It seems that Microsoft have some pretty high hopes for their E3 2016 showing, by teasing that the company expects it to be a “special” one.
Amid all kinds of crazy Xbox hardware rumours, I’d put good money on Microsoft announcing at least one reported new console.
Xbox marketing chief Mike Nichols said in a statement today:
We are just days away from E3 2016 and we’re excited to share more details on what Xbox fans can expect this year and beyond. We expect this to be a special E3.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has dropped a saucy E3 2016 tease. Back in May, Director of Xbox Programming Larry Hryb promised “cool stuff” and “plenty of surprises” in what should be one of the “best weeks ever” for Xbox fans.
Personally, I’d rather the company focus on showing us a ton of awesome exclusives rather than a hardware upgrade, but all the signs so far seem to point to the latter.
Most sources seem to agree that Microsoft will almost definitely be showing off a slimmer Xbox One, complete with a 2TB hard drive.
Meanwhile, reports have also come through of a more powerful Xbox One that aims to rival the (also currently unconfirmed) PS4.5.
Codenamed “Scorpio”, this more powerful model is said to run at 6 teraflops – four times the power of the current Xbox One. It’s less likely that this one will be showed off at E3 2016, but other sources reckon it might just happen – if not at E3 then soon after.
Whatever Microsoft has up its silky sleeves, we’ll find out during their 90 minute E3 briefing. You can watch it on June 13 at 5:30pm (UK time).
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.