The current Console War can’t hold a candle to the original battle between Sega and Nintendo. PlayStation 4 has destroyed Xbox One from the word go, and it hasn’t been particularly close. (The Nintendo Switch ended up being a stronger competitor for PS4 than Xbox One.) Xbox loyalists remain true to the product, but the numbers don’t lie. Industry experts now believe that Microsoft’s next console will release before Sony’s to prevent history from repeating itself.

Last month at E3 2018, Xboss Phil Spencer confirmed that Microsoft was developing the next generation of Xbox console. That qualifies more as a teaser than an official announcement, but speculation began to run wild about a release date. Many industry experts believe that the announcement served to deliver a message to Sony: you’ve won the battle, but not the war.

In an interview with GamingBolt, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes that Microsoft may launch the next console even earlier than expected. His initial guess is that the next console will release in 2020, but he added a stipulation.

“My guess is that Microsoft intends to launch in 2020, but if they think Sony is going (to launch the PS5) then, they will launch early.”

An aggressive strategy should give Microsoft a leg up in the next Console War. Considering the recent release of Xbox One X, Pachter’s announcement may rub some players the wrong way. Making three hundred dollar purchases obsolete within two years won’t inspire much brand loyalty. While Pachter is not terribly sympathetic towards those players, he is optimistic for them. He believes their previously purchased games will not go to waste.

“I’m sure Microsoft intends to launch first, and I am equally certain that the new Xbox will be backwards compatible with any Xbox One X software. I agree that it’s hard for Xbox One X purchasers, but they should know 4 years into a cycle that there is another one coming.”

Without any definitive schedule or announcement, Pachter’s predictions remain purely speculative. However, the timing more or less lines up with previous console releases, and following the third place finish for Xbox One, Microsoft needs to mix things up in the next Console War.

What say you, Microsoft fans? Are you ready for the next generation? Are you upset at Microsoft for dropping this news so soon after Xbox One X? Or are you just hoping to gain the upper hand over Sony? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter for more gaming updates!