Next-Generation Xbox Project Helix Announced, Can Play Xbox and PC Games - News
by William D'Angelo , posted 6 days ago / 6,736 Views
Microsoft Gaming CEO Asha Sharma has announced its next-generation Xbox console, codenamed Project Helix.
The next-gen Xbox will lead in performance and be able to play Xbox and PC games. More details will be shared at GDC next week.
"Great start to the morning with Team Xbox, where we talked about our commitment to the return of Xbox including Project Helix, the code name for our next generation console," said Sharma.
"Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games. Looking forward to chatting about this more with partners and studios at my first GDC next week!"
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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You know what else Is able to play Xbox and PC games? PC..
This. There is one big advantage of doing this though. GTA 6 is a day one release on Xbox consoles but it's skipping PC
Project helix wont be launched until at least 2 more years maybe longer,deff not at graVI launch
And you think this is going to be console priced?
It will be still he cheaper then a high gaming. Cheaper then steam deck with much much better specs.
Steam Machine is using an AMD Zen 4 CPU, RDNA 3 GPU, DDR5 Ram and GDDR6 VRAM with the PS6 and Helix using Zen 6 CPUs and RDNA 5 GPUs. Oh yeah, also GDDR7 Memory. So yes, of course PS6 and Project Helix are going to be more powerful, I wouldn't necessarily consider that to be better since this current generation of consoles have yet to be push to their limits so far. But cheaper than Steam Machine? That's a wild imagination unless things drastically change over the next few years.
They want 700 bucks for a 6 year old console. MS is a major player in why everything is going up in price with their AI farm. Even if it's a little cheaper. A PC is modular that can be updated. If MS is just making a fixed PC then there is no point and an actual PC is better value longterm. Without physical games there is zero point to a console.
To get PC to match series x ,PS5 and pro specs you are looking at 2 series x minimum..now when the next gen comes up it will be even more..
Just thinking you get high end graphics without the need to upgrade every so often like you in normal PC and you get to play Xbox physical, gamepass, digital , PC storefronts.
You don't have worry about having .to twiddle with the settings for your PC games, you don't have to worry about updating your driver's and so on..this is plug and play , no hassle.
2 series is old as shit. A 2060 is not exactly powerful anymore. I don't have to worry about driver upates anyway. I'm on Linux. Besides consoles already stripped down PCs and you need to worry about updates and fiddle with settings in games. Performance or Quality. Aim sensitivity. brightness settings. Consoles are PCs with a custom UI. It's been that was for 13 years. Longer for Xbox since the original Xbox was off the shelf PC parts. Consoles serve zero point anymore.
Next gen Xbox is meant according to rumors go be the 5000 series or the 4000s. Neither are cheap
It's not about how old but the cost associated with building a PC with specs of next gen or even current gen. You can't build the PC for the price of the consoles atm.
I have never had to fiddle with any settings with console gaming and I have been gaming since the nes days. Just plug and play
Fiddle between quality or performance far more time consuming then each every settings. . I am more flaming about when the game crashes alot due to not updated drivers. Of why the game won't boot from steam or epic store. Why there is shader compilation stutters and so on. These issues exist in PC gaming . It's never just plug and play.
Aside from that there's the whole building your PC to get the performance and visuals you want and finding the right parts and then having to build.
I remember this cause I asked vgchartz community to build my first ever gaming PC which I still have to this day.
Console gaming is ooh I like this , pay , plug and play.done. it's simple. That's one of the benefits of console gaming
wow, can I plug and play forza horizon 2, gears of war 2 and Black in that beautiful platform?
I can already emulate those games on Xenia on my current PC so I won't need to spent $1000 to $1500 on a "Helix".
By that logic why bother with any non-Nintendo console.
The benefit of consoles has always been lower cost of entry and ease of use. Neither of those would change here. The ability to play PC games on the console would be huge though.
But none of this matters until they reveal specs and price.
Why bother with Nintendo? Games will get emulated on PC. It will play better than on Nintendo hardware.
In terms of stability and control option? Can I play PC games while laying? Also, you might not be able to emulate all of the games anyways?
The Switch can also play every Xbox exclusive released this generation!
But not the 90000 Steam games.
