Microsoft confirms "Project Helix," a next-gen Xbox that runs both Xbox and PC games

Daniel Sims

Daniel Sims

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Looking ahead: Months of rumors have suggested that the next Xbox will be a hybrid of PC and console, supporting Xbox games alongside standard Windows software. A brief message from the Xbox division's new CEO now provides the first unambiguous confirmation of this plan from Microsoft, with more information potentially coming next week during the Game Developers Conference.

Asha Sharma, who recently replaced Phil Spencer as the head of Microsoft's Xbox division, provided a short update on the company's next-generation console. Revealing the codename "Project Helix," she confirmed that the upcoming device aims to lead in horsepower and will support both Xbox and PC games.

Since taking over Xbox last month, Sharma has emphasized her commitment to "the return of Xbox." Although she said the company will "refocus" on console, the announcement of Project Helix appears to confirm longstanding rumors that Microsoft's console and PC divisions will grow closer than ever.

The rumor mill has indicated since last year that the next Xbox will essentially be a pre-built PC that remains backward compatible with all games that run on the Xbox Series X.

Third-party takes on the hybrid console could also emerge from Asus and other OEM partners. These rumors align with comments from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who has expressed ambitions to create a "universal" gaming ecosystem. Nadella considers Windows Microsoft's most important gaming platform, and the company aims to streamline the operating system's gaming experience over the coming months and years.

Microsoft plans to roll out multiple OS updates to improve drivers, background task management, graphics stacks, the user-facing interface, and other aspects of Windows. The goal is to make the operating system feel more "console-like."

The Asus ROG Xbox Ally handheld gaming PC currently serves as a testbed for features the company plans to roll out to Windows 11 PCs and the next Xbox. The most important is likely the Full Screen Experience, which allows users to launch games immediately upon booting Windows without seeing the desktop, using only a controller. Windows Insiders can currently test the interface on other devices.

Leakers have also provided a fairly clear picture of the next Xbox's internal hardware, which reportedly centers around an AMD-designed APU codenamed Magnus. Magnus is believed to include 10 Zen 6 CPU cores and an unconfirmed number of GPU compute units based on the upcoming RDNA 5 architecture.

Compared to the Xbox Series X, which is based on Zen 2 and RDNA 2, Magnus should deliver substantial improvements in rendering, upscaling, ray tracing, and possibly path tracing performance. Although AMD recently announced that the chip will be ready next year, rumors indicate that Microsoft has not yet set a firm internal launch date for its next console.

Console-like devices such as the next Xbox and Valve's upcoming Steam Deck, which aim to facilitate playing PC games in the living room, might have been a factor behind Sony's rumored decision to step back from PC ports. If successful, living room PCs from Valve, Microsoft, and other manufacturers could bring PC and console gaming into more direct competition.

Sharma has promised to share more details with developers and partners at the 2026 Game Developers Conference, which begins next week.

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Microsoft confirms "Project Helix," a next-gen Xbox that runs both Xbox and PC games

 
It was about time Microsoft focused on their strengths...the PC....they should have done a hybrid Console/PC decades ago.

All they need is to make that system hardware upgradable so the consumer has the choice to make their games look as good as they want based on their financial capabilities.
 
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Has the rumour mill been a new console sized pc that runs Xbox back compat games? If that had been the story they wouldn’t have seen the same decline in sales. Cloud streaming for Xbox console games was the best we could hope for and it’s led to people just jumping ship to Sony. Why invest in a digital library if the platform might cease to be available on new hardware other than streaming.

This new box sounds like it would have been great publicised a year or two ago but that wasn’t their plan then. It was like they gave up. Xbox console games streamed. Pc games on the new console. Combined store so you could play steam games. No. At this point I have a series S and X I should just sell. It’s pointless having them especially since it will cost me 2 months broadband fees (£40) just to use them for online multiplayer each year. And I’m paying Sony just over twice that for a solid library of games and games to keep while I continue to sub every month.

