Though all signs point to Microsoft's successor to the Xbox being released in the 2005 holiday season, the company has announced that, despite the launch of its next-generation system, the current Xbox would not be neglected in terms of software. According to representatives for the company, Xbox games should continue to be released until sometime in 2007.
The statement came in a press release on its
next-generation developer lineup, which noted that "Microsoft is fully committed to this (current) generation and gamers can expect an amazing pipeline of titles into 2007."
Though such a statement seems basically in line with the standard life of a console generation after the next generation is released, Microsoft did not say whether the remaining Xbox games would come chiefly from third-party developers, or its own Microsoft Game Studios.
Currently, the only major first-party Xbox titles scheduled to be released for the Xbox by Microsoft Game Studios are
Jade Empire, released this week;
Forza Motorsports, due out in May; and
Conker: Live & Reloaded, scheduled for June. If Microsoft has more Xbox titles planned beyond those three, they'll likely be revealed at E3 2005 in May, along with the Xbox's successor and its games.
