Scorpio will render Microsoft's first-party titles in native 4K

Although the exact specs of Microsoft's supercharged mid-cycle upgrade, Project Scorpio, have yet to be revealed, the tech giant has clarified the system's 4K capabilities.

During an interview with USA Today, Microsoft Studios Publishing general manager Shannon Loftis explained all first-party games that launch during the Scorpio's lifecycle will be able to natively render at 4K on the high-end machine.

"Any games we're making that we're launching in the Scorpio time frame, we're making sure they can natively render at 4K," said Loftis, adding that Microsoft is looking at ways to bring VR experiences to the system.

Microsoft's pursuit of high-fidelity visuals appears to mirror Sony's quest to stop PS4 owners from migrating to PC in search of better graphical performance.

As explained by Sony Interactive Entertainment chief, Andrew House, the Japanese console maker sees the PS4 Pro, first and foremost, as a PC countermeasure.

"I saw some data that really influenced me," said House. "It suggested that there's a dip mid-console lifecycle where the players who want the very best graphical experience will start to migrate to PC, because that's obviously where it’s to be had.

"We wanted to keep those people within our eco-system by giving them the very best and very highest [performance quality]."