What is Project Magnus on Xbox and why could it change consoles?

If you follow gaming news, you've probably heard of... Project Magnus and the next xboxFrom forum leaks to veiled statements from executives, everything points to Microsoft preparing a huge move that could forever change what we understand by "console".

What until recently were mere rumors has been consolidated thanks to Reports from journalists like Jez Corden, leakers like Kepler L2 and analysis by technical experts. The result is a fairly clear picture: Xbox Magnus will not be a typical console, but rather a kind of PC with "consolized" Windows, with a powerful AMD chip, support for third-party stores like Steam and Epic Games Store, and a price that could break all the molds.

What exactly is Project Magnus on Xbox?

Project Magnus It's the codename for the new System-on-Chip (SoC) that AMD is developing for the next generation of Microsoft Gaming hardware. In practice, this chip is the heart of what many are already calling Xbox Magnus, the successor to Xbox Series X|S, but with a very different philosophy: closer to a high-end desktop PC than a traditional closed console.

According to leaks, Microsoft's idea is to launch a "console-type" desktop device that is actually a complete Windows PCThere would be no real barrier between the Xbox and PC ecosystems, because the operating system would essentially be Windows, with a interface adapted to the TV and remote control as a main layer for playing from the couch.

This means that Xbox would cease to be merely "the box under the TV" and would become a family of devices created by Microsoft and third-party manufacturersall based on Magnus and a gaming-focused Windows. The Xbox brand would become, more than ever, an ecosystem of software, services, and stores.

Furthermore, sources indicate that Magnus' console/PC will have a Estimated launch window for late 2027with the possibility of being pushed back to 2028 if operating system or hardware development requires it. It's not a set date, but it's the timeframe insiders are working with.

A “Windows PC” disguised as a console

One of the most striking details of Project Magnus is that It will not be a closed console in the classic style.Jez Corden and other analysts agree that the new hardware will technically be a Windows 11 PC (or its future revision) optimized for gaming and for the living room.

Instead of the current structure, where Xbox Series X|S has an operating system very close to Windows but cut down and with strong control from the Microsoft store, Xbox Magnus would function like a normal PC with the capacity to execute:

• The Xbox app and its console interface as the main experience when you play on TV.
• Third-party stores such as Steam, Epic Games Store, or GOG, installed and run as on any computer.
• Traditional Windows applicationsThe difference is that the system will be designed specifically for remote control and use on a large screen.

This opens the door for you to be able to Buy and play titles from Steam, Epic, or GOG directly on the new Xbox hardwarewithout relying solely on the Microsoft Store. For the PC gamer who wants something "plug and play" in the living room, it's a huge treat.

In return, Microsoft is abandoning part of the classic console model, where The machines are subsidized by selling games and services in a closed shop.If users spend their money on Steam or other platforms, the company earns less per game, which makes the hardware more expensive because it can no longer compensate as much with the software.

This change aligns with the company's new philosophy: break down barriers between PC and consoleEmbrace open platforms and strengthen services like Game Pass or Xbox Cloud Gaming as key parts of the business, regardless of whether you play from an "official" machine or an OEM device.

The OEM revolution: alliances with ASUS and other manufacturers

Magnus's move cannot be understood without looking at the boost Microsoft is giving to the OEM partnerships with brands like ASUSThe clearest example is the ROG Xbox Ally, a Windows-based portable device that was showcased at the Xbox Games Showcase 2025, where it became clear that the brand intends to go beyond its own hardware.

The idea is that, just as with the laptops with Windows or Android mobilesMicrosoft will handle the operating system and a "reference experience," leaving partners like ASUS, MSI, Dell, or other manufacturers to take care of the rest. design machines with different formats, prices and features.

This is how we could see it from more modest and relatively affordable 1080p systems...to true "ultra-premium" monsters with advanced cooling, faster memory, and very expensive configurations. All running on the same Xbox and Windows ecosystem adapted for gaming.

This strategy represents a huge shift from the traditional closed console model, where Sony, Nintendo, or Microsoft itself control 100% of the hardwareThe intention here is to flood the market with options for all budgets, while maintaining Xbox as the common layer of software and services.

The ROG Xbox Ally and its successors would only the spearhead of a wave of devices certified as “Xbox-ready”, which would share Magnus SoC (or variants), full access to Windows and compatibility with the console-like living room experience.

A portable Xbox from Microsoft itself is also on the way.

Although the focus is on collaboration with third parties, the leaks make it clear that Microsoft will not give up on having its own first-party laptop.There will be an internal device that will function as "the Surface of gaming": a machine that sets the standard for quality and experience for the rest.

