Microsoft's Xbox team leader Phil Spencer is already playing on the Xbox Scarlett next gen console

We are now more or less one year away from the official release of the Microsoft’s next gen XBox console currently codenamed Project Scarlett. Sony, too, is planning to launch its PS5 console around the same time, and, even though the exact specs of each console are not known at this point, early rumors coming from developers who have already received dev kits claim that both systems may end up integrating very similar hardware CPU and GPU components provided by AMD. Microsoft XBox team leader Phil Spencer recently tweeted that he already owns a working Project Scarlett prototype, so could it be that the specs are finally set in stone?

And it’s started… this week I brought my Project Scarlett console home and it's become my primary console, playing my games, connecting to the community and yes, using my Elite Series 2 controller, having a blast. Great work by the team, 2020 is going to be an incredible year.

While Spencer’s tweet does a great job of hyping up the XBox community, it also raises some interesting questions about the current state of the project. Spencer mentions that the new system is now his “primary console,” which implies that the specs are almost finalized. This comes to contradict The Verge’s senior editor Tom Warren, who last week argued that the XBox Scarlett specs are “nowhere near final” and the comparisons between the performance of the PS5 and XBox Scarlett might actually be nonsense, as “Microsoft wants to surprise Sony this time.”

Then there is the confirmation that the next gen XBox console is indeed compatible with the existing infrastructure and games, since the system is “connecting to the community.” It is unclear if select titles will be getting a remastered versions to benefit from the upgraded hardware, however. Spencer also confirms that the existing accessories will be working with the upcoming console, as he is already using the Elite Series 2 controller.

The fact that Spencer is not providing any pictures lets us suspect that at least the design is not finalized. Sony’s PS5 design is still not completely confirmed, even if some dev kits with the infamous V-shaped cases were once again spotted in the wild last week. Knowing that Sony likes to keep things clean, the V shape is most likely going to be way more discreet. As for XBox Scarlett, Microsoft will probably begin to tease some closeups in the coming months, just to keep the hype train going.