Back in May, Microsoft announced that they would stop bundling the Kinect with Xbox One consoles. This meant that the Xbox One would sell for $100 less, making it more affordable for gamers who would have otherwise shelled out for the PlayStation 4 which also costs $399. Now apart from the obvious appeal from the drop in price, Microsoft also stated that without the Kinect, they could explore possible processor gains.
Well it looks like they have managed to do just that. According to a tweet by Microsoft’s Phil Spencer, he revealed that for the June Xbox One software dev kit, it will give developers more access to GPU bandwidth. “June #XboxOne software dev kit gives devs access to more GPU bandwidth. More performance, new tools and flexibility to make games better.”
This might not mean much to the average gamer, although like Spencer said, this could mean better performance, new tools, and increased flexibility when it comes to making games. A statement issued to Eurogamer by a Microsoft representative confirmed that this meant a 10% increase in GPU performance, although the rep remained non-committal when asked if this would mean that gamers can look forward to 1080p 60fps games in the future.
According to the rep, “Xbox One games look beautiful and have rich gameplay and platform features. How developers choose to access the extra GPU performance for their games will be up to them.”