Xbox boss Phil Spencer says that he is 'very confident' in the way the Project Scorpio will run existing Xbox One games and that more first party games and a new IP are expected this year.

Ever since Microsoft announced the Xbox One Project Scorpio at E3 2016, the company has been hyping up the console's technical prowess. Microsoft has said that Project Scorpio will run games in native 4K, also referring to the upgraded Xbox One console as the 'most powerful console ever', and fans are excited to see how game developers will make use of the boosted hardware. But what of the games that have already been released on the standard Xbox One?

On Twitter earlier today, a fan asked Xbox boss Phil Spencer whether Project Scorpio will have a boost mode like the PS4 Pro. Although Spencer's reply didn't specifically mention the PS4 Pro's boost mode, which improves the performance of the console including offering higher frame rates, the Xbox executive did say that he is "very confident" in the way that the Project Scorpio will run existing Xbox One games.

Also during the question and answer session, Spencer discussed the upcoming slate of Xbox One games. When a fan asked if the Xbox team is going to "make any good exclusives for the Xbox One," the Xbox boss replied that he feels "very good" about this year and that 2017 should have more first party games than last year.

Spencer even mentioned that a "new IP" will be launching this year. It's unclear whether the executive was referring to an unannounced new IP or the likes of Rare's Sea of Thieves, but with other Microsoft's other new IP, Scalebound, being cancelled, many will be glad to hear that entirely new franchises and series are coming to the console.

And, speaking of Sea of Thieves, Spencer even offered his thoughts on the upcoming multiplayer pirate game. He told a fan that "it's been a long time since Rare built something completely new" and "you can feel how much the studio is putting into the game." Moreover, he has a "ton of confidence" in Rare creative director Gregg Mayles and "its great to see his work" on the game.

Admittedly Spencer's Q&A, in which he also suggested the Xbox backward compatibility could come to PC, was not very revealing. But given the uncertainty surrounding the 2017 Xbox One line-up, many fans will appreciate Spencer's comments on the console and it could give them a renewed sense of faith in what Microsoft is planning. Whether Spencer's tweets are enough to entirely dispel fans' concerns is currently unclear, but the executive's statements will go a long way at least.