Why Xbox has no opponent for the PS5-Pro

Now that the PlayStation 5 Pro has hit the market, where is Microsoft’s counteroffensive? Possibly the one that will never come.

Chances are you’re still reeling from the appearance of the PlayStation 5 Pro. Never before has there been such a powerful console on the market. Or such an expensive one.

PlayStation is inseparable from its rival Xbox. In fact, Sony and Microsoft have always launched new consoles simultaneously. So where does that leave the PlayStation 5 Pro’s opponent?

For the first time, Xbox doesn’t compete right away

The PlayStation 5 Pro changes the console landscape in many ways. Especially in terms of price range, Sony’s device shows that consoles really are getting more and more expensive. With the previous console generation, that price increase was less.

The leaked Xbox controller (image: Microsoft)

For even the PlayStation 4 halfway through its life a Pro variant. Xbox cheerfully joined in. Microsoft released the Xbox One X around the same time, as an improvement on the Xbox One. Both consoles built on the then already impressive hardware and software.

The PlayStation 5 Pro has been out for a few weeks now. As of yet, we haven’t heard anything about a counter-offensive from Microsoft. Strange, because at the beginning of the current console generation, Microsoft, like Sony, brought alternatives to their consoles: the Xbox Series S.

Sony and Microsoft made practically the same kind of consoles

I am on thin ice when I try to say that Sony and Microsoft’s consoles are identical. Of course they’re not. Each has its pluses and minuses. Still, the rivals moved forward in the console evolution in similar ways.

A leak from over a year ago shows us that Microsoft did have plans to develop a Pro variant just like Sony. This project named Brooklin would be a deluxe, improved variant of the Xbox Series X. The console would use the same video cards as the Series X, though.

(image: Microsoft)

The main focus of the upgrade would be better connectivity. Both online and internally. Think improved bluetooth connectivity and even a better WiFi receiver. A new, battery-efficient controller would even appear with the console.

Delayed or scrapped entirely?

We haven’t heard anything about the console since the leak surrounding Brooklin. That raises the question of whether Microsoft has postponed or completely scrapped project Brooklin. It appears that Brooklin will no longer appear.

That’s because the newer versions of the Xbox Series X already contain improvements that were supposed to be planned for Brooklin. These improvements did not affect video quality or performance, but rather internal connectivity of the console. Exactly the upgrades that were planned for the Brooklin.

So it seems Microsoft is putting all its energy into the next generation of consoles. Thus, the Xbox may have a worthy opponent for the PlayStation 6. So has Sony won this console generation with its PS5-Pro? Probably not, the console is mostly appealing to the already die-hard Sony fanatic.