A new report has indicated that Microsoft might be targeting a 2027 launch for its next-gen Xbox consoles. According to YouTube channel Moore’s Law is Dead, Microsoft has seemingly been discussing a 2027 launch window for the console with its partners. Along with this, the YouTube channel has reportedly also gotten its hands on some details about the specifications of the AMD APU (accelerated processing unit), dubbed Magnus, that will power the console.
According to the report, the Magnus APU will be composed of two separate chiplets – an SoC (system on a chip) that will handle CPU duties, and a GPU based on similar technologies to AMD’s desktop Radeon products. The CPU is slated to be made with AMD’s Zen 6 architecture, and will feature up to 3 cores, along with 8 Zen 6c cores, all of which share a 12 MB L3 cache. The GPU, on the other hand, will have 68 RDNA5 compute units, with 4 shader engines. The hardware is expected to feature a 24 MB L2 cache, which has been noted as being equal to five times the amount on the Xbox Series X.
While no concrete details on aspects like memory have been revealed as of yet, the memory bus is set to be 192-bit, with the hardware being possible to configure to use 24 GB, 36 GB or 48 GB of RAM. Along with this, AI workloads like image upscaling and Microsoft Copilot will be handled by an 110 TOPS (trillion operations per second) NPU that can go down to 46 TOPS for low-power mode. The total power requirements for the Magnus APU are estimated to be somewhere between 250 to 350 watts.
Interestingly, from the numbers provided by Moore’s Law is Dead, the chip powering the next-generation Xbox isn’t quite offering as radical a performance lead over the rumoured chip powering the PS6 as one might expect. While the Magnus APU might end up having a TDP of 350 W – around 70 percent higher than what is expected of the PS6’s chip – performance gains are reportedly only in the 30-35 percent range according to the report.
However, these gains aren’t quite meaningless. While it may not offer the ability to play games at higher resolutions, multiplatform titles will likely end up offering smoother and higher frame rates on the Xbox rather than the PS6. An example provided by Moore’s Law is Dead states that a title running on the PS6 at 4K resolution and 120 FPS can run on the Xbox’s APU at 4K and 144 FPS.
Other rumours surrounding the next-generation Xbox have indicated that Microsoft might be looking to create a PC/console hybrid machine that, along with being able to play games purchased specially for the console, will also seemingly be able to run games bought from Steam or GOG. These reports indicate that Microsoft might be planning an even harder push into its Xbox Play Anywhere initiative. The reports have also indicated that the console will likely be more expensive than Sony’s offering.
