The Microsoft E3 briefing is finally behind us, and at the 2-hour long briefing Phil Spencer announced over 50 new games, many of which are Xbox exclusives, that Microsoft will be attaining five new gaming studios, and that Microsoft is continuing to add huge game pass titles to its catalogue, amongst other things. Spencer also announced that the Xbox hardware team that is responsible for the Xbox One X is working hard on a future Xbox console.

It is now speculated that the next Xbox console that is in development by the hardware team that Spencer mentioned at E3 has the codename "Scarlet". Other details regarding the console remain completely elusive though, as there is no indication by Microsoft of the release time frame for codename Scarlet, nor any details about specs, size, and whether it will truly be a next-generation Xbox console.

We can speculate though that, seeing as streaming is a big focus for Microsoft, the company’s mixed reality headsets might be a factor that will be taken into consideration. Codename Scarlet may therefore be adding more features and applications to the company's mixed reality headset. Another priority for Microsoft also seems to be the ability to have one game run on multiple platforms, which may also be a determining factor for the kind of features that the company may include in the next iteration of the console hardware.

Some fans are also hoping that codename Scarlet may in fact be a hand-held console, as Xbox has not had a handheld console to date, like Sony, who has had the PlayStation Portable and the PS Vita, and Nintendo, who now has the Nintendo Switch, among many other handheld Nintendo consoles. Handheld consoles may be a worthy avenue for Xbox to explore, but we are also aware that the kind of specs that Xbox consoles have had up to this point simply would not be able to fit into a small, portable, and affordable handheld console.

There is currently no confirmed name or release window for the next Xbox console.

Source: Thurrott