Microsoft will confirm during the GDC 2020 that, like its competitor, PlayStation 5, the new Xbox will also have very advanced 3D audio.
Microsoft also wants sound quality to be one of the hallmarks of its next generation of consoles. The North American company has confirmed through the description of a conference to be held at the GDC 2020 that Xbox Series X will feature an audio design process with dedicated hardware acceleration.
Project Acoustics: take Xbox audio to another level
Of this task, it will not be accelerated by software but by a portion of hardware that will perform calculations exclusively to sound tasks. Rober Ridihalgh, an Xbox specialist technician, will talk about how this Xbox 3D X advanced 3D audio design, which is presumed similar to the one used by Mark Cerny's Sony team for PS5, will work in broad strokes.
Xbox Series X | Microsoft
The table, which will be moderated by Ridihalgh this March 18, will also feature sound designers from Gears 5 and Borderlands 3, all to introduce the collaboration that will strengthen Mcirosoft and Dolby in the next generation. As we read, it will allow to convert “any pair of headphones into a multidimensional portal that will take us to another world”.
The initiative will be named Project Acoustics and will star in this dedicated hardware relationship for audio in "a new generation of Xbox consoles." It is hoped that Microsoft will soon determine how far its relationship with Dolby will go and if that will lead to some kind of exclusivity in its technology.
For its part, Sony confirmed at CES 2020 last January in Las Vegas that PlayStation 5 will also have very advanced 3D audio.
Sound experts like Samuel Justice, owner of Sweet Justice Sound Ltd, commented that "the ability to create 3D audio is a huge step forward for video game sound and will really result in much richer experiences."
Xbox Series X will go on sale this Christmas with at least Halo: Infinite launch and all the current Xbox Game Pass catalog available. All Xbox Party Studios first party games will be found upon departure from the service. The E3 2020, where Microsoft will be present, will showcase an "extensive catalog of games."