Next gen Xbox price rumours are shocking but good news for PS6

Everything is pointing towards the next gen Xbox being super expensive, as a new rumour suggests it’ll cost a lot more than the PS6.

If rumours and leaks are to be believed, then Sony’s next gen plans sound rather outlandish. Aside from a new traditional console that will be the PlayStation 6, it’s said the company wants to release a new handheld capable of natively running PlayStation 5 games.

We still don’t know how such a feat will be possible but if Sony does pull it off, it would no doubt be very expensive, which has become an increasing problem with gaming hardware in general.

Microsoft’s future Xbox hardware is unlikely to be any cheaper and, in fact, the latest rumours suggest that the new console could cost twice as much as the PlayStation 6.

This comes courtesy of insider KeplerL2, who has made frequent claims about the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles, based on information he’s received from AMD – since it’s providing chips to both Microsoft and Sony for the next gen.

Writing on the NeoGAF forums, in the wake of the recent PlayStation 6 handheld rumours, Kepler reiterated a past claim that the next Xbox console will be using a new APU (accelerated processing unit) dubbed Magnus.

Now, however, they add that that the same APU will be used for what they call an Xbox PC. Microsoft has not officially said exactly what new hardware it’s making, but has promised a ‘portfolio of devices’ as well as a fully backwards compatible platform ‘not tied to a single store or device.’

Considering Microsoft is trying to break into the PC market with the ROG Xbox Ally handheld, the company making its own bespoke PC hardware isn’t much of a surprise.

However, Kepler says that unlike the traditional console, the Xbox PC won’t be backwards compatible with older Xbox games since ‘Most publishers are still not okay with Play Anywhere, and the vast majority of them would sue the f*** out of Microsoft if they tried turning Xbox game licences into PC game licences.’

When asked if this means the console won’t support PC games, Kepler says that it will and suggests third party storefronts, like Steam and GOG, will be integrated; something Microsoft itself has also hinted at.

Kepler has previously suggested new Xbox hardware could cost over £1,000, but while the PlayStation 6 is bound to be pricey as well, Kepler speculates that between the new APU and the fact that any third party storefront support means Microsoft wouldn’t be getting its usual 30% cut of game sales, the console would need to be sold at a profit and thus ‘might be twice the price of the PlayStation 6 or thereabouts.’

This is pure speculation on Kepler’s part, since it’s extremely unlikely either Microsoft or Sony have settled on pricing for their next consoles this early. It’s also hard to believe that Microsoft would settle on any price tag over £1,000 but given the poor sales of the Xbox Series X/S, and the Xbox One before that, they be intending to focus purely on hardcore gamers in the future.

In any case, hardware has only grown more expensive over the years, with the PlayStation 5 seeing multiple price increases since launch. So we’re no longer in a time where the older consoles get, the cheaper they become.

Elsewhere on ResetEra, those taking Kepler’s speculation at face value have dismissed the new Xbox as ‘dead on arrival’, with one theorising that Xbox could become a ‘a niche, premium product for millennials heavily invested in the ecosystem already and not even attempt to chase a mass audience.’

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