Xbox Project Scorpio release date news update: New console launching during the holidays in 2017?

A promotional image for the Xbox OneXbox, Microsoft

The PlayStation 4 Pro (PS4 Pro) has been released and has received mixed reviews. Microsoft's Phil Spencer has now confirmed that their own upgrade console, the Xbox Project Scorpio, is going to be significantly more powerful than the PS4 Pro and that it will be more expensive than the regular Xbox One and the new Xbox One S.

Speaking to Level Up, Spencer stated that Project Scorpio is designed as a premium console for high-end gamers, and because of this, it is going to have a higher tag price. This would be similar in design to the PC market in which there are different builds for gamers with both a low and high budget.

"Scorpio will be a premium console. It will cost more than S, obviously, that's how we are building it," he explained. "We have not announced the pricing yet, but I want to make sure that the investment we are putting into the product of Scorpio meets the demands of the higher-end consumer and that will be a higher price," Spencer went on to say.

He further explained that their consumers also reflect the buying habits of PC gamers. While some consumers would prefer to buy the more expensive 500 GB Xbox One S, there are others with a tighter budget who go for the original Xbox One. This new Project Scorpio will target those who can afford a more powerful system.

While Spencer did not reveal the final price tag that Project Scorpio will have, it is indicated it will either match the $400 of the PS4 Pro or will cost slightly more. Gamespot notes that analyst Michael Pachter stated that it would be detrimental for the company to sell Project Scorpio above $400, but it does not appear as if this worries Microsoft.

No official release date has been announced for Project Scorpio. The only information that Microsoft released is that it is going to roll out during the holidays in 2017, a full year after the release of the PS4 Pro.