Xbox CEO Wants to Look at 'Radically Different Models' to Bring Costs Down - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 10 June 2026 / 3,055 Views
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma in an interview with Fortune said they are looking at new ways to make the next-generation Xbox console, codenamed Project Helix, more affordable.
"On hardware, we are in a crisis right now," said Sharma. "The entire industry is. There's a shortage of memory and storage, and the costs are exponential. They are usually at this point in the generation, about 50 percent of the cost, and we're seeing they're up 2.75 times, they're up 50 percent since they started, they're going to be up effectively 7.5 times.
"Pricing is a lever, but we must think about other options as well. We must think about other ways to think about the cost construction of the console. We must think about how we create different plans so more people can participate in the console.
"We must think about partnerships that will allow us to have better distribution and reach, and we must think about the experiences that we're creating outside of that as well to reach new audiences."
Xbox will look at new business models as Sharma finds it hard to see mass audiences being able to afford thousands of dollars to spend on a single console generation.
"I think that we will continue to look at new business models," she said. "I think what is needed for console rather than just the most premium, high-performance console in the world.
"I think we've reached a point where it will be hard to imagine that mass audiences can afford thousands of dollars to spend on a console generation, and so I think we will start to see radically different business models that we never expected start to come into orbit later this year."
Sharma added that Project Helix will be able to play PC games and it will offer "leading-edge performance."
"For us, I think that we have to think very differently about storage and memory going forward," she said. "We will have to apply new techniques so that we can compress that. We will have to empower customers to have very flexible storage offerings. We will have to empower new types of games so they can fit on device and so there's gonna be a lot of innovation. This will take years, not days, not weeks, but we'll go through it together with the community."
Xbox hardware sales have struggled as VGChartz estimates shows the number of Xbox Series X|S consoles sold through April 2026 are down 32 percent compared to 2025 and 46 percent compared to 2024.
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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I REALLY don't like the idea of buying games from cloud services.
"I think what is needed for console rather than just the most premium, high-performance console in the world."
Huh? wasn't their whole thing that were were going to go super premium? expensive super machine/pc hybrid concept? Like didn't they say that not that long ago?
What other business models are there? if your product is super expensive and premium?
Cloud model, Different models, More third party model options etc..
That was Phil Spencer's vision clearly, the ultra high-end console rumored for possibly as high as $1200, with very high-end specs (reports the GPU was around 4080 Super level), and then OEM partners like Asus or Lenovo or MSI making their own Xbox branded PC consoles with their own sets of specs and price points). Clearly when Phil retired and Sarah was let go and Asha came in to replace them earlier this year, she was not a fan of what she saw of Xbox's next gen plans, a $1000+ console and relying only on OEM's for cheaper products at a mass market price point.
She is talking about the need for cheaper hardware options now next gen, which suggests she likely almost immediately put a next gen successor to Series S into R&D with Jason Ronald's team. While the high end Project Helix will likely still release, she wants mass market options as well, she knows Xbox can't be a successful hardware company if their only product is a niche high end option.
She is also talking about these other business models to reduce price this gen and next gen, not sure what that will be yet, could be like Phone companies where you can get a $1000 smartphone for free or cheap when you sign up for a 2 or 3 year contract of phone service, where a Gamepass sub contract takes the place of a Phone service contract, reducing the up-front cost of Series S/X and Project Helix significantly. Could also be plans to put an official Xbox cloud console back into production.
Its going to get worse under her leadership, just see
Their are more options then just top tier console. Example: Cloud Gaming.
I wonder if this means offering the next Project Helix consoles as a subscription option, which honestly, would make a lot of sense to a lot of people (including me!). Let's just say the launch price is $999. But alongside that, you could buy it as a payment plan of $29.99/month for 36 months. Now, over that 36 months, Microsoft would ultimately get ~$1,080 out of you, more than the list price of $999, but of course that is the point. MS gets a bit more padding for profits, while you just have to fork out $30/month versus $999 all at once.
Like I said, if a console costs $999 at launch, there is no way I can afford that. But I could do that $30/mo potential payment.
Another idea is bundling Game Pass alongside the cost of the console spread out over that 36 months. Maybe instead of $30, it is $50/month but includes Game Pass Ultimate for that duration. Then it actually turns out to be a deal if you were going to subscribe to Game Pass Ultimate anyway.
Another idea, and one that is almost as old as consoles themselves, is to revert to taking a loss on hardware and subsidizing with software. They make money, and we get cheap things. Everyone wins.
I think that is the WORST possible outcome. Consoles are supposed to last 5-8 years at a time. You don't want a sh***y system for that entire duration, and you can't just fix that later on lol
I think those days are over. Microsoft is under pressure to demonstrate to the investors that spending the GDP of North Dakota on Activision and Bethesda to grow Xbox was worthwhile.
Let me guess gotta use more AI.
I vote cut everything non-essential out.... every little penny you can save, do it. I don't want to see consoles go above 700$ next gen.
Maybe stop expecting consoles to be all-in-one media centers. Sony has already ditched CD support. I also don't care if a console plays Netflix anymore. Practically every TV you can buy can use streaming apps these days with no box needed. That's why Nintendo doesn't really bother with streaming apps.
I'm not sure how streaming apps make a console more expensive or how Nintendo shold be viewed as better for not offering them. I find it really annoying that I can't nstall Youtube on my Switch 2.
Licensing fees
Agreed. Many want top end hardware but dont want to pay for it.
Give us a first party only tier... minus COD and maybe Forza
That's all I've wanted from GamePass
Having a tier that is the same as Ultimate, but without Fortnite, EA, and Ubisoft is probably more likely.
The issue is that people here love to talk about what gratifies them... If you don´t like Fortnite, then you want a cheaper tier that excludes it. But that doesn´t help MS. If Gamepass isn´t bringing in more than people would spend normally, it´s a failure. That it´s offering includes stuf you wouldn´t buy normally is expected, because if you actually would buy everything then MS would be losing out on giving it away via Game Pass vs only selling them normally.
Yeah that is quite true. I mainly am subbed for day one games and for the big library of games. I've played through several games because of Game Pass I wouldn't have bought otherwise.
People: Games and consoles are too expensive.
Same People: I dont want to by your cheaper option.
"We will have to empower customers to have very flexible storage offerings"
I wonder if this could mean a Series X digital with 512GB to have a bit of a lower entry point. Series X digital with 1TB is $600. A Series X digital with 512GB could be $550.
So now besides optimizing for Series S and X sku´s, games need to be developed around disk seek and read times? Who is going to develop a game for a loser console that decides to launch sub-market of last-gen tech?
Pretty sure this means they want to use a off-the-shelf and consumer upgradable option like PS5 and Steam Deck did
Whatever it is please don’t release a weaker model like the series s.. that was a mistake.
I mean... we already know the weakest model for next generation will be the PS6 Portable
It was ahead of it's time, not a mistake - Steam Deck, Rog Ally, Switch 2 - nobody has a problem with their specs. The Series S is still a capable machine going forward and will play the same games as the above but also offering affordable gaming which is much needed nowadays. I really don't think it was a mistake myself it's just a dedicated home console that is capable enough for most players. There's nothing it cannot run that the Switch 2 won't run and that's a home console too. Price point is important this next generation for sure. The Series S just lacked first party games but the console itself was capable and still is time to turn it around.
Is this a Helix Seies S? And when it comes to Storage, PlayStation got it right by doing the off the shelf idea because if I can just get the PS6 for a cheaper price but lower storage like 512-1TB, I will just pop in my SSD from my PRO and call it a day. If it cuts off a couple hundred from the price I say lets do it.
