Rumor: Xbox Handheld to Launch by Holiday 2027, Next-Gen Console to Launch in 2028 for $1,200+ - News
by William D'Angelo , posted 1 hour ago / 1,009 Views
A new report from Fortune is claiming to have details on the future of Xbox and what the company is planning for the next-generation Xbox, Project Helix.
The claim is Xbox will first release a next-generation handheld by holiday 2027 and the next-generation console by the 2028 holiday season. This is according to people familiar with Xbox's strategy.
The price of the next-generation Xbox, Project Helix, has internally been projected to cost consumers between $1,200 and $1,800, unless Microsoft subsidizes the console.
Xbox is also reportedly planning a major overhaul of Xbox Game Pass that will let "players choose features à la carte, including add-ons for console-only games, cloud gaming, and multiplayer, with the system operating on a tiered structure."
This should be treated as a rumor until an official announcement is made.
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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bet there will be no scalpers or hardware shortages next gen, lol
I hope they subsidize or have a cheaper Helix S console available that still beats Series X in specs, because the pricing is insane for the casual gamers or even the average gamer, this is the price range of an enthusiast PC before the SSD and RAM price hike that was caused by AI. PS6 was similarly leaked as $1200 today. We're looking at the single largest gen to gen launch price hike in the history of consoles, I think the previous highest was PS2 to PS3, which was $300 to $500, a 66.66% price hike, $500 to $1200 would be a 140% price hike.
New video going over this report and the price of next-gen consoles. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNHjwyRLbSA
DOA.
Playstation will need a great deal of effort and luck to score with a new "PSP", there's a small chance for Playstation.
That said, this is not the case for Xbox, it is a lost cause.
So are both Sony and Microsoft bringing out handhelds next gen? haha. Reminds me of both of them trying out motion controls after Nintendo had such success with it.
$1200-$1800 lol, so they are shooting for selling less than the WiiU.
If true, I feel like this is just them wasting money on a whole hardware R&D and production cycle simply to prove to Microsoft that Xbox is deader than dead so that they can finally move fully to Xbox Game Pass software service free of any specific hardware.
If they just rein in their scope maybe?
What if both console makers just say no to the idea of releasing console with just more power (although Sony doesn't usually only focus on that) but instead just aim to appeal in different ways?
Graphics are a diminishing return right now, so why bother? Go the Nintendo route (maybe not as handhelds) and do more refined games made to utilise what you have already, even if this means PS6 is a hybrid unit.
They're offering optional handhelds because games are scalable enough to run on handhelds these days. Not making handhelds is literally leaving money on the table. No one is copying Nintendo. It's just an inevitable move that makes perfect sense.
Microsoft's model will be a straight SteamDeck copy. Sony's model is slightly different as it won't be a branded PC, but it will still be closer to SteamDeck than a Switch. When Nintendo makes a home console version of Switch 2 or Switch 3 (which would also make sense if they want to max out install/userbase), it wouldn't be a "Vita TV copy" either. These are just common sense moves.
DOA, Sony has a fan base where some will buy a PS6, idiotic but we know it is true.
nintendo is enjoying ruling the 10th gen and will continue as microsoft aint gonna even break 10m
Apple has just sold millions of its new $2,000+ iPhone Duo, so it's too soon to call anything "DOA" these days. Even the Switch 2 was called "DOA" for being a bargain at $450.
Xbox's problem will always be that it has no brand strength, no games, and generally no reason for being. PlayStation gets away with it because it has no serious competition.
In the unlikely event that Xbox were to get its act together and make a compelling console with great games (a la the Xbox 360), people would happily buy it irrespective of the cost.
TBF a phone has a ton more uses than a video game console (which isn't even capable of playing all available games... you still need a Switch 2 for your MarioKart and Zelda, for instance). Though I do agree that there is a sect of consumers, although more niche, who will do whatever it takes to make ends meet.
What about the Xbox 360?
If we base it on the current market value... truth is, nobody can really predict if the market will continue to rise or if it will come down over the next year and half. I'm optimistic that things will cool. I'm already starting to see prices on various memory and drives come down, and not in a "sale / black friday" kind of way.
I thoght the Xbox ROG Ally was the Xbox handheld. Or is this new one meant as a successor to it?
Dead on arrival?
PS6 was also leaked at $1200 recently, with the SSD and RAM alone reportedly costing Sony $680, before CPU, GPU, motherboard, power supply, frame, case, bundled controller, and manufacturing & shipping costs.
So either they are both dead on arrival, or people just accept the new normal and buy them (though likely still at lower volume than Xbox Series and PS5 sold at launch). Still not sure which will happen,
Depends if its also a PC...
1200-1800 would be cheap for a PC within that rumored power lvl
Also, the PS5 is currently projected to be 1200 or more as well
Either way, I imagine most will hold off on next gen and many will buy a NS2 for the time being
True, the specs that leaked for Helix are pretty high, a Zen 6 CPU with 3 big Zen 6 cores and 8 low power use Zen 6c cores, an RDNA 5 GPU equivalent to the 3rd or 4th strongest PC GPU on the market right now in October 2026, originally 36-48 GB RAM was being considered by Xbox according to leaks but they reportedly dropped to considering 24-32 GB RAM after the RAM price explosion, a dedicated 110 TOPS NPU (Neural Processing Unit) that can be used to supplement the GPU on AI tasks like upscaling resolution or frame generation through AMD's FSR Diamond.
