Microsoft talks plans for 2017; Project Scorpio, Xbox Live updates, and more

It looks like Microsoft is planning on one-upping their own achievements from 2016 in 2017, calling it a "special year for Xbox gamers." Throughout 2016 Xbox hit a number of milestones, so it might be a tough year to one up, but Microsoft is pressing forward.

In 2016, Xbox achieved the following:

• Xbox One owners had nearly 400 new games to play.
• The Xbox Play Anywhere program launched, making a number of Xbox One games available on both Xbox One and PC at no additional cost. The feature also allowed saves to be transferred between each device, as well as all DLC and achievements.
• Xbox One owners spent more than 265 million hours playing Xbox 360 backward compatible games like: Red Dead Redemption, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: World at War, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Skate 3.
• Xbox Live was rated the fastest and most reliable gaming network.
• Updates to Xbox Live brought Clubs, Looking for Group (LFG) and background music. Over 200 new features have been added to the Xbox since it released in 2013.
• The Xbox One S released, bringing built-in UHD 4K Blu-ray, 4K video streaming and HDR for gaming and video with it.

So how is Microsoft going to top 2016 this year? Well, according to Mike Nichols, the Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Xbox, 2017 will be particularly awesome because Project Scorpio (which will be detailed in the coming months!) is released, Xbox Live is getting some "exciting enhancements" and a bunch of new games are releasing like, Halo Wars 2, Resident Evil 7 biohazard, For Honor, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, TEKKEN 7, Thimbleweed Park, Mass Effect Andromeda, South Park: The Fractured but Whole and Tacoma.

In addition to that, DLC and expansions are coming to some of Microsoft's top 2016 games such as Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, ReCore, Dead Rising 4 and Minecraft.