Phil Spencer doesn't see the need for a mid-generation update for the Xbox Series consoles

Gamers planning to play the upcoming space exploration RPG from Bethesda will need a lot the disk space as the game's download size will be around 120GB on consoles, a size that's becoming all the more common with big AAA releases.

Spencer also spoke to Eurogamer on the topic of a mid-generation hardware refresh. He said that doing a refresh will introduce "a bunch of issues" for developers. He also shared that he still doesn't see the need for a refresh given that most games do not need to run on 4K and 60FPS.

"I think what we get ourselves into is this world of like, 'Should we do a mid-gen refresh? Because we think every game should be 4K 60fps. And we're not seeing that right now so, clearly, we need to mid-gen refresh.'" Spencer explained.

"As soon as you start doing mid-gen refreshes, you've got a bunch of issues in front of developers, on what platform they target. And it starts to feel a lot more like PC – which is clearly a good ecosystem that's healthy, but then I'm like, 'Okay, well, what's the difference then between console and PC, if we're in this mode of every two years, a new GPU comes out, or CPU?'"

"And there's a bunch of things. I mean, we are the Windows company. We know what it means to run a platform that's more continuous and, I will say, open. I actually love that for console gaming." While Spencer doesn't feel the need for a mid-generation hardware refresh, many fans of the Xbox console believe that a hardware upgrade, at least the very least for the Series S, is needed.

There have been a lot of development issues related to the budget-tier Xbox in recent months. One of the most prominent examples would be the delay of Baldur's Gate 3, which was reportedly due to a split-screen issue on the Series S.

Gamers feel that the parity clause between the Series X and S is the reason why games like Starfield and Redfall are locked at 30FPS. There have been recent calls to release games exclusively on the more powerful Series X from console owners. The 60FPS threshold has been a standard for first-person shooters for several years now.

However, it does make sense to keep the current Xbox console lineup. Given that there are already development issues cropping up, adding one or two more consoles to the mix would certainly complicate things even more. So for now, gamers will have to settle for the Carbon Black Xbox Series S coming next month.