What you need to know
- The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are due out in Holiday 2020.
- The release date of these consoles seems dependent on AMD chip supply.
- According to AMD, the company is ramping up chip production and feels confident in being able to support Microsoft and Sony's systems in time.
With AMD powering the CPU and GPU of Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Sony's PlayStation 5, the company plays a large role in when these consoles release. Thankfully, it looks like AMD is confident that it can support both systems come Holiday 2020, with production ramping up to do so.
In a recent earnings call, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su said, "We expect semi-custom revenue to increase in the second quarter and be heavily weighted towards the second-half of the year, as we ramp production to support the holiday launches of the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles."
Sony's been quiet about the PS5, but wording in its announcement of the DualSense controller indicates that it still plans to release the PS5 this holiday. Xbox, on the other hand, has been far more vocal about its plans.
Speaking with CNBC, Xbox head Phil Spencer said that the Xbox Series X hardware was still on track for this holiday, but launch games could be delayed.
"Overall, I think we're in line with where we thought we would be," he said. "I'd say the bigger unknown is probably the game production. Game production is a large scale entertainment activity now, you have hundreds of people coming together, building assets, working through creative."
Microsoft is hosting a special episode of Inside Xbox this week on May 7 where fans will get their first look at Xbox Series X gameplay. Assassin's Creed Valhalla gameplay is also set to debut. You can tune in at 8am PT/11am ET on Xbox's social channels, Mixer, Twitch, and YouTube.
