Xbox Project Scarlett is coming in 2020, and promises to fight the war on loading screens

It's official, Xbox Series X is coming Holiday 2020. As revealed during the Xbox E3 2019 press conference, the next-generation Xbox console is arriving at the end of next year, and according to the developers, it's going to tackle the war on loading screens. I am so in. 

“This isn’t just a console launch, this is about the future of gaming”, said Xbox's Phil Spencer, announcing the next-generation console. 

Interestingly, Microsoft hasn't yet given the new console a name, but rather is going with the codename Xbox Project Scarlett at the moment - similar to what it did with Xbox Project Scorpio before it became the Xbox One X. 

Although no specifics in terms of a definitive launch date have been confirmed, or any inkling of a price, we do have an idea now of what Microsoft's priorities are in terms of development power - specifically that it's being designed for one thing, and one thing only: gaming.

“Project Scarlett is the foundation of our future in console and our foundation in the future of cloud," added Spencer.

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The dev video said that it will offer "more than 4x performance increases over the current generation", and will showcase "four generations of content like you’ve never seen them before", which seems to suggest that Xbox Project Scarlett will continue the Xbox One's strong backwards compatibility support.

Halo Infinite is definitely a launch title too, so prepare yourself for some serious Master Chief action.

No doubt Microsoft will have more to add in the near future, but guys, it's official. Next-gen starts Holiday 2020.

Sam Loveridge
Global Editor-in-Chief, GamesRadar+

Sam Loveridge is the Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar, and joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.