We recently received a partial list of planned 4K titles for the next Xbox, dubbed "Project Scorpio," and we're now able to fully confirm its authenticity.
Microsoft will unveil Forza Motorsport 7 as the headline title for Project Scorpio in the next few weeks, and it will run at a blistering True 4K resolution. We've heard reports from reliable sources that the game, in true Forza fashion, already looks utterly stunning, and will showcase just what the console is capable of.
Our list comes from marketing materials that include titles Microsoft wants to use to exemplify Project Scorpio's six-teraflops (TF), True-4K capabilities. And it naturally includes several first-party titles, such as the aforementioned Forza 7, Crackdown 3, and State of Decay 2. But it also contains a few heavy-hitting, third-party titles.
The list includes some fairly obvious games, such as "Call of Duty", FIFA, and Madden, but also Battlefront 2, and Red Dead Redemption 2. It seems that each of these games will appear on Project Scorpio with a 4K resolution.
Battlefront 2 is effectively a no-brainer, considering the representatives of the game's developer, DICE, appeared in the trailer for Project Scorpio at E3 2016. But Red Dead Redemption 2 is a little less expected, and should prove a huge boost to the console's third-party credibility.
Scorpio is going to bring a very broad array of benefits to gamers of all types.
Additionally, it appears that Scorpio will have a sizeable library of 4K games out of the box, due to the "change resilience" features we outlined recently. Games that use dynamic 900p to 1080p resolution scaling on Xbox One (reducing visual quality to remain stable during intensive scenes) will be able to scale all the way up to 4K on Project Scorpio. This should give Project Scorpio the content it needs to be a worthy purchase proposition as soon as it goes on sale in the during the holiday season of 2017.
When you combine this with the 4K supersampling for 1080p TVs we discussed in a previous article, 4K Game DVR and streaming, it seems like Scorpio is going to bring a very broad array of benefits to gamers of all types. Microsoft is clearly keen on driving home Project Scorpio as a high-value proposition, with a feature set that will help it shrug off accusations of being a mere "Xbox One.5."
We'll no doubt have more details to share about Microsoft's plans for Project Scorpio in the coming weeks. Until then, strap in and enjoy the ride!
Reader comments
Microsoft will use Forza 7, Battlefront 2 and Red Dead Redemption 2 to showcase 4K on 'Project Scorpio' Xbox (exclusive)
Can't wait for RDR2!
I love Forza as much as the next fan, but I'll be really impressed if 3rd party studios are able to release Native 4K games on the Scorpio. That's a massive game changer.
Turn 10 isn't a 3rd party studio... It is owned and created by Microsoft just for Forza...
still, we all waited for Scalebound for this...too bad...also CupHead is waaay overdue...nothing about this? they presented a lot at E3 but some of them did not even get the change to shine...they neeeeeeeed new games...we need new games...the most anticipated game for me was scalebound...which is scrap now...crackdown 3 sure looks promising but hey..years passed and nothing new...
They talked about Crackdown 3 a few weeks ago. Had it running on the Scorpio and looked great.
Idk about you guys but Forza has a pretty good track record.
"Microsoft will use Forza 7, Battlefront 2 and Red Dead Redemption 2 to showcase"
no new exclusive IP? Fail!
Who says there won't be any new exclusive IPs?
What was PS4 pro new ip at launch.....plz tell me or your argument is garbage
Very negative but I tell the truth.
I do not say it just for Scorpio, presentation of new ip for One, Scoprio and Windows 10. And yes, PS4 had Horizon.
Horizon wasn't at launch though, but to be fair it was still shown.
Beat this Google!
Highly unlikely that Battlefront 2 will be running at native 4K and 60fps on the Scorpio unless setting are turned down. RDR2 has a better chance considering it will only be at 30fps. Forza is a safe bet for 4K60 native, racing games are commonly less demanding and the Motorsport series is no exception.
I never understood why racing games aren't super demanding, compared to other games. Racing games are perhaps the best looking genre of gaming out right now but they arent agressive on the cpu or gpu. Strange.
