Everything we know about the Xbox One X, the $500 game console Microsoft says is the 'most powerful' ever

xbox one x

Microsoft has a brand new game console called the Xbox One X. All that “Project Scorpio” talk you might have heard months ago? This is that, without the code words.

And on Sunday, Microsoft said the first Xbox One X units were up for pre-order in the form of a early "Project Scorpio Edition" version of the console.

Microsoft is touting the new device as “the world’s most powerful console.” Based on what we know about its internal specs, Microsoft probably isn’t wrong!

But since this kind of iterative release is a bit nontraditional for game consoles, you probably have questions about what exactly this new Xbox is, and where it fits into the larger gaming market.

We're here to help! Here’s what to know about the Xbox One X:

The Xbox One X is, fundamentally, another Xbox One.

This is not a “next-generation” device like the leap from the Xbox 360 to the Xbox One.

Instead, it’s more like Microsoft’s version of Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro — it takes the existing Xbox One and makes it more powerful.

That means it plays all the same games you can play on the original Xbox One and Xbox One S. There is no deviation in any of the three devices’ game libraries.

In other words, there are no games that are exclusive to the Xbox One X. If you’d prefer the cheaper Xbox One S, you won’t miss out on that next "Halo," "Forza," or whatever else.

At the same time, this means a good chunk of the games from companies other than Microsoft will still be available on the PlayStation 4 and other platforms as well.

Also worth noting: Like the other Xbox One consoles, the One X will be "backwards compatible" with select older games from the Xbox 360 and, soon, original Xbox.