• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechFortune 500

Microsoft’s Mysterious Project Scorpio Will Handle Virtual Reality

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 13, 2016, 3:32 PM ET
Mobile World Congress - Day 1
BARCELONA, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 22: A logo sits illuminated outside the Microsoft pavilion on the opening day of the World Mobile Congress at the Fira Gran Via Complex on February 22, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. The annual Mobile World Congress hosts some of the world's largest communications companies, with many unveiling their latest phones and wearables gadgets. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)David Ramos—Getty Images

Microsoft plans to introduce a new video game console that will incorporate virtual reality technology.

The technology giant said that the new video game device, currently called Project Scorpio, would be available during the 2017 holiday season. Phil Spencer, the head of Microsoft’s Xbox gaming division, announced the new device on Monday in Los Angeles during the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3.

Spencer said Project Scorpio represents the “next step” of gaming consoles that need to provide the computing power required for 4K graphics and “high fidelity virtual reality.”

Spencer didn’t reveal many details about the new console, only to say that it will have 8 CPU cores, 6 teraflops of GPU power, and “will be the most powerful console every built.”

“Project Scorpio will be the next edition of the Xbox One family,” Spencer said about Microsoft’s (MSFT) existing video game consoles.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Microsoft also said on Monday that it would release a smaller version of its Xbox One gaming system, the new Xbox One S, in August. That device, which will sell for $300, will also support 4K video and is 40% smaller than the existing Xbox One.

Spencer also said that all video games released for Project Scorpio will be compatible with the Xbox One and the Xbox One S. “No one gets left behind,” Spencer said to reassure consumers that Microsoft won’t abandon support of its current gaming consoles when the new device hits the market.

Microsoft did not say how the new console would incorporate virtual reality technology. Current VR headsets like Facebook’s (FB) Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive require a powerful computer to plug into. In March, Sony said it planned to debut a VR headset in October that will work in tandem with the company’s PlayStation 4 video game console.

Presumably, Microsoft’s Project Scorpio console would provide the necessary computing power, while a partner company provides a compatible virtual reality headset that can work with the machine. Spencer did not say if Microsoft was building its own VR headset or if the new console will work with the company’s HoloLens augmented reality headset, which is not as immersive as other VR headsets but instead overlays three-dimensional holographic images and video onto the real world.

For more on Microsoft, watch:

In an interview with the technology publication The Verge, Spencer said Microsoft does not have any partners lined up for the new console that the company wants to currently reveal. However, Spencer said that the console’s hefty computing power is “very attractive to some of the VR companies that are out there already, and we’ve architected it such that something will be able to plug right in and work.”

 

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in Tech

AIOpenAI
OpenAI vs. Apple? Sam Altman is setting his sights on winning what could be an even higher-stakes AI battle
By Alyson ShontellDecember 20, 2025
9 minutes ago
Photo of Elon Musk
TechTesla
Tesla’s chief designer accidentally smashed a $61K Cybertruck’s ‘armor glass’ window with a metal ball. Now he says it was a ‘great marketing moment’
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 20, 2025
3 hours ago
Scott Anthony
Future of WorkColleges and Universities
‘They’ll lose their humanity’: Dartmouth professor says he’s surprised just how scared his Gen Z students are of AI
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 20, 2025
4 hours ago
AIBrainstorm AI
Natasha Lyonne says AI has an ethics problem because right now it’s ‘super kosher copacetic to rob freely under the auspices of acceleration’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezDecember 20, 2025
5 hours ago
Sam Altman looks down and to the side, frowning.
AIOpenAI
Sam Altman says he’s ‘0%’ excited to be CEO of a public company as OpenAI drops hints about an IPO: ‘In some ways I think it’d be really annoying’
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 19, 2025
1 day ago
AIDebt
AI hyperscalers have room for ‘elevated debt issuance’ — even after their recent bond binge, BofA says
By Jason MaDecember 19, 2025
1 day ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
The scientist who helped create AI says it’s only ‘a matter of time’ before every single job is wiped out—even safer trade jobs like plumbing
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 19, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
As graduates face a ‘jobpocalypse,’ Goldman Sachs exec tells Gen Z they need to know their commercial impact 
By Preston ForeDecember 18, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
The $38 trillion national debt is to blame for over $1 trillion in annual interest payments from here on out, CRFB says
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 17, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
Meta’s 28-year-old billionaire prodigy says the next Bill Gates will be a 13-year-old who is ‘vibe coding’ right now
By Eva RoytburgDecember 19, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Billionaire who sold two companies to Coca-Cola says he tries to persuade people not to become entrepreneurs: ‘Every single day, you can go bankrupt’
By Dave SmithDecember 19, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Sneaking unemployment rate means the U.S. economy is inching closer to a key recession indicator, says Moody’s
By Eleanor PringleDecember 19, 2025
1 day ago