Yeah, but imagine that PC in a console form with simple access to all the gaming services.
Imho, if the leaks are true, this is dead on arrival and will be lucky to make "og Xbox numbers".
Reports say sony stops releasing ps5 single player games on PC. New Xbox will play PC games too. Weeeeell….
Not remotely interested! I’ll stick with PS5 Pro, PC, and Switch.
I'll wait and see but I'm very confused.
Well to buy a PC with similar specs to series x you can buy 2 series and gamepass for a year at least. Now having next gen Xbox which is probably going to be 2 to 3 times better then series x it would be stupidly expensive to get on a PC. This will be cheaper than steam machine but much much better specs as steam machine is not even PS5 level .
Imagine a high end gaming at console prices but you also get access to all PC storefront where you don't have to upgrade for 7 year's and still get amazing visuals and fps. That's the advantage. If Sony doesn't pull their games from PC storefronts then you will get Sony games too.
Makes sense?
You can imagine it because it would be great for consumers, but I do not think it makes sense business-wise, no (and that is what they care about). If it is not a walled garden, you cannot take a loss on hardware (because how should you make your money back when you do not control the software sales); if you cannot take a loss on hardware, there is only so much spec you can pack in the box at a certain price. So either the box is really expensive (meaning not even close to console price level) or it is not that powerful or it will not give you access to all other storefronts. You cannot have the best of all three.
Even it is 999 of 899 it's still cheaper then getting. A gaming PC.
Yes you can get best of all 3. It's not that hard to implement all PC storefront on a console..
It doesnt have to compete with highest PC specs. As long as its 3 to 6 times stronger then series x then it's good enough. Rumors are already saying its 6 times better then series x in terms of specs.
It'd allows for games to have best of both world. High end PC gaming without the hassle of upgrades , fiddling with drivers update or why the game not working but also have console games to pay at a much cheaper price then having to buy a pre build PC or a custom made one..one place for everything is good for business.
The thing is you still have to deal with some additional launchers and layers to play PC games on Helix. It doesn't make sense for many users, since PC can be used for more than gaming hence the price. I don't think many enthusiasts are willing to shell out more than $1000 on a hybrid device from Microsoft after their fiasco with AI PCs.
You still have launchers on PC. Steam , epic and gog and so on are all launchers. I am sure Ms will find a way to make a smooth transitions where you just shift seamlessly like how the blades interface worked for Xbox 360.
Not just enthusiast. If you sre getting a 4000 series equivalent or higher than it's a good value for money as building s custom made PC or pre made PC will easily cost alot more due to PC parts shortage.
We will see what it will be and at what price, I just do not read the signs as it being both "console priced" AND 3 to 6 times Series X level of power AND open for other storefronts. They do not even want to subsidize the Series X properly anymore (that thing is more than five years old and they sell it at 650 USD now) . That is a system still designed to adhere to the old "give away the razor and make money on the blades" model, because they own the storefront and get a major share of all software sold + paid online. But subsidize new hardware that allows people to never buy any game from Microsoft directly- why would they want to do that? Of course it is easy for them to implement the PC storefront, but how do they make their money? They would surely get some sort of commission for sending people to Steam or Epic via their Xbox. But nothing close to the share they get for everything sold on their own storefront. And probably still way less than the share they get as third party publisher when selling their own software on another storefront. Needing a customer to buy ten full priced AAA games (yes, I pulled that number out of my behind) on Epic via Xbox just for Microsoft to break even with their subsidized hardware when they could have pumped all that money into AI does not sound like Microsoft in the year 2026 to me. Hence why I think this will either not be as powerful as we hope (so they can keep the price down without taking a loss; even the Steammachine is already rumored to be up to 1000) or it will be priced more in the 1200 - 1500 range or it will only allow Xbox store and Microsoft store. Of course they would have the capability to make a super powerful box that is open to all storefronts and sell it at 799,- but I just do not see it happening, what would their incentive be, where do they make their money?
All rumors say it's between 900 to 1200 which is still cheap with what they are offering solely based on the leaks
With every new console generation it's been 2 to 3 times better than previous so it's possible.
