Xbox apparently has "a lot of exciting things" up its sleeve for the 25th anniversary of its original console next year, and will be both celebrating "the great legacy" of the past and "defining the future for where the Xbox ecosystem's going." That's according to Jason Ronald, vice president of next generation at Xbox, who spoke to BBC News in a recent interview (below) following the release of the ROG Xbox Ally handheld. During the conversation, Ronald makes reference to the classic Xbox titles available to play via Xbox Game Pass, saying that the company feels a "responsibility" to preserve them. "Great games are timeless," he begins. "And I think we not only feel a need, but also a responsibility to preserve the games from the past and enable them to be played in entirely new ways." Next-gen Xbox console will focus on "connecting all your devices in one place," Phil Spencer teases, with the handheld ROG Xbox Ally a sign of things to come Even as Xbox drifts away from consoles and exclusives, former exec says the Xbox 360 set Microsoft up for success: "Look at them now, continuing to be the powerhouse – the global powerhouse" Xbox isn't going anywhere despite rumors, as Microsoft confirms it's "actively investing in our future first-party consoles" – for now, at least Asked if there are any plans to bring any more OG Xbox games to Game Pass going forward, Ronald says he "can't announce anything today," but teases some big things to come in the next year. "In 2026, it's the 25th anniversary of Xbox, and we want to celebrate the great legacy and the history that we have with Xbox as well as defining the future for where the Xbox ecosystem's going," he continues. "So, I can't confirm or deny what you're asking, but stay tuned. We have a lot of exciting things to share next year." Mysterious stuff. Xbox leads have been talking a fair bit about the future of the company and its hardware lately – Xbox president Sarah Bond teased back in October that "the next-gen console is gonna be a very premium, very high-end, curated experience. You're starting to see some of the thinking that we have in [the Xbox ROG Ally handheld], but I don't want to give it all away." Whether Ronald could be referring to potential hardware reveals is another matter, though, especially since he was being asked about future Game Pass additions. "Defining the future" of the ecosystem and lots of "exciting things" certainly sound promising, though, so we'll have to wait and see what the company has up its sleeve. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lead says Xbox Game Pass "lowered that barrier of entry" for his turn-based RPG, a genre that "might put people who prefer more real-time action games off."