They don't have to worry about environments as much as the cars themselves, so all the focus can go towards the vehicles.
Jez! Great Article!! Is there a way I can get an notification everytime you publish an article?
I would love to see that commitment from Windows Mobile team.... this guys really love what they do.
Hmmmm, no Halo6? Bummer.
I would like to see the Forza 7 lowering the resolution to 1600 x 900p and getting better graphics on Xbox One (S)
Come on Microsoft. **** Sony and it's upscaler piece of **** 💩 box
Coming from someone who doesn't own a ps4, and has 3 xbox one's in my house, your pathetic. Grow the **** up. At least bring something of substance to the table
Forza 7 in the next few weeks? That's an incredibly early reveal for a series that traditionally isn't uttered in public until E3.
thats incorrect, most forza games have had a reveal late april or early may!!!
They're also not usually meant to carry the platform like they are this time. I think it needs saved for E3, unless they have something really unexpected hidden up their sleeve (on the level of surprise from HoloLens) to put next to it.
Now you mention it, they did announce Forza 6 with the new Ford GT, whilst Forza 5 was shown off with the Xbox One reveal. Horizon 2 and 3 were completely silent until E3 though curiously.
...destiny 2?
Probably a silly question, but these change resistant games, am I to assume most games fall into this category, or is it only 10% of titles, and mostly AAA? The more I look on DF YouTube videos, the more I feel underwhelmed with the boost mode on the PS4 Pro. I'm assuming Scorpio will be better. Secret wish though, is that they had stated 5.8TF, and then gone to the launch and announced 6.3TF. Just as a little extra wow factor.
6 TF is the performance total. Expect the sytem to come in a few higher I would think
dont be fooled, Sony will release PS5 in near future (i bet sep 2018). They wont let Microsoft lead the market with a console which can play 4K native
At the end of the day, it will not matter. Fans of each system will still support it. As i still only have a 360, i will likely upgrade to the Scorpio, sometime in the Spring of next year. If I'm going to invest in a new system, it might as well be newest. Besides, I assume that MS has some other plans for Scorpio that the One may not be capable of handling. Just my speculation.
Sounds like a great way to kick down their fans who bought the PSPro thinking it would be the 'next big thing'.
But hey, that's Sony's problem.
nah, PS PRO is not the next big thing, its just an update of the current system. The next big thing will have much more power. You dont need to be an engineer or a marketing specialist to predict this
on the other hand, without exclusive games and really good games project Scorpio cant win the console war. SONY has much better exclusive games right now so they dont need to hurry
Sony would be crazy to launch another new more powerful system in 2018. The earliest you'll see a new more powerful PS will be 2020. Up until at least Summer 2016 they were working on PS4 Pro and finalizing details. They wouldn't even have begun on designing a new more powerful even yet. And then it will be in its design phases for at least 2 years after Scorpio.
Forza 7 is a bad choice for a flagship game for Scorpio. Most Sony fans and haters predicted MS would fall back on Forza as a launch title for Scorpio....turns out they were right...thumbs down. MS/Xbox cant seem to figure it out...they need a good purge of personnel on the Xbox team....reallocate 90% of the team to other MS jobs that dont include games and get some fresh young blood in there. These old fuddy duddies are clueless and keep making the same mistakes. Battlefront 2....no go...Battlefront 1 player pops sank drastically very fast...2 wont be any different. Red Dead Redemption 2 is great.....anything other than Native 4K for it though will be picked apart...even if it upscales to 4K. MS/Xbox and Scorpio could have really used a new Fable or Scalebound or brand new IP to show off Scorpio and launch with it....instead they have to grasp at licensing deals and cling to Forza as their graphical pinnacle....Sorry racing games are known to not be the most graphically demanding. And racing games arent for everyone especially Forza MS series...Horizon is the more every gamer type of racer.
Flat out Scorpio needs its own Zelda breath of the wild or Horizon Zero Dawn....and it so far doesnt have that. .
