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A Kotaku report is adding fuel to the fire regarding rumors of upgraded Xbox One consoles coming our way. Sources are said to have confirmed to the outlet that there will be a smaller, cheaper Xbox One with a more spacious hard drive coming to stores by the end of the year, while an Xbox One with a beefed up GPU and Oculus Rift support is due in 2017.
According to Kotaku, the new Xbox One is codenamed Scorpio, and it will be at least technically capable of supporting the Rift. While being able to support the Rift and actually supporting it are two different things, this theoretical partnership would make sense given that Oculus and Microsoft already have a deal in place for the Rift and Windows 10.
Add in the fact that Sony has its own VR headset on the way and I imagine Xbox would want a piece of that virtual pie. Every Rift already comes with a Microsoft Xbox One controller, so if you've got a Rift, you already have the tools you'd need to play on console. Again, theoretically.
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Kotaku also notes that the beefed up GPU will be capable of supporting 4K resolution. Whether that means total support or only supporting certain aspects of 4K is yet to be seen. However powerful it may end up being, Scorpio is said to be backwards-compatible, and the first step of Microsoft introducing an Apple-like business model, with incremental upgrades every few years rather than large periods of time without new hardware.
Other than the addition of Oculus support and specifying 4K support, this news follows in line with FCC filings uncovered last month, which showed Microsoft had applied for two unique models of wireless chip; models 1682 and 1683. Evidence linked to these filings likewise suggested an "Xbox One Slim" (not an official name) and a separate, wholly new console. Anonymous sources confirmed to The Verge one week later that Microsoft was indeed testing new prototype hardware.
E3 2016 is just weeks away - hopefully we'll learn more soon.
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Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar+. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.
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