New Xbox One Details Expected at August Event

Gamers will get their next glimpse of the Xbox One on August 20th.

According to Polygon, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer and Phil Harrison will co-host an event about the console at GamesCom 2013. As the event will take place the day before the GamesCom show floor opens, it’s likely that Microsoft will use the opportunity to detail more about the console’s features to the press.

Microsoft had already announced that it would be detailing more on its decision to let independent developers publish their own titles on the Xbox One at this year’s conference. Previously, Microsoft required independent developers to partner with a publisher before selling their games as part of the Xbox LIVE Arcade program.

Those who can’t find a publisher are forced to offer their games on the service as an Xbox LIVE Indie title today. Independent developers maintain that they have a hard time attracting users because the Xbox LIVE Indie area was too hard for gamers to find.

Although Microsoft has announced that they’ll let independent developers publish their titles with full access to the console’s hardware, it hasn’t detailed where these games will sit, or how they will be branded.

If Microsoft can attract independent developers to the Xbox One it could ride the same wave of casual gamers the iPhone, iPad and Android rode to success. Many casual gamers aren’t conditioned to paying $60 dollars for a video game but they might be convinced to buy an Xbox One if Microsoft can offer a nice mix of cheaper casual games and hard-core titles using the console’s remote control.

As for the possibility of Microsoft making anymore announcements about the Xbox One, that remains unclear. Although it has detailed what is included in the Xbox One bundle and its price, it has yet to name an exact launch date.

The company has also remained pretty quiet on the Xbox One’s version of the Dashboard, the software that runs on the device. According to Microsoft, the Xbox One runs three operating systems, one that is called Xbox OS, and presumably, acts as the new Dashboard. There’s another that is based off of the Windows 8 operating system, and a final operating system that allows users to quickly switch between the other two.

Microsoft has said that users can expect the Xbox One release sometime in November.