Who is this for.
 
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Honestly, I’m very much in favor of this idea.

A device like this could push developers to design their games around a consistent hardware profile, similar to how traditional consoles work. When developers know exactly what hardware they’re targeting, it usually results in better optimization and more stable performance.

That alone could help solve a growing issue in PC gaming, where many new releases feel like they’re designed for hardware that the average gamer simply can’t afford, especially so with rising component costs and what many people are calling the “RAMpocalypse.”

Of course, there will always be enthusiasts who want cutting-edge hardware and maximum performance. That’s completely fine, and they can continue building high-end systems if they want that extra power.

But a hybrid device like this could realistically meet the needs of the vast majority of gamers, myself included, while still leaving room for enthusiasts to push the limits on custom-built PCs.
 
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yukka said:
Has the rumour mill been a new console sized pc that runs Xbox back compat games? If that had been the story they wouldn’t have seen the same decline in sales. Cloud streaming for Xbox console games was the best we could hope for and it’s led to people just jumping ship to Sony. Why invest in a digital library if the platform might cease to be available on new hardware other than streaming.

This new box sounds like it would have been great publicised a year or two ago but that wasn’t their plan then. It was like they gave up. Xbox console games streamed. Pc games on the new console. Combined store so you could play steam games. No. At this point I have a series S and X I should just sell. It’s pointless having them especially since it will cost me 2 months broadband fees (£40) just to use them for online multiplayer each year. And I’m paying Sony just over twice that for a solid library of games and games to keep while I continue to sub every month.

Who is this for.
Click to expand...

Depends on the price but if they launch a decently specced SFF PC for under 1K it’ll be a good value
 
A rarity, but it seems MS is doing something right for once. As a side effect, Windows might improve—or maybe not.
 
The Talking Tech said:
It was about time Microsoft focused on their strengths...the PC....they should have done a hybrid Console/PC decades ago.

All they need is to make that system hardware upgradable so the consumer has the choice to make their games look as good as they want based on their financial capabilities.
Click to expand...
lol 90% of console base knows how to use a console. not build one. that will never happen.
 
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All comes down to price...

My recent PC build mid to higher spec (no 5090) for gaming cost $4k. Even if it cost half that, most won't want to pay that.
 
We all know the main difference between a PC and a console is just the OS on top of it (I'm looking at you Asrock BC-250!).

A hybrid PC-console Xbox would be just the same approach as the Steam machine. Probably with TOPS.

So the question is: how much AI does Microsoft want to inject in this machine?
 
If they're starting to talk about it now, I'm expecting it's probably coming out holiday 2027, which I think is going to be a big problem price-wise if the current computer component "shortage" continues through the start of next year which is when they'll have to start mass production. Are people going to want to buy a $2000 PC that has an Xbox logo slapped on it? They're already pricing people out of the hobby this generation with price increases, I remember just 1 short generation ago when prices went down as the console got older.

I want Xbox to do well. Playstation should not have a monopoly on the higher-end console market. Nintendo is finally coming back to that space with third parties with the Switch 2 for now, but I'm afraid a couple years down the line they might end up with highly compromised ports and cloud versions again. Xbox is not inspiring confidence from me if all this is is a "consolized" ROG Ally. Windows is terrible for HTPC setups and I would hope they know that.

NumberNine said:
How much can it do offline, completely disconnected from all forms of telemetry and data harvesting (cloud gaming)?
Click to expand...
Probably nothing. I doubt it'll have a disk drive or even the option for an external one. Even this current generation for physical disk games it feels like they're doing less than the bare minimum. Multiple first party physical releases from them have just been codes in a box, and then when they come to Playstation later oh wow they figured out how to do it on a disk over there for some reason.
 
Anton Longshot said:
This may come as a suprise but for many builders affordability isn't priority #1.
Those people (includes me) LOVE to build their own machines.
Click to expand...
While that may be true, but it’s definitely in a very close second priority—especially with the cost of hardware being absolutely beyond stupidity.
 
