Just before the start of the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, CA, Microsoft announced its next-generation game console, the Xbox One X. Like its predecessor, the Xbox One S , the new console does double duty as a gaming platform and UHD Blu-ray player.

The Xbox One X is said to be the world's most powerful console—Microsoft claims 40% more power than any other—yet it's the smallest ever made by the company. A custom 8-core AMD CPU is clocked at 2.3 GHz, and the Scorpio graphics engine operates at 6 teraflops with 326 GB/s memory bandwidth for 12 GB of GDDR5 graphics RAM. Also included is 8 GB of flash memory and 1 TB of hard-disk capacity. The official website mentions "4K DVR" functionality, but I haven't found any details about that yet.

The Scorpio GPU makes 4K gaming superfast.

A built-in UHD Blu-ray player with HDMI 2.0b offers support for HDR10 high dynamic range. Audio-wise, the console supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive-audio formats as well as DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and PCM 2.0, 5.1, and 7.1.

In addition to an HDMI 2.0b output, the Xbox One X provides an HDMI 1.4b input, three USB 3.0 ports, an Ethernet port, and a S/PDIF digital optical-audio output. Wireless connectivity includes Bluetooth and Wi-Fi as well as an IR receiver and transmitter. To keep its cool, the console incorporates advanced liquid cooling and a supercharger-style centrifugal fan.

A centrifugal fan acts like a supercharger to keep the console cool.

Naturally, Microsoft is touting 4K games, like Forza Motorsport 7, Crackdown 3, State of Decay 2, Sea of Thieves, and Super Lucky's Tale. The company is showing 42 titles at E3, and games that are optimized for the new console will be labeled "Xbox One X Enhanced." Thankfully, the console is fully backward compatible with older Xbox games as well.

The Xbox One X release date is November 7 at a price of $499. That's the same price at which the previous Xbox One debuted, which many believe hurt sales until the price was dropped. Clearly, Microsoft is hoping that the increased power and feature set of the new device will offset any hesitation to purchase, at least by hard-core gamers.

For more about the Xbox One X, visit the official site .

Check out the official E3 trailer: