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AMD announced its FSR 4.1 upscaling technology will expand to Xbox Series X/S consoles and the Ally, Ally X, Ally X20 and Ally S handhelds. The feature uses machine learning to boost performance by rendering games at lower resolutions then sharpening the image. AMD is also bringing FSR 4.1 to older RX 6000-series graphics cards and Ryzen AI 9-powered laptops, having already enabled it on 7000-series cards.
Microsoft is promoting a trade-in offer encouraging Xbox Series X owners to exchange their consoles, reportedly in the lead-up to a new device referred to as Project Helix. The push suggests the incentive is tied to generating interest or offsetting costs for the upcoming hardware.
AMD announced that FSR 4.1 upscaling, previously limited to RX 9000 and RX 7000 graphics cards, is now available on Radeon RX 6000-series GPUs, Xbox Series X and S consoles, Ryzen Z-series handhelds, and systems with Ryzen AI Max and AI 9 processors. AMD adapted the neural network to run on INT8 shader hardware rather than the FP8 matrix hardware found in newer cards, with a further-shrunk version for handhelds. The update also brings improved frame pacing for Frame Generation, upcoming Vulkan API support, and wider rollout of Ray Regeneration.
Sensor Tower estimates Rockstar had pre-sold about 6.45 million copies of Grand Theft Auto VI as of October 20, generating roughly $630 million in revenue. PlayStation 5 accounts for about 74% of pre-orders (4.8 million units) versus 1.66 million on Xbox Series X|S, ahead of the game's November 19 release.
Microsoft has made its Disc to Digital tool available to all Xbox users after a month of Insider beta testing, letting players convert physical Xbox One and Series X game discs into digital licenses tied to their account rather than their console. The feature does not require an Xbox Game Pass subscription and is triggered manually by selecting 'Claim Digital License' from a game's menu rather than automatically on disc insertion.
A new emulator called PS5X lets Xbox Series X hardware run PlayStation 5 games, but only through Microsoft's Developer Mode, which restricts games to 5GB of memory versus the 13.5GB available to retail Xbox titles. The cap only lifts when software runs via the Visual Studio debugger, a developer-testing setup, and consoles in Developer Mode cannot load retail games until switched back. Microsoft banned emulators from retail Xbox mode in 2023 and has reportedly suspended players for 15 days for circumventing that policy.
Rockstar Games published the launch trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 on Thursday, featuring a new track from Justice with Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. The trailer introduces protagonists Jason, a former soldier with a troubled past, and Lucia, whose phone call sets the story in motion. The game is set to launch Nov. 19 on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5.
Citing sources, GamesBeat reports that Rockstar Games plans to launch Grand Theft Auto 6 on PC in the first quarter of 2027, a few months after its November 19 debut on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. That gap would be far shorter than the roughly 19 months between GTA 5's 2013 console launch and its 2015 PC release.
A GamesBeat report citing unnamed sources says Grand Theft Auto VI could arrive on PC within the first three months of 2027. The console version launches November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with no official PC date yet confirmed by Rockstar Games.
The Xbox Series S is cheaper than the Series X mainly because it lacks a disc drive, offers less storage, and uses significantly weaker hardware. The Series S has 512GB of base storage versus 1TB on the Series X, only 4 teraflops of processing power compared to 12, and caps out at 1440p resolution versus 4K on the Series X. Both consoles share similar CPU and GPU architecture but differ in clock speed, compute units, and RAM bandwidth, with the Series X outperforming across the board.
Circana analyst Mat Piscatella reported that US retail sales of Xbox consoles fell 33% year-to-date through August 2026, marking an all-time low since the brand launched nearly 25 years ago. PlayStation 5 sales fell 25% over the same period, their weakest showing since 2013. Both Microsoft and Sony have raised console prices multiple times in the past two years amid chip shortages.
The Xbox Series X, released in 2020, continues to run current and upcoming major titles like GTA VI despite rising component costs pushing up Xbox hardware prices. Microsoft's new disc-to-digital conversion feature and rumored next-gen console, codenamed Project Helix, raise questions about the console's remaining lifespan and an eventual shift to all-digital gaming.