This laptop, also based on the Magnus philosophy, would serve as reference for studies and developersMeanwhile, other brands cover more specific niches (more power, lower price, extreme gaming designs, etc.). The strategy is reminiscent of the Surface range in the laptop world, where Microsoft demonstrates "what a modern Windows machine should be."

Even so, the internal priorities would be clear: First, the next-generation desktop machine, planned for 2027, and around it the portable console and the rest of the associated devices, which would extend the Xbox experience to mobile format and different price ranges.

For gamers worried about a possible Microsoft withdrawal from the hardware, the words of Sarah Bond, president of the Xbox division, are a direct message: The next console/desktop PC is in development, and it is conceived as a premium platform that will even surpass PS6 in power.

Magnus Architecture: Technical Specifications and Raw Power

Behind all of this is Magnus, AMD's APU designed to be the largest and most powerful ever used in a home gaming machineSeveral coinciding leaks detail what this chip will look like and why it will significantly increase both power and cost.

According to the Moore's Law Is Dead channel and leakers like Kepler L2, the Magnus SoC would feature a size of about 408 mm² manufactured at the TSMC N3P nodeThis makes it an APU 13% larger than that of the Xbox Series X and Xbox One X, and approximately 46% larger than the one that PS6 is supposedly going to use.

In the graphic section, we talk about an RDNA 5 GPU with 70 Compute Units, of which 68 would be activeThis represents a huge leap in performance compared to the current generation. This GPU is designed to take full advantage of modern technologies such as:

• advanced ray tracing with more real-time effects and better lighting quality.
• AI processing supported by an XDNA3 NPU of up to 110 TOPS for scaling, image reconstruction and other intelligent functions.
• Hardware scaling to maintain high frame rates with very high effective resolutions.

In memory, rumors point to a 192-bit bus capable of supporting up to 48 GB of GDDR7, an absolute outrage for a living room console/PC, with bandwidth designed for very heavy games and future graphics engines.

Kepler L2 has also commented on the RAM figures of various next-gen devices from Sony and Microsoft: The PlayStation handheld would have 24 GB, the PS6 would have around 30 GB, and the Xbox Magnus would reach 36 GB of RAM.This reinforces the idea that Magnus will be the most ambitious platform in terms of memory and raw resources.

This same leaker believes that, with these specifications, PS6 will not be able to match the performance The new Xbox has fewer CPU cores, slightly lower frequencies, fewer CUs, and less memory bandwidth and cache. It wouldn't be a huge gap, but enough, in their opinion, for 100% of multiplatform games to look or perform better on Microsoft's machine, in contrast to the 50/50 balance we've seen between the PS5 and Series X.

Windows 11 launch window and challenges

Current estimates place Xbox Magnus with a tentative launch window towards the end of 2027However, some sources also mention 2028 as a possibility if the internal schedule is delayed for technical or market reasons.

One of the main challenges is not just the hardware, but the integration of Windows 11 (or its evolution) as the base operating systemMaking Windows run completely smoothly in a console experience, without the usual inconveniences of the traditional desktop, is a huge task.

In fact, a recently came to light Major issue with a Windows 11 update on ASUS ROG Xbox Ally deviceswhich even affected the proper functioning of the manufacturer's own software base. Microsoft is working on a fix, and this setback serves as a timely warning: if they want to base the next generation of Xbox on Windows, they need to optimize stability and updates.

Specialized journalists point out that The Windows team and the Xbox division have begun to collaborate more closely than ever before.The goal is to offer a version of the system focused on video games and the living room experience, clearly differentiated from the traditional office or productivity Windows.

That's why it's said that the company has, at a minimum, two years to resolve problems and fine-tune the operating system before fully committing to the Magnuss launch. All of this with a clear priority: quality over haste, especially after some unstable hardware and software releases seen recently.

Xbox Magnus price: towards a console costing over $1.000

The other big question surrounding Project Magnus is the device starting priceSeveral sources agree that if Microsoft continues with this premium and open philosophy, the cost could far exceed what we are used to paying for a home console.

Analysts such as Kepler L2, along with studies of the Bill of Materials (BOM), estimate that Xbox Magnus could be priced between $800 and $1.200and even clearly surpass the psychological barrier of 1.000. If confirmed, it would be the most expensive home gaming machine in history in its category.

