So we know that Microsoft’s upgraded Project Scorpio Xbox One is due for a release in 2017, but what we did not know is that the Redmond company actually considered releasing an upgraded Xbox One this year, and by that we don’t mean Project Scorpio, but rather a console that would have been somewhat in between.In Eurogamer’s interview with Xbox boss Phil Spencer, the exec revealed that before Scorpio, the company actually considered releasing an upgraded version of the console this year. “We could have done a new update this year. We actually looked at it. We went all the way to, we had the spec in front of us, should we ship something that’s less than Scorpio this year, but in truth you can’t do a true 4K console this year.”
However according to Spencer, he claims that releasing a console this year would mean that the device would fall in between 1080p and 4K, and given that 4K is expected to become the new standard resolution for the foreseeable future, it is understandable that Microsoft decided to pass on that idea in favor of the 4K Scorpio.
“And I just didn’t think anything between what is effectively a 1080p console and the 4K console, like, from a consumer television standpoint there’s nothing in the middle. So let’s go focus on 4K and next year was the right year to do that.” Prior to this, Spencer also said that gamers without a 4K TV probably shouldn’t upgrade to the Scorpio as they would not benefit as much. In the meantime Sony also has an upgraded PS4 in the works, but unfortunately we do not have a release date yet, so it is possible that Sony could beat Microsoft to it, or it could be the other way around.