Report: Microsoft is planning a ‘What’s next for gaming’ Xbox event
According to a report from ZDNet, Xbox has another event lining up in the coming weeks.
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What you need to know
Xbox has been on fire lately, dominating the airwaves with massive drops forXbox Game Pass, includingOutridersand PlayStation-developedMLB: The Show. Microsoft also held aMarch ID@Xbox eventwhere they showcased dozens upon dozens of games recently in partnership with Twitch. Microsoft isn’t slowing down, according to anew reportfrom leading Microsoft expert Mary Jo Foley over at ZDNet.
The news comes hot on the heels of Microsoft’s announcement forBuild 2021, the firm’s big developer conference, which is slated for May 25 to May 27. As part of these events, Foley notes that Microsoft is planning a range of smaller “What’s Next” virtual events, which will include a feature specifically tailored around gaming. Foley also notes that this isnotthe upcomingGame Stack Liveevent, slated for April.
Microsoft is supplementing its main, larger conferences this year with smaller “What’s Next” virtual events. A “What’s Next for Gaming” event is expected in the coming weeks. The Game Stack Live event also listed on the US events page is not that event, I hear.
Given that this event will form part of Microsoft’s Build festivities, it’s unlikely we’ll see any new games revealed here. What you should expect, however, is new features and technology Microsoft is working on to improve dev’s lives in the gaming space. We could see glimpses of new graphics technology and features slated for future versions of the Xbox toolset, as well as features coming to the Xbox platform in general.
Microsoft has previously made consumer-oriented announcements at Build in the past, revealing new products and services, too. It could be at this event where the planned expansion of Xbox Game Pass to web browsers is revealed, bringing the all-you-can-eat gaming service to iOS, Chromebooks, MacOS, and low-power PCs and laptops. GivenMicrosoft’s widely-rumored talks to acquire gaming comms platform Discord, it would also be an opportune time to shed light on what the partnership means for the Xbox platform and beyond.
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Jez Corden is the Executive Editor at Windows Central, focusing primarily on all things Xbox and gaming. Jez is known for breaking exclusive news and analysis as relates to the Microsoft ecosystem while being powered by tea. Follow onTwitter (X)andThreads, and listen to hisXB2 Podcast, all about, you guessed it, Xbox!
