Microsoft Bumps Xbox One Hardware Specs, Talks Community

Ahead of the console’s launch this fall, Microsoft has increased the speed and power of some of the components inside the Xbox One.

While discussing what internal processes are taking place so that Microsoft can bring the new console to market on the Major Nelson podcast, Xbox general manager Marc Whitten, also detailed some changes that the company has made to the internal components before launch. According to Whitten, the Xbox One’s graphics processing unit or GPU will now have a clock speed of 853MHZ, up from the 800MHZ clockspeed the company had planned to ship the console with.

The Xbox One has also received a graphics driver update that was made specifically for the console. Typically, driver updates address instabilities and bring out the best performance of both hardware and software, something Xbox One users will likely appreciate on launch date. Whitten did not say if that was the case here.

Microsoft is taking this opportunity to be more forthcoming about what it’ll be working on up until launch. According to Whitten, Microsoft has just begun an internal beta. As part of this internal beta program, Microsoft employees will be able to take the Xbox One home and incorporate it into their gaming routine. Microsoft hopes that this will help them study how features are working in the real world.

The Major Nelson podcast, on which Whitten was featured, also details the upgrades and new community features coming to Xbox LIVE. In addition to talking more about the SmartMatch multi-player upgrades that will allow users to find multi-player games faster while multitasking, Microsoft also talked about its plans for policing the new Xbox LIVE in more detail.

As part of the Enforcement United and Community Level Program, Microsoft will allow users to help protect Xbox LIVE by scanning for offensive Gamertags in exchange for special “loot” and more points to their Community Level Score. This Community Level Store will sit alongside a user’s Gamerscore.

Microsoft still isn’t ready to fully discuss all of its plans for the Xbox One, though Whitten did note that users can expect another round of announcements during the company’s press event at GamesCom 2013. Microsoft’s press event is scheduled for August 20th.

Microsoft has said Xbox One will launch sometime this fall.