The incentive would be market share especially if Sony has delayed their ps6 to 2028 and 2029. Having it early and a good price point will put more pressure on Sony when they have to price ps6 especially if ps6 is just a traditional console..
People will be in a position where 799 gives you both PC and console gaming vs just console gaming..
But you are right, time will tell😊
No console has advantages over PC apart from form factor
So basically what everyone has been saying for years its a PC with a slapped on xbox logo at the same premium price point. You'd be saving so much money just buying a xbox sticker and slapping it on your current PCs you already have if that logo is really important to your gaming experience XD.
At this rate I'll just slap an Xbox logo on my PS5 Pro and my Custom AMD build and call it good for the next few years.
Initial thought...
Safe to say, Xbox wont have any of their own exclusive games anymore (unless Asha really changes it up). So if this new Xbox is strictly a gaming console and its confirmed to play PC games via Steam then might as well call it another Steam Machine. 100% everyone that buys this new Xbox will link up their Steam accounts and buy off Steam instead. As well, this is going to put more competition directly towards Valve's Steam Machine than any other consoles.
I'm interested in picking up the Steam Machine but if this Xbox has a better look but also very competitive price compared to the Steam Machine then I may pick this up instead to play my Steam games. Other than Steam on this new Xbox I seriously see no other incentive for anybody to wanting to pick this up.
If this Xbox also runs a fully functional Windows OS, then this Xbox is simply just a PC lol With the rumored high price of this console I would hope it does run Windows.
It's still too early to tell and Microsoft can throw in something that'll change my thoughts on this.
I want to be an Xbox when I grow up
Xbox One and Series consoles are PCs already. They are just gonna make the next gen machine run Windows.
My guess is the machine can run in a console and PC mode. Because running games on Windows tend to be less efficient.
"Hello. I'm Co-Pilot X! Your Xbox Co-Pilot Assistant here to help you game. It looks like you've been trying to beat this boss for an hour. According to my Bing Search, Master Chief is an American competitive cooking reality television series that premiered on Fox on July 27, 2010. Based on the British series of the same name and produced by Endemol Shine North America and One Potato Two Potato, the series features amateur and home chefs competing to win the title of MasterChef. As of the show's fifteenth season, the line-up of judges consists of Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Tiffany Derry. Hope that helps!"
Guarantee it comes with co pilot!
It will, it will be an opened Windows OS
I’m going to take a wild guess that it’s going to be digital only.
Yeah, but I don't think the market cares as much at this point. Even on Playstation, physical sales are the vast minority. While many Switch carts are just download keys.
And still hundred of millions of physical games are being sold....it matters
Hundreds of millions at this point? It would literally take years for to happen at this point and that number in dwindling. Millions of physical units still being sold sounds great. But its still a small fraction of overall revenue.
I also believe as the generation continues, the percent of people that own a Playstation with a disc drive will shrink.
Physical sales are only a vast minority when you add up revenue from microtransactions, DLC, and digital-only games. Game-for-game physical is still something like 30% of the market.
No, its actually a lot lower for Xbox and Playstation. PC is a big market and that's obviously even more digital dependent. To be fair, the only platform that has maintained strong physical sales numbers is Nintendo. And its likely because people see carts as good collectors items as opposed to CDs.
Just for the record, I believe the best preservation is piracy. Just put the games on SD cards if you want physical copies.
From Sony's Q1 2025 report. Found here: https://www.sony.com/ja/SonyInfo/IR/library/presen/er/pdf/25q1_supplement.pdf
"10 Full game software digital download ratio is calculated by dividing PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®5 full game software units sold via digital
transactions by total full game software units."
In other words, every indie game that has no physical release and is sold for $5 to $15 counts the same as a full fledged $70 game release. And PS4 games that have no new physical copies (because the system is last gen) also count towards their "83% download ratio."
The best preservation is piracy after 20 years but physical discs will last over 100 years per the Library of Congress.
Asha comes in, promises a return to Xbox as we knew it... announces next system will play PC games. lol
What official specs and what official price? All we have is their previous comments that it is going to be high end premium and not cheap. Definitely not a game changer. The majority of console gamers will buy PS and Nintendo and PC users will stay on their PC's with Steam. This is a niche concept and a last ditch effort for their hardware.