This high price can be explained by several key factors that drive the cost upwards:

• A gigantic and highly advanced APU, manufactured on a state-of-the-art node (TSMC N3P), with many cores and computing units, which drives up the production bill.
• GDDR7 memory in much higher quantities than previous generations.with a 192-bit bus and up to 48 GB possible, something more typical of very high-end PC GPUs.
• A business strategy less dependent on revenue from closed games and servicesprecisely because the console will be compatible with Steam and other stores that they do not directly control.

In previous generations, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo used to selling the consoles with minimal margins or even at a loss Initially, they relied on recouping their investment through sales of physical/digital games and subscriptions. Opening the system to third-party retailers reduces that buffer, forcing them to raise the base price of the hardware if they don't want each unit to represent an even bigger financial loss.

Rumors about a "premium" price point align with statements from Sarah Bond, who has insisted that the next desktop Xbox will be a premium product. It will clearly target the high-end market and offer a superior experience to that of the PS6.If Sony decides to maintain a more aggressive price point, below Microsoft's new machine, the battle will be fought on curious ground: power and openness versus price and accessibility.

In that scenario, it seems that Magnus is not designed to be a massive sales success from day onebut to establish a very solid technological base for the coming years, perhaps even a decade, even if that means being an aspirational product for an audience willing to pay considerably more.

Comparison with PS6 and the rest of the next generation

The new Xbox Magnus and the future PlayStation 6 shares a main supplier: AMDSony is working on its own project, known as Project Amethyst, which will serve not only the PS6, but also its next portable console and, possibly, PC graphics cards.

In the case of Xbox, the core will be Magnus; in Sony's case, Amethyst and related technologies such as PSSR and new upscaling and processing techniques. Both machines They are aiming for a similar launch around 2027, if the schedules leaked by insiders such as Kepler L2 and Moore's Law Is Dead are confirmed.

Kepler asserts that The base specifications for PS6 and Xbox Magnus are now "finalized".In other words, with few major changes ahead. Interestingly, even starting from that premise, it predicts that the new Xbox will have a clear advantage in almost every area of ​​pure performance: more compute units, higher frequencies, greater memory bandwidth, and more available RAM.

Regarding AI capabilities, it is said that PS6 could be around 1200 TOPSThat's quite a spectacular figure considering the PS5 Pro is expected to cost around 300 top-tier consoles. Even so, analysts believe that Magnus will offer very deep AI integration thanks to its XDNA3 NPU, focused on hardware scaling and other advanced uses in gaming.

All of this, combined with the potentially higher price of the Xbox, creates a scenario where PS6 could be the most mainstream and affordable optionMeanwhile, Xbox Magnus is positioned as an enthusiast-level product, comparable to a high-end gaming PC already assembled and optimized for the living room.

A radical change in Xbox's strategy and console model

Looking at the whole picture, Project Magnum implies a historic turning point for the Xbox brandAfter a complicated generation, with sales lower than PS5, price increases in hardware and Game Pass, project cancellations and studio closures, Microsoft has had to rethink how it wants to continue in the gaming business.

Faced with the option of withdrawing from hardware and focusing solely on services, the company has chosen the opposite: opting for an extremely powerful, very expensive, and much more open machinethat erases the boundaries between console and PC. Sarah Bond's message denying any withdrawal from the hardware market, and promising a next-generation "premium" console stronger than the PS6, is precisely in line with that.

This modular and open philosophy also makes it clear that Microsoft is more interested than ever in its library ecosystemThe priority is no longer so much the plastic box under the TV, but that you remain within the Xbox and Windows environment wherever you play, whether it's on Magnus, an ASUS laptop, a PC you built yourself, or in the cloud.

If everything goes as planned, you will no longer be tied to a single, closed console for seven or eight years; You'll be able to switch between different compatible devices., preserving your games, your Game Pass, your purchases from other stores and, in general, your entire digital gaming life.

It's a huge and risky gamble, because it depends on many factors: from the fact that Windows doesn't become a nuisance in console format...until the price drives too many users away, not to mention Sony's response and competition from traditional gaming PCs. But if all the leaks make one thing clear, it's that Magnus is probably... Xbox's most ambitious roadmap in recent decades.

In the end, Project Magnus is shaping up to be much more than "another new Xbox": it's the ultimate fusion between console and computerWith a monstrous AMD chip, a Windows reimagined as a gaming operating system, full compatibility with third-party stores, partnerships with OEMs, and a long-term vision that prioritizes quality and ecosystem over launch numbers, if these plans hold and the hardware arrives around 2027, we'll be looking at a generation that not only increases power but also rewrites the rules of what it means to have an Xbox at home.