Recent speculation regarding the next Xbox, aka Project Helix, hints at a rather expensive but powerful gaming console with a graphics solution performing at an xx70 or xx80 level. So a new report from Fortune (via VideoCardz) has a lot to unpack, the least of which is a rumored price tag ranging from $1,200 to $1,800, but with an interesting caveat for the higher costs. It’s no secret that console manufacturers are already struggling with rising component costs, which have also led to delays for their next-gen offerings, but as we get closer to potential launch dates, talk about prices is becoming more common. It’s already been said that Sony’s PlayStation 6 could easily fetch a price of over $1,000 but is this latest report is accurate, the Xbox Series successor could go for even more but aside from memory and storage costs, need to cover the price of a high-end graphics solution.
Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, who was also appointed to a position with a Federal Reserve task force regarding “Productivity and Jobs” this summer, met with Fortune, where she discussed future plans for Xbox. It’s already known that Project Helix is a reference for a family of devices ranging from gaming handhelds to consoles. On the mobile front, Xbox is working with its partners to continue offering the Xbox experience for those on the go, but internally there seems to be some friction between Xbox and Microsoft engineers. It seems Xbox could be considering a greater shift away from Microsoft for its own software in an effort to achieve better performance. Supposedly, tempers reached a high, leading to an Xbox senior exec threatening to pull the plug on their collaboration rather than being forced to use a scaled-down version of Windows. Xbox teams are said to be under more pressure to meet deadlines that are being moved up, instead of pushed back, and reportedly are relying more on AI to meet them.
Sharma could announce Project Helix gaming handhelds as soon as December 2027, with a console launch in early 2028. This aligns with rumors regarding the release of the PlayStation 6 as well, and both consoles are said to utilize AMD processors. However, an interesting twist is that Project Helix could be targeting higher-end PC graphics, with hardware performing at an NVIDIA xx80 GPU level. Given that the current RTX 5080 can go for upwards of $2K, a console price tag of upwards of $1,800 seems probable, but hopefully Microsoft is able to find ways to bring that down to a more budget-friendly target. The good news is that next-gen consoles could make a major step forward when it comes to technology, but the more horrific news is that many households may not be able to afford them. Xbox is in a state of fixing itself, and Sharma will have tough decisions to make because if it cannot regain ground, the next launch might be its last. It’s already rumored that current Xbox sales may barely scratch the surface in competing with Sony, whose sales could be as much as three times higher. There’s also talk of Microsoft spinning off Xbox so it would be more fiscally independant so Project Helix could easily be a make it or break it product launch.
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