They certainly could benefit from a little new IP. I'm still waiting for an adequate battle racer, a la Mario Kart. With local AND online split screen. Obviously 4 player local as a basic right. Seen Paul A review so many nearly there racers. If I were MS, I'd commission Rocket League Racing, with weapons. Established brand, vehicles that handle perfectly.
They already had a good purge...of their development teams.
I've said before that FM7's only worth ANYTHING to me if it supports VR. The Motorsport entries are just too redundant after almost 15 years. I much prefer the Horizon side, where there is much more variety of content. FM means "drive on these same tracks am illion times in a career that had no real subtance to it." It'd be a fantastic tech demo for VR, but that's the only appeal to me on a personal level. A new Forza Horizon might bring a new experience I'd be really interested in.
However, if the big reveal is using third-party releases (which consistently perform better on PS4, in terms of sales) is their big push for Scorpio, I won't bother getting it. I don't want any of those listed franchises--CoD, Madden, FIFA, Battlefront, or Red Dead. Shadow of War is the only third-party offering that interests me so far. Microsoft really hurt itself when it let all those dev teams go because there's nothing to suggest they have a system-selling title for Scorpio. Though Forza is the pinnacle of racing, the genre just isn't consistently popular enough to make a platform. The other exclusives are the previously delayed Crackdown and Sea of Thieves, which seems like yet another niche, sandbox experience. I just don't see where Scorpio tells you to buy it.
Then again, it's an enthusiast platform. Not selling people on 4K isn't that problematic. The real issue I have is what is selling the Xbox platform in ANY way. Why get even an XB1S, if you are in the market for a console? The exclusives just aren't there as of now, from what we know (between announced releases, absences, cancelations, and disbanded development entities). Microsoft needs to reinvest in software. Xbox is reeking of the mobile division--a great platform lacking software support.
Who gives a damn that you don't like Forza? It is the best racing game of it's kind and millions love it. Just because you don't doesn't mean they should no longer make it.
It's like reading isn't even a requirement in modern society. I like Forza, I just prefer the more adventurous world of Horizon more than 15 years of Silverstone and overly aggressive AI like Motorsport has.
Reading over what you originally wrote I don't really see a lot of love (or even like) for FM, just for a VR version of it, in fact you said that would be the only appeal it would have for you. Haven't played it in a while since my Xbox one died last summer and spending more only anything other than a significant upgrade like Scorpio doesn't appeal to me, but from what I recall the AI is based, in part, on how gamers actually drive; so blame them (and yourself) for it being overly aggressive.
You're not wrong. FM is as iterative and redundant a franchise as you can find. CoD changes a LOT more year-to-year than FM does every 2 years, yet the former gets slaughtered for being a copycat of its predecessors (though it's factually inaccurate). I can't deny the quality of the games, but I also can't deny that more than a decade of playing the franchise has led to fatigue, even with bi-annual releases. The career modes have no substance, just "run these tracks a million times." Even in the bad efforts in sports games, they try to build a narrative and use RPG mechanics to keep things progressing and engaging.
Also, no, it's not just how users drive. This isn't something new to Drivatars. Forza AI has always been given too much of a liberty with aggressive driving (I saw this as someone who palyed pre-Drivatar Forza and newer versions without an online connectino to use Drivatars). AI cars stick WAY too well and get away with violent driving that would send a human driver off the course in an instant. That's my complaint with it.
Its funny you mention forza as being rehashed for 15 years, but you mention COD? I play both but thats a dumb argument.
Me: "I don't want CoD, Shadow of War is the only Scorpio title I have current interest in."
You: "How dare you say you want CoD!"
Maybe stop rushing to throw out your hate and read what I said.
They have as many AAA exclusives as Sony, maybe they don't interest you but they are extremely popular. You are dissing on COD for example, but those games have been selling like hotcakes. So you say there are no games selling xbox? Games that were selling PS4 were multiplats that ran better on it, will be same story with Scorpio!
Man, you're totally incapable of understanding what I'm saying. I should probably just stop reading your words, if what you're claiming I said is what you think I actually said.
You can't blame Battlefront's failure on MS. That was EA's fault.
