thursday, May 7 at 8am PT.”
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Microsoft has already revealed that the console will launch with a new chapter in the “Halo” series, called “Halo Infinite.”
In an online post Thursday, Microsoft’s Xbox head Phil Spencer described the Xbox Series X as “our fastest, most powerful console ever that will set a new bar for performance, feel, speed and compatibility when it releases this holiday.”
The console will have “a library of games from our 15 Xbox Game Studios and thousands of development partners around the world,” added Spencer, who also said Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service had surpassed 10 million subscribers. Since March, when the coronavirus outbreak led to stay-at-home orders across the U.S. and much of the globe, Game Pass members have played twice as much, with multiplayer gaming up by 130%.
“We’re still early on this journey, and in the last two months we’ve seen how important gaming can be to our community,” Spencer said.
Sony has its own new PlayStation 5 console system also set to arrive this holiday season.
The launching of two new game systems during a global pandemic could prove interesting – and a welcome diversion for many. Typically, the consoles and games might get a public reception during the Electronic Entertainment Expo, usually held in June in Los Angeles. But like many other events, the E3 event was canceled due to concerns of spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.
Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.
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