Anton Longshot said:
This may come as a suprise but for many builders affordability isn't priority #1.
Those people (includes me) LOVE to build their own machines.
Click to expand...
I don't love building enough to pay $600 for RAM or $800 for a 4TB SSD, I'd rather hang on to what I have and enjoy indie and retro games.

If Microsoft plans to deliver an SFF PC with Xbox branding at a reasonable enough price, I can see a lot of PC gamers moving to that. Otherwise MS trying to appeal to both console and PC gamers doesn't make much sense as PC gamers typically don't care about consoles.
 
NumberNine said:
Okay, but where's the copilot?
Let's talk about that first.

How much can it do offline, completely disconnected from all forms of telemetry and data harvesting (cloud gaming)?
Click to expand...
Yes, forget the hardware, nobody cares about that. Let's fear monger and harp on the nonsense that nobody cares about except the Reddit incel trolls, and apparently you.

Did the article mention anything about Copilot? No, but it seems that's super important to you and I'm guessing a deal breaker if it's included, never mind the fact it can be easily disabled. We don't know if the console will have that, but let's whine about it anyway.

How much can it do offline? Probably the same amount as current consoles, but I'm guessing your implication was that it must be connected to the internet 24/7 so that Microsoft can spy on you, or do whatever scary thing you think they're constantly doing.

Ah yes, telemetry and data harvesting... you know, that horrible thing that every company like Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. is doing, but because it's Microsoft doing it then it must be super bad!
 
Kashim said:
Yes, forget the hardware, nobody cares about that. Let's fear monger and harp on the nonsense that nobody cares about except the Reddit incel trolls, and apparently you.

Did the article mention anything about Copilot? No, but it seems that's super important to you and I'm guessing a deal breaker if it's included, never mind the fact it can be easily disabled. We don't know if the console will have that, but let's whine about it anyway.

How much can it do offline? Probably the same amount as current consoles, but I'm guessing your implication was that it must be connected to the internet 24/7 so that Microsoft can spy on you, or do whatever scary thing you think they're constantly doing.

Ah yes, telemetry and data harvesting... you know, that horrible thing that every company like Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. is doing, but because it's Microsoft doing it then it must be super bad!
Click to expand...

Bad bot, go back to reddit.
 
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At this point why would you buy one? Just get a 'normal' PC or a Steam Box/clone? Given that NVidia is finally putting real effort into their Linux drivers it won't be long before another of the stumbling blocks for a Linux gaming machine disappears. All that remain then is Anti Cheat which will come with adoption. MS have just shown too little regard for what consumers want for too long, it's too little, too late for me.
 
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whateversa said:
Sounds like custom PC building would collapse as this xbox may be a more affordable gaming Windows PC.
Click to expand...
How many times over the years have I heard this? Every single console generation.
By the time they release there will already be PC hardware that outclasses it and in a short while it's price will drop so it becomes a much better platform. This happens on every console generation.
 
Kashim said:
Yes, forget the hardware, nobody cares about that. Let's fear monger and harp on the nonsense that nobody cares about except the Reddit incel trolls, and apparently you.
[...]
Ah yes, telemetry and data harvesting... you know, that horrible thing that every company like Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. is doing, but because it's Microsoft doing it then it must be super bad!
Click to expand...
Wow you need to calm down. He raises a very valid point. MS have a tendency to bloat their software with a raft of services that mean the hardware is severely throttled by the layers of nonsense you didn't ask for. I think it's highly likely the new Xbox/PC hybrid they are planning will be saddled with a lot of telemetry and AI services sending data back to Redmond making offline usage more difficult, making it slower and raising privacy concerns. Calling somebody an incel just because you disagree with them reflects badly only on you not them and actually makes you sound much the more likely candidate to be still living in your moms basement. Also, saying 'Apple, Google and Meta do this too' is no argument for why it's ok for MS to pump their OS full of AI and garbage.
 
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