They decided to attack Forza because Sony and Polyphony have had a horrible track (no pun intended) record with Gran Turismo. There was supposed to be a GT launch at the same time as the PS3. It was predicted to destroy Project Gotham, was delayed for years, they put out betas that people had to pay for, and when it was finally released it was not the pomised showcase for The Cell. We were told that GT Sport would be released a year after the PS4 was released, but it has now been 3.5 years since with no certianty that it will be released this year.
When GT was repeatedly delayed for the PS3, the Sony fans mocked the 360 and Project Gotham as being so passé, that racing games were no longer relevant. They then changed their story once GT shipped. Now with GT Sport repeatedly delayed, the Sony fans are claiming it is a bad choice to be a launch title. Who cares if they think it is a bad choice? I know that I will be placing my pre order for Scorpio, Forza 7, and whatever other games are available with it. And while I am playing Forza in 4K glory, let the Sony people whine and complain all they want about Forza being a launch game while they continue to wait for GT Sport to ship. And if it ever does ship, we know for certian that it will be scaled up and not in 4K, even on the PS4P.
I don't think it's a bad launch title, I just think it's not a big enough genre to carry a product, which Forza is being asked to do with Scorpio. No doubt of the franchise's quality, but do peope like racing games enough--especially the track racers--that Scorpio will be a success with this as its only flagship title? To me, it isn't enough on its own, and the support titles are similarly disappointing, given the exclusive breakdown from the premiere site for covering this stuff is having to push out third-party games as showcasing 4K on Scorpio, even though those games will probably be doing that same on the PS4P (even if it's not as perfectly done over there).
I maintain that Forza works as a flagship in one scenario: VR. Forza could be a breathtaking experience in VR (especially Horizon...). I've always hated the way Forza's camera pans when checking car traffic. If I could buy in on VR with FM7 and do things like naturally check traffic by turning my head and get a more realstic feel for the speeds or the race, I'd be ecstatic to go for it. So much hype about VR for a few years, and I've never cared. Now, there's a time I might care about it. Hopefully Microsoft follows through on its promise for the Windows Holographic platform and affordable VR, because that's where Forza can carry this console--at least for me.
Racing games, for quality developers, are just easier to get out on a deadline, and are perfect showcases for graphical prowess. I think tons of people would love to have a native 4K Final Fantasy 7 at launch, but those sorts of games don't just come along every day or even year.
The Scorpio will not be nearly as dependant on 'launch titles' as most consoles, because it will have a deep library of playable games, and it sounds like many of them will see solid upgrades out of the gate.
They need one game that is obviously beautiful, and is a very simple 'gaming metaphor', and Forza hits all of those notes.
I think the problem there is that XB1 has been in a pretty big lull for exclusives as it is. Gears and Forza are about it because Halo Wars 2 is pretty niche, especially since it's available on PC now. Forza doesn't hit everything. It doesn't hit "new and exciting" without VR. Without VR, it's probably going to be 90% the same content, and they already blew the "it's in 4K" tag with XB1S and Horizon 3 (even if it wasn't true/native).
Really, VR makes or breaks the platform with me, solely with Forza. Without VR, Forza Motosport 7 is going to struggle greatly to get my interest. I was excited for the IndyCar addition in FM6, as well as the rain. That excitement lasted a month or two, then it settled into the same lull of redundant track events and overly aggressive Drivatars. VR breathes new life into the experience for me, and with so many obvious gaps in content for launch, it's the only way I have interest in Scorpio.
Sounds like sim racing games just aren't your thing tbh.
It's not that I don't like racing games (why is it that every time I refuse to unendingly praise games, I'm told I hate video games?). It's that Forza has a tendency to be VERY redundant. It has some content gaps, FM5 was the biggest offender on that front. I really enjoy FH3 (when I have a chance to play it). It's just that I can only turn laps on the same tracks so many times over a decade before it gets boring. There's a reason Halo and CoD and Assassin's Creed don't spend every version in the same place--it gets old. What's more, why buy the new games when the old one is very much the same thing, just with a new coat of paint? In some respects, Forza Motorsport, with a 2-year dev time, is more derivative than some sports titles.
