New reports from E3 bookings
It’s almost a foregone conclusion that Microsoft will unveil at least one new and upgraded model of Xbox One at this year’s E3. It was originally believed that a souped-up version of what released in late 2013 would serve to fix the performance gap that has existed between PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Better hardware would mean that it could (theoretically) hit higher framerates, output at higher resolutions — the kind of technical things that have held back some titles on Xbox over the past three years.
New developments indicate that an improved Xbox One might also serve the purpose of being virtual reality-capable. As reported by Ars Technica, a PR representative reached out to the site to book an E3 appointment for a VR game on PC, PS4, and Xbox One that is being developed by a well-known European studio. Further, the game is “set in the universe of an established, long-running franchise.”
This is more than a PR mix-up. Ars responded to confirm that the rep intended to include Xbox as a platform; the rep replied in the affirmative.
Barring some kind of last-minute audible from Microsoft, it sure seems like VR for Xbox is all but certain. This may have been foreshadowed by Microsoft teaming up with Oculus last year to ship new Rift headsets with an Xbox One controller. Conventional logic would dictate an E3 press conference reveal, but maybe new hardware will be enough for one show. We’ll find out in a little more than two weeks’ time.
Developer: We’re working on an Xbox One VR game for 2017 [Ars Technica]