Rumors are saying it's stronger then PS6. Xbox has been saying the biggest technical leap ever but that's marketing talk
Not if they can get the price points right. The cost to have a high end PC with current price is too expensive but if next gen Xbox can deliver that with console level pricing but also has all PC storefront than people will flock. Even at 700 USD is cheap when compared to high end gaming.
If Sony doesnt pull their games from PC stores then you get their games too.
It's not a niche concept. It's a different twist to switch 2 idea of a hybrid console. Gamers now days are just toxic negativity
We don't need to imagine, Valve announced it months ago lol
Valve steam machine is weaker then the PS5 but will cost more than ps6 and new Xbox which will have magnitude higher and better specs. So yes imagine.
Lets see the difference in game liberies moving forward,
PS5 total library 6000 games
XB total library 90000 games
Oh the logo makes a cool X, nice choice, will be a shame if that logo is discarded with the codename once the official name in unveiled.
Great.. another 7 years of Xbox is dead posts
Good news, just need some solid details before we judge (however that doesn't stop the majority here attempting to write it off due to their own bias, cringe)
Hmmm why even make two versions then? My prediction from a few years back was they would make a PC-based machine like the Steam Deck is but this sounds more like an awkard half-step.
cheers to microsoft, lets hope it works and keeps the competition going!
First, I think the Xbox community is quite happy to finally hear something again about Xbox Helix. Although it ain't much. But I dig that.
Second;
"Yes, hi, I'm interested in this PC, that Steam Machine over there, or the Xbox Helix over here. Can you help me decide which one would be the best choice?"
That will be the most important question for Xbox marketing, I think. And the memory crisis until 2028, maybe even 2029, will be the second most important.
Edit:
Sometimes I don't believe in coincidences anymore that Jason Schreier reported yesterday of all days that Sony would probably withdraw from PC ports.
Yeah, I saw another article about Sony stopping PC ports and you are exactly right. The first threat is the Valve Steam Machine. The Steam Machine itself will probably do okay sales numbers like the Steam Deck, but eventually (sooner than later), Valve will open up SteamOS Desktop to others just like SteamOS Handheld. I don't think Sony liked the thought of HP or Dell selling you a $500 SteamOS "console" that can play PlayStation Studios games (thru their Steam releases).
But - this I'm sure Sony also had wind of, and was definitely the final strike. Project Helios will be a sorta-full-fledged Windows PC. I'm guessing it will be more locked down than a full PC, but either way, the main point is that it will play games from Xbox Store, Steam, Epic Games, itch.io and others. So again, somehow a quick "loophole" forms there where you will have an Xbox console being able to play Sony's Spider-Man 2 (because it is already on Steam).
So yeah, I can see why Sony is full on stopping all single-player PC ports from now on.
But still, those pc ports are like a year minimum wait, so I can't see damage being done to sony.
As a PlayStation only gamer, I absolutely see the potential damage. I don't see any need to buy an Xbox because if I wait long enough, I can play the Xbox games on my PlayStation. That same thought mentality would then go in reverse for the next-gen: people can buy an Xbox and know if they wait long enough, they can play all of Sony's big exclusives once they release on Steam. That is one (potential) less PS6 sale for Sony.
I think the only way Sony can get around this if they still do want to release their games on PC is make some kind of Store of their own and just not allow that Store on an MS console or the Steam Machine. How that would work i do not knowl
Even if Sony make a PC app, which operating system is it going to run on? If its Windows then the next Xbox will access it.
Just like with NVIDIA Geforce Now the is plenty of games not on it cos of some contract. Maybe Sony could just outright block the games from being Sold on anything that is a PC but is being marketed as a console. Like i said im pretty sure the would be some way Sony could stop the official ways of accessing their games. However like you said im sure it will be also possible to just download and sideload them games.
The thing is, if the next Xbox is running a native Windows, how does the App know you are playing on a Desktop or Xbox? It cant, and even if Sony found a way, people will find a way to obtain it.
Sony stopping releases on Steam is mainly for this very reason. They dont want Xbox accessing their games.
The majority of people have one console, and those buying a Playstation, do so for thr exclusives. I can't imagine them wanting to wait a year longer , knowing that xbox had limited exclusives in comparison.