That's funny considering they have as many AAA exclusives as Sony, yet you say it's just Gears, Halo, Forza.
First 2 years of this gen Ms had 2x more AAA exclusives yet no one was saying how Sony has no games, but instead everyone was focusing on how multiplats ran slightly better on it.
Yes, yes they did. You just want to make that claim up to ignore reality. I was on Sony for not giving me anything to play. I didn't get a PS4 until this past November because of it. However, MLB 17, Horizon, Kingdom Hearts 1.5, 2.5, and 2.8, Bloodborne, and the upcoming Detroit gave me enough to buy into the platform. That's while I ignore a lot of their bigger franchises, mostly because I don't have the chance to play them in full. That includes the fairly recent Uncharted 4 and Nioh and the upcoming God of War 4, The Last of Us 2, and Spider-Man. Keep believing that delusional reality, though.
My point, you seem to lost in your own world to understand. I haven't gotten just 2 Microsoft exclusives in the last year: Quantum Break and Forza Horizon 3. The latter is undeniably awesome. The former, it was something of a mess. I never finished it because it had a fatal flaw that lost people's saves (mine included) going into the last 20% of the game. The branched story ended up not meaning a whole lot, and so much was put into the TV side (Which offered not a lot of substance) that you got a pretty linear game without much replay value (since your decisions didn't determine the ending much at all).
VR for forza probably isn't what you think it's going to be.
There are latency issues between headset, and inputs and reactions that aren't normally factored into wireless controllers and the like. pro gamers console or not, get it. and don't get me wrong, I'm no pro. But I'm a sim racer, and VR is amazing, but you will need a wheel and pedals and maybe a shifter because the break in reality of what you think your arms should be doing, the screen doing just that, and your arms not doing that, is going to mess with your brain. And probably make you seasick. using the rift on my PC I had a game freeze mid corner and I nearly threw up because the break in immersion and reality was that intense.
I don't worry about motion sickness myself. Never tried VR, but I expect I'll be fine. Basically, I want the VR experience to do two big things: Put me in a better visual perspective by not staring at a distant TV in the cockpit and let my head control a smooth panning through the cabin in-race. Checking corners from the first-person view is unpleasant with the right stick, and the way the camera pans (smooth in the front 120 degrees or so, then jarring in the rear) is jarring.
I would like to see what could be done with a wheel, especially if they added bike racing (tilting the controller for leaning into corners?), and I think Kinect could make it even more interesting, if Microsoft would bother committing to it. VR and Kinect seems like it would be awesome.
Except Forza is a GOOD exclusive regardless...
So its not even really falling back
.
Cause it's the best racing sim out there...
Better than project cars..Better than grand turismo
... in your opinion.
Your right about For a to a point but they shouldn't get a thumbs down the release one every year now but they're all dann good so I mean its not some utter failure you make it seem to be
Your argument is lacking logic; so haters and fans of another game system predicted Forza as a spearhead for Scorpio, and this is bad... why? Why does their opinion matter in the slightest?
I agree with almost zero of what you write. Forza is the king of mainstream racing simulators right now. Battlefront 2 has nothing to do with 1... Going by that metric Titanfall 2 would be a slam dunk... It isnt.
RDR2 will run at the resolution the developers pick.
Racing games are also known to be in the forefront when it comes to graphical advances which... You know... Scorpio will be to the living room.
c'mon... scalebound e3 onstage gameplay was a disaster... ps1 era tech (I mean, programming concept) and look boring...
I was never a RCG fan (except Mario Kart but recent ones are boring imo) till FH3.
Racing games like Forza are not graphically demanding???! Ok pal, you obviously haven't played them and are talking out your behind. Microsoft is going to dominate the gaming industry with Scorpio and you'll be eating crow. Enjoy!!!!
M$ dont invest money in new game studios. the only real example of good partnership was Ryse Son of Rome. Since 2013 only this title and Sunset Overdrive or may be Halo 5 were the small motiviation to buy Xbox ecosystem
Agree that m$ needs stonger title like Fable for increasing interest during E3.
