The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are now in their fifth year of launch, and it's fair to say that the console's software offerings are more successful than its console sales.
Perhaps as a way to boost interest in Microsoft's consoles, Microsoft Xbox CEO Sarah Bond announced in a video that Microsoft and chipmaker AMD are working together to build a new Xbox console.
The two companies will be working together to "build" a series of processors for a number of different products (likely desktop and mobile consoles) that will be combined with support for a cross-platform software store.
Xbox will also be working with AMD to redevelop the Xbox Cloud Gaming service for the next generation. The game streaming service is limited to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions for now, and while we're sure you'll still need a Microsoft account to subscribe to the service, it remains to be seen whether Microsoft will decide to separate it out in the future.
Meanwhile, Sarah Bond also said that Microsoft also wants to build a console that isn't tied to a single game store. This could mean that taking a cue from consoles like the ASUS ROG Ally, MSI Claw, Lenovo Legion Go, and so on, Microsoft's upcoming console will come with support for other gaming software stores like Steam, Epic Games Store, GoG, and so on.
In theory, a collaboration with AMD to develop new consoles makes sense. Microsoft and ASUS are expected to unveil the ROG Xbox Ally console powered by AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme processors later this year, so this collaboration is seen as something that can already be expected.
But it's interesting that Microsoft is making such an announcement so early. But considering how Sony just launched its PlayStation 5 Pro console a few months ago, it's not surprising to see how Microsoft also has to do something to keep up with the industry.