Xbox Project Scarlett details at E3 2019: Disc drive confirmed, plus 8K graphics

Xbox head also says the console will have a disc drive in addition to featuring Halo Infinite as a launch title.

Ian Sherr Former Editor at Large / News

Ian Sherr (he/him/his) grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, so he's always had a connection to the tech world. At CNET, he wrote about Apple, Microsoft, VR, video games and internet troubles. Aside from writing, he tinkers with tech at home, is a longtime fencer -- the kind with swords -- and began woodworking during the pandemic.

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Ian Sherr

June 10, 2019 2:48 p.m. PT

5 min read

xbox-project-scarlett-03-e3-2019 — Waiting is hard.
Microsoft

Get ready for a new Xbox. Microsoft gave more details about its upcoming Xbox video game console, codenamed Scarlett, in a presentation ahead of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 as it's known, in Los Angeles Sunday. The new device will be four times more powerful than the Xbox One X and powered by an AMD chip.

Microsoft said the new console will be able to offer frame rates up to 120 frames per second, or twice the average TV. The new device will also include a solid-state drive, Microsoft said, meaning the device will load games much faster than through its older mechanical hard drives.

"A console should be built and optimized for one thing and one thing only: Gaming," Xbox head Phil Spencer said during the company's presentation.

The device will also still have a disc drive, the company told GamesIndustry.biz, even though Microsoft just released a lower-price all-digital Xbox last month. "We know, because we see it, that more and more players are buying digital," he told the publication. "The experience in certain instances, specifically if I am away from my console and everything is on my hard-drive with the entitlements are all there -- there are some scenarios that are easy. We know that people still have discs."

The company said its new Xbox will launch with the company's next big upcoming space war game, Halo Infinite. That will mark the first time Halo will be a launch title for new Xbox hardware in almost 20 years.

Microsoft's next Xbox, expected to land on retail shelves next year, is coming at a time of transition in the video game world. Microsoft and Sony have both announced plans to release next-generation video game consoles, following up on their Xbox One and PlayStation 4 devices, first released in 2013. But newcomers are aiming to change the video game world too, and may offer new competition.

Google in March announced a new gaming service called Stadia, which allows players to stream games over the internet in a similar way we stream movies over Netflix now. Stadia doesn't require a video game console to work, and it'll be free to use when you buy a game from Google, essentially side-stepping the idea of plugging a console into your television.

Still, game makers have said internet connections around the world aren't reliable enough for game streaming yet, which is part of why Microsoft and Sony still plan to offer them.

e3-2019-xbox-4395 — Expect more Microsoft news as we go hands-on throughout the week with more at E3.
James Martin/CNET

Upcoming E3 press conferences

Saturday, June 8

Electronic Arts -- The game maker showed off 15 minutes of gameplay for its upcoming adventure game, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It also announced new features for its free-to-download Apex Legends last-man-standing battle royale game, offering a new character and weapon to play with. The company also showed off a new paid update for The Sims 4, called Island Living, that brings the series to a tropical beach. Finally, the company did discuss drama over the mixed reviews for its Anthem action adventure game, saying it "learned a lot" and had more updates and features planned soon.

Sunday, June 9

Microsoft / Xbox -- The gaming giant's biggest news was Project Scarlett, its next-generation Xbox, coming in 2020. The new device is up to 4x more powerful, the company said, and like the next-gen PlayStation it'll include a fast non-mechanical SSD hard drive, and it'll be powered by custom innards built with the help of chipmaker AMD. The company also announced that Halo Infinite will launch alongside Project Scarlett next year. Meantime, Microsoft is starting public tests of its Project xCloud streaming service in October, promising people the ability to play high end games on their mobile devices while away from home. While fans wait, Microsoft announced an update to its Xbox Elite Controller Series 2 as well as a slew of new games. And action star Keanu Reeves, fresh off the success of John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum, was on stage to announce his involvement with Cyberpunk 2077, which is coming next year.
Bethesda -- Bethesda kicked off its event with humility over the mixed response to Fallout 76, but quickly went back on the offensive. Fallout 76 got a new Battle Royale mode, Wolfenstein Youngblood received a new trailer and a co-op mode. We got a new game called Deathloop from the clever folks behind Dishonored and Bethesda introduced us to Orion, a piece of tech from ID Software designed to make game streaming better on services like Google Stadia. The lion's share of attention, however, went to Doom Eternal, which looked fantastic in both single player and multiplayer.

Monday, June 10

PC Gaming Show -- This annual PC Gaming Show is held at a theater a short walk from the Los Angeles Convention Center, but still draws a large crowd, filling the 1,700-person capacity Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Inside, the usual suspects, from Halo to Doom, were nowhere to be found. Instead, the crowd cheered for PC-centric games including Zombie Army 4, Baldur's Gate 3 and Terraria: Journey's End. (No, the game sequel problem isn't any better on PCs.) The highlight was a brief on-stage appearance by legendary game designer Yu Suzuki, responsible for classic such as Hang-On and Virtua Fighter. His long-awaited Shenmue 3 is expected in November, 18 years after Shenmue 2.
Ubisoft -- The French gaming giant announced its next big dystopian hacking adventure game, Watch Dogs: Legion, launching March 2020. The new game is set in near-future post-Brexit London, where the economy is failing and government is breaking down. The company also announced a new television show, called Mythic Quest, that will launch on Apple TV Plus. And it celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Just Dance party games.
Square Enix -- 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET)

Tuesday, June 11

Nintendo (livestream only) -- 9 a.m. PT (noon ET)

We're there

CNET will be on the ground, covering covering E3 2019 alongside our sister site, Gamespot. We'll update this page throughout the show as more games are announced.