RDR2 is a nice for showing the scorpio potential but i am not sure that it is possible for Rockstar developed the special "remastered" version specifically for Scropio. Will be just native 4k in 30fps or 1080 upscaled to 4k in 60 fps
Crackdown 3!!! :) If they can get those 3rd party games, especially the likes of Red Dead 2, to actually take advantage of the power, and be exclusively better than the competition, that will be a huge win for them. The concern is if those games would cater to Sony and not take advantage of the huge power jump; that is build to the LCD.
I hope we will see some new and inovative IPs. I no longer care about the 700th iteration of the old-and-boring exclusives.
Aww, no Halo 717?
You got it wrong, it's Halo 117
https://www.saucygamer.com/remakes-and-remasters-we-want-to-se e
I had Ben absolutely in with Scorpio until they explained it. I don't want a game that was designed to run at 900p rerendered at 4k. I want better QUALITY games at 1080p or anything up to 4k. Rendering doesn't change the fact they are using the same lower quality bitmaps and lighting effects that the lower denominator console can handle.
Letting vendors design specifically for Scorpio would have been the best move. Making all these cross compatible sounds great but no 3rd party vendors will spend the extra millions to get what they could out of Scorpio.
There maybe some other studios that had windows versions of their titles that have higher quality textures and lighting ready to go. That likely could be ported with out much difficulty.
We'll see. When I look at the PS Pro all I see is disappointment. This is sounding similar honestly but at least it has uhd Blu-ray.
I agree with the sentiment of wanting better textures and everything else, but you do realize the consequences of abandoning the Xbox one, even partially, so soon into the life cycle. It would be a complete betrayal of their user base, and people would be beyond furious.
Imagine that you just bought an xbox one less than a year ago, and now you learn that in order to play the new games, you have to drop another $500+ to get the latest model.
And I really don't feel like many developers would be interested in developing the regular Xbox one game and then making a separate version for the Scorpio. Especially considering I don't think the scorpio will have a huge user base. But I could be wrong on this one.
Typical console generation is 5 years, xbox one will be 4 years old when Scorpio releases!
If you paid attention then you would realise that games will be created using UWP and it will be one game made for High End PC, Scorpio, Xbox one and then they are scaled down by Windows 10 to be able to run on said hardware. Textures are always made in much higher detail/resolution than what you get on console!
Think of raw image file (150mb) vs jpeg image file (5mb), same exact image/picture but scaled down to jpeg lost a lot of detail so in same sense is how textures will work on x1 vs Scorpio.
Scorpio is official DEV Kit for xbox one, Scorpio, PC! 3D models that devs create have no resolution, amount of detail doesn't rely on resolution! Same 3D model is used for PC and Console games! So lets say developers draw a 3D leaf, xbox and PC will get the same leaf, but for higher end PC they might call for 3000 leaves and for xbox 300, to be displayed at different resolutions.
So when you look at Ryse it's 900p game, but probably best looking game on x1 is because devs spent more time adding details to 3D models viewing those same models in 4k will look much better and even more detailed.
Now as for future games all UWP games are developed on Scorpio, so since they are making the game for xbox, scorpio, PC you can expect Scorpio to benefit from it and not simply include higher resolution.
What you are talking about is existing games simply being rendered higher res, but upcoming ones will have clear difference.
To be clear no game is designed to lowest common denominator, for Consoles everything is downscaled from high end PC. Devs would be stupid creating multiple textures!
@BigBlueApe, on the PC side of the gaming word, this has a been common practice for decades -- games are designed with the high-end systems in mind, but coded to run a wide range of technology. Detail and features are turned off on lower-end systems. I expect that's what we'll see with new games coming out. They will be designed for Scorpio, but then turn off details for Xbox One.
Make no mistake games will take advantage of the extra graphical assets. Better lighting, better shadows, higher resolution textures. Remember 4K games doesn't just need improvements in the overall image. If you do that then the old 720p textures the game used will look seriously bad at 4K. This won't just be a jaggy improvement.
Sounds like someone who should be